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August 28, 2007
How to create a WOM-worthy airline
A rogue pilot at stodgy United Airlines is creating his own, word-of-mouth-worthy experience for fliers.
Here's how Capt. Denny Flanagan does it:
- He mingles with passengers in the gate area
- He makes gate announcements himself, updating passengers about weather conditions and sets realistic expectations for delays
- He uses his cellphone to call United operations to ask about connections for passengers
- He passes out information cards to passengers with fun facts about the plane; he signs two of them, whose owners will win a bottle of wine
- He snaps pictures of animals in the cargo hold to show owners their pets are safely on board
- He writes notes to first-class passengers and elite frequent fliers on the back of his business cards, addressing them by name and thanking them for their business
- He personally calls parents of unaccompanied children to give them updates
- He instructs flight attendants to pass out napkins asking passengers to write notes about experiences on United, good or bad
- He orders 200 McDonald's hamburgers for passengers if his flight is delayed or diverted
"I just treat everyone like it's the first flight they've ever flown," the very smart captain told the WSJ in a highly valuable front-page story. "The customer deserves a good travel experience."
With airline service at frustratingly low levels, Flanagan's work easily creates word of mouth during and after the flight.
The reason why Capt. Flanagan is a rogue is because his work isn't the result of formal training. I'll bet his techniques make some colleagues uneasy or nervous. Even United's "Chief Customer Officer" isn't quite sure what to do with him other than "hope" Flanagan's techniques rub off on other pilots.
That's a missed opportunity. Understanding the power of word of mouth has helped propel Southwest to be the most-recommended airline and profitable for 34 consecutive years.
If I were in charge of United for a day (a scary thought, I know), I would make Flanagan's techniques part of a pilot's regular training schedule. I would invite Flanagan to design the course and teach the first class.
And to cement my reputation as a great, one-day CEO, I'd appoint Flanagan the Chief Customer Officer after he reaches mandatory retirement age for flying.
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Excellent story - encouraging - thanks for sharing it. It makes me want to hug an airline pilot or at least Capt Flanagan.
The secret though is that this is what he does naturally and authentically. That's what makes it great and genuine. So I'm not sure that what he does exactly could or should be replicated. It would be more valueable for him to help his fellow pilots find whatever it is within them that would excite them about providing excellent customer service and to do that in their own style. The actions could be different but come from a similarly inspired place.
"# He snaps pictures of animals in the cargo hold to show owners their pets are safely on board
# He personally calls parents of unaccompanied children to give them updates"
That's the 'Power of being second'. It shows the customer that he is putting THEIR best interests ahead of his. Which is why it makes such an impression on the flyers, and I'm sure they almost feel as if they 'owe' it to Flanagan to speak well of him to other flyers.
Great writeup Jackie, thanks for sharing!
It's interesting, because none of those things is a big, difficult action by itself. Capt. Denny Flanagan is mostly putting a human face on his airline, and showing his passengers that he cares.
Compare this to the story Drew featured on his Marketing Minute blog about how United Airlines is trying to show customers that they care by literally "rolling out the red carpet" for frequent fliers. http://www.drewsmarketingminute.com/2007/08/be-sure-your-ma.html
Capt. Flanagan isn't doing a big symbolic marketing ploy to get attention, he's doing the little things that prove he notices the details about his passengers and wants to make sure they have a pleasant trip.
He gets it: I'd feel a lot better getting an update on my pet, or being surprised with a hamburger during a long delay--than with having a short strip of cloth to walk over!
Call me a cynic, but I wouldn't be surprised if Flanagan gets reprimanded if his reputation gets too large. Corporate machines have a way of doing that.
I was on one of his flights years ago, not long after 9/11 if I remember correctly. I received one of the business cards describing the aircraft and a personal thank you for flying with United. I kept the card for a few years to remind me of how simple great service can be. He was both highly professional and affable.
It worked... I've been premier executive (50k+ miles/year) with united since 2003 after giving up on American and Delta. I just wish United would reward him and encourage others like him.
Great story!
I agree that I would ask Flanagan to design a course and teach the first class. However, the important thing to stress would be not the specific actions he is doing, but the fact that he cares about the people on his flight, and that the little things that he does on his flight can go a LONG way.
I think it would be a mistake for United to have 500 Denny Flanagans. For example, a typical business would make it a policy for all pilots to do the same things (Except for maybe the cell phone calls and the McDonald's hamburgers because they would need to cut costs somewhere). But if they were doing all the same things as him, those little things all of a sudden become unremarkable because customers learn to expect them and take them for granted.
I've flown WestJet several times here in Canada and it is clear that they are TRYING to build a WOM airline. The first time I flew with them I was really impressed with how personal the attendant staff was cracking jokes, etc. The pilot then closed the flight with a long and hilarious joke. A came away very impressed from that first experience just because, well it was remarkable compared to boring old Air Canada. Since then, almost every WestJet flight I have been on did the same thing. Jokes from the attendants and pilots. A lot of times they were the same jokes! So what was once remarkable, became pretty unremarkable after a few more flights because it was clear that this was POLICY.
The trick is to get the other pilots at United to care like Flanagan but not to BE Flanagan. That's where it gets tricky because when you ask people to humanize the experience, they draw from their own personality. While someone may be an excellent pilot, and an excellent knack for customer service, they might also have a pretty obscure personality. Not everyone has great ideas like Flanagan, and not everyone has the same common sense. So putting that kind of freedom in the hands of a person is a risky thing.
I agree with Ryan. The moment you turn these acts into 'techniques' you have destroyed the spirit of them. They simple become United's version of "do you want fries with that?"
He sound like he needs an intervention...does he ever fly the plane? He sounds a bit "over the top".
brilliant post Ben. British Airways should have spent some time talking to Captain Denny Flanagan. Delivering an exceptional experience is even more important when the airline is a nation's flag-carrier.
Does this not in fact teach us that personal character is a key ingredient of good marketing?
I mean, this great service from Flanagan was a natural and logical outflow of his good character: generosity, kindness, humility, joy, goodness, consistency, etc...
The problem with this is clear: you can teach skills, but how do you teach good character?! I appreciate the desires of many to see him teaching a course for United, but how do you teach adult men to be kind, generous, cheerful, etc?!?!
These things, as a rule, are modelled and "trained" by parents into their children before the age of 13... not taught to pilots in middle age!
Good luck, United!!
-Alister
I just hope that this wonderful airline captain, who really "gets it" when it comes to customer service, is also able to keep track of his regular duties as pilot, like ensuring that all maintenance has been properly done, like having all instruments and control services checked and double-checked, and so on. I wouldn't want a mishap to interrupt such great service.
That said, it would be so great if all airline pilots were to take a page from Capt. Flanagan's book and spend more time minding customers and less time minding the plane.
Thank you all for your comments. In a given year we all have exterior forces on our lives in which we have no control. A tooth ache and a trip to the dentist is a good example. In saying that, we each have a chioce on how we want out our day to develope when we wakeup each morinng. Each day we can make a difference and cause someone elses heart to smile.
Capt Denny
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Airline Stock Information
web based tool, compare airline funds:
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With so many airlines merging and going under ( Delta TWA ) it is amazing they can pay the bills enough to keep those flying wrecks in the air.
