customer service | the brand experience
I don't fly often, but when I do, my airline of choice is Delta. Their customer service, in-flight experience, and general policy towards safety is one-of-a-kind.
{End Script} - but really - this is how commercials actually kick off, right? The essence of the actual customer experience... So Here's mine:
In April, I was on the way to L.A. for some much-anticipated voiceover connection fun. The ride from JFK to LAX was on time and a complete breeze. The trip home was one of THOSE TRIPS. The ones that cause people like me to become the paranoid, anxious travelers we now are.
But as the initial flight (already a late-night one) was delayed over four hours due to maintenance issues, I found myself completely without an urge to complain, rage against the machines, or call anyone's customer service hotline. Why?
Because I watched the captain and crew of our flight remain gracious and accommodating throughout what was probably a pretty rough few hours. The captain kept us updated on the progress of our situation, explaining in detail what was happening to our plane, while the crew served refreshments and opportunities to rebook on other flights. They taxi'd the plane back to a gate and let us de-plane to grab some food while we finished waiting. So, as a person who experiences anxiety on a regular basis, I felt relieved, calmed, and particularly grateful.
To be fair, there were definitely people panicking and being generally hostile as people can be - of course we each have our own, personal "must-get-here" issues, mine included. And I wasn't happy to be stuck in the airport. But I felt calm, and confident that whatever the problem was, it would be fixed and we'd be on our way eventually. Big steps for a travel-freakout guy like me ;)
The whole experience pretty much ended me up in an airport lounge for awhile, thinking about brand experiences in general, and this one with Delta specifically for me.
How a brand delivers on a promise, and what that means for us in marketing, maybe? But that's pretty deep. Simpler, perhaps. That in this case, for this customer, I felt that the campaign Delta was running (and featuring the inimitable Viola Davis, BTW) measured completely up to what it hyped.
Anyway, even airlines & travel aside - the point for me was being reached by an experience that matched an expectation. And it felt great.