Super Woman and Dorothy Gale: Customer Experience at 30,000 Feet.

A few days ago, I flew home to Melbourne after running a customer experience strategy session in New York with one of our awesome Allegis Global Solutions global RPO teams, and a fantastic global client.

After a week of intense sessions focused on transforming customer experience, and a long domestic flight from Newark to LA, I'd just settled in for my long haul flight to Australia (I was exhausted, my head full of thoughts, and my eyes were shut), when I was tapped on the shoulder and offered a drink... by Super Woman!

After a quick check to ensure I wasn't hallucinating, I took a drink and struck up a conversation with both Super Woman and Dorthy Gale to find out why they were working for Air New Zealand.

It turned out I was privileged to be sharing a flight with some very special kids (seriously Ill and disabled children), who'd just been on an amazing US adventure with the charity www.korucare.co.nz via their partnership with Air New Zealand.

After the conversation finished, my mind slipped back to thoughts of Customer Experience, and for the balance of my trip, I was struck by the Customer Experience insights you can gain when you pay attention during a long haul flight run by a world class, and much awarded airline.

Here are 10 Customer Service insights I gained from Air New Zealand:

(1) Offer clearly defined services, with genuine value: I think Air New Zealand offers the most clearly defined service levels of any airline I've traveled with, and the price vs. value (what you pay vs. what you get) seems appropriately stepped.

(2) Offer self service whenever possible: Check in with Air New Zealand was a breeze due to self check-in and bag drop. I was on my way for a coffee in a couple of minutes, rather than standing in line (a far better experience).

(3) Offer the latest innovations: In addition to self check in for international, I think that the "sky couch" option in economy, and the herringbone configuration in premium economy (many airlines still don't have a premium economy class), are evidence of an innovative organization. I've heard that Sky Couch is more practical for children than adults due to other seats reclining, but economy seats with a leg rest will help customers with shorter legs, and as a parent with 2 children, the sky couch its an innovation I'd use for long haul. I also think its great to have arm rests that fold out of the way in economy - a simple innovation with huge Customer Experience potential for people traveling together.

(4) Communicate in multiple ways: Whilst not specific to Air new Zealand, it struck me that airlines communicate with customers in multiple ways to ensure clarity of messages, including verbal announcements, on screen messages, videos, maps, and demonstrations from staff. The Air New Zealand safety video is great fun and highly engaging... even after the 4th time I watched it.

(5) Provide progress updates: I knew my destination, but the "self service progress report" (map and ETA) provided by airlines, provides reassurance of progress, and helped me plan sleep, work, entertainment and readiness for landing. This underlined for me that progress reports are often critical to Customer Experience.

(6) Have fun and delight the customer: I wasn't expecting Super Woman or Dorothy Gale, and the crew could have dressed up only in the section the special kids were sat in, but instead the whole crew dressed up. Their sense of fun made for a great flight for everyone, and they also raised awareness of a fantastic charity.

Doing something fun for your customers usually doesn't cost anything, yet can dramatically change their experience.

(7) Gamification is powerful: I travel a lot for work, and Australia is a long flight from anywhere, so I genuinely appreciate the additional services offered in exchange for my loyalty (frequent flyer programs). For me, the Star Alliance showers in LAX make a real difference when I've worked all day, taken a 6 hour domestic flight, and am facing a long haul flight to Australia. The things each customer will value most will vary, but those key things are key to their experience, and I think gamification may hold the secret to learning what those things are for customers.

(8) Diverse talent is key: Air New Zealand must have a fantastic diversity program, as the demographic of their staff appeared very different (to me) than all other carriers I've used recently. It was noteworthy that many of the crew seemed far older than staff on other carriers (I'm guessing 50+ Dorothy and Super Woman excluded), and I think it gives them an competitive edge in connecting with their customers authentically.

(9) Having a great team is critical: Somewhere over the Pacific, with most passengers asleep, I struck up a conversation with one of the crew. I discovered that Air New Zealand crews are assigned to their aircraft rather than assigned to a route.

For the person I was talking with, this made a real difference to their role, as it means they go where the plane goes, and they travel as a team, rather than being assigned a route and working with fresh crew each time.

I think this showed in their delivery, as the crew appeared to support each other really well, and their pride for the aircraft and service was clear. I've seen great teamwork and culture on other carriers, but this crew somehow seemed like a well oiled team.

As you can tell, I had a great customer experience.

The thing that struck me when writing this, is the importance of looking outside your industry for solutions to challenges.

Others have often already solved the challenges you face, and if you pay attention, you'll likely see how they've done it.

I have no affiliation to Air New Zealand, and the views and opinions expressed are my own. I am however employed by Allegis Global Solutions, so if you're interested to understand our approach to Customer Experience, and the benefits Recruitment Process Outsourcing solutions can bring to your business, please connect with me.