A (short) tale of a (smart) Service Recovery.

On a recent intra European flight with Swiss International Air Lines , I experienced a service recovery that totally made my day.

Due to a highly congested route, my flight was strongly delayed.

Based on my passenger experiemce, in such cases, the best scenario to witness is the crew airing verbal apologies. A cold comfort that vanishes once the effects of a late landing are eaten up.

On this leg, while both Captain and First Officer declared to put themself at work to shorten the delay, as Service enthusiast, I started to observe how much all cabin attendants engaged in personal conversation with passengers to mitigate any possible complaint outburst.

Once airborne, the increased aircraft speed was noticeable however an extremely smooth flight made the journey extremely pleasant.

Being 5’o clock on a plane bound to England and with a presentation to complete, what would be better than a cup of tea?

After placing my order, I started an in-depth exploration of my keynote file, finding myself on the creative side…creative ideas popped up like crazy and that mediocre file started to reflect my personality: a moment of grace that lasted about 30 minutes, at the end of which, I noticed how that cup of tea actually never reached my seat.

For one or the other reason, the steward forgot to serve me and offered me a sincere apology, while I allowed myself? few moments to stretch my legs.

Upon getting back to my seat, that warm cup of tea was finally waiting for me and, with my pleasant surprise, it was accompanied by a chocolate bar elegantly placed on the table tray. That paid apology, was -? for such a minimal glitch - not only sincere but definitely heartfelt.

A tiny gesture. An attention that reminded me how much #ServiceRecovery can become a huge game changer when things don’t run as planned.

Sometimes, that minimal extra mile we walk, yields a return on happiness whose effects go beyond the mere moment.

What I have experienced, will definitely remain among my best travel memories and, I am sure, I shall definitely share this story - along with the fact that the flight landed with a mere 14 minutes delay - with my Team, Business Partners and Customers.