When We Fail to Train, We Usually Fail to Manage Crises Well
Tim Elmore
Founder of Growing Leaders, Inc. Best selling author, keynote and workshop speaker
Seven years ago, my wife and I had an extraordinary experience at an airport. We were flying from Los Angeles back home to Atlanta. As we checked in at the gate, the agent said, “Oh my gosh! Can you hold on a second?” Unsure of what was happening, I suspected a problem. Instead, the head gate agent approached me saying, “Dr. Elmore, I’ll be escorting you and your wife to your seats.” As we walked down the jetway, I inquired what was going on. Why all the attention? He smiled and said, “You don’t know? You just passed two million miles with our airline, and we want to show our appreciation.” At that point, they poured on amazing customer service. We were upgraded to first-class seats, given a bottle of champagne and a gift bag containing a beautiful crystal globe inside. Then, the pilot walked back to our seats, knelt in the aisle, and personally thanked us for our business over the years. Finally, a flight attendant announced over the intercom that I had just crossed over the “two million milestone,” and everyone on board applauded.
My wife smiled at me and said, “Do they always treat you this way when you fly?”
A Study in Contrast
I joked how this was normal service I got each time I flew, but of course, I was teasing her. Allow me to share my most recent experience with the same airline. My wife and I just returned from Kona, Hawaii. The event I spoke at there was superb, but the trip home was the trip from you-know-where.
We were scheduled to fly home from Kona to Atlanta at 9:40?pm until we were informed that the flight was delayed two hours, now taking off around 11:40 pm. This gave us an uneasy feeling since our layover at LAX was a short one. We had heard that at midnight, everything shuts down in Kona. Surely, we wouldn’t be there past midnight, would we? We boarded the plane thirty minutes late and settled into our seats when a flight attendant announced, “I am so sorry, but we are not leaving tonight. Workers are repairing the runway between midnight and five a.m., so you must deboard, get your luggage and we’ll see you in the morning.” You could hear a groan across the crowded jet. At this point, our troubles had just begun. As we exited the plane, we realized no one was willing to help us. The airline staff said there was nothing they could do. Every airport employee had just left. As we retrieved our luggage, we were on our own. Panicked, passengers got on their phones trying to reserve a hotel room, an Uber, and another flight the next day. I waited on the line with each of these vendors with no results. The baggage claim area in Kona is literally outdoors since the weather is usually marvelous. Until it isn’t. My wife and I, and dozens of other passengers spent the night sitting outside, with no blankets or bed, the wind blowing through the dark night and a few sprinkles. At least for the evening, we were cold and homeless. The hotels were full. The restaurants were closed. The rideshares were unavailable.
The same airline that once displayed second-mile service had shifted to no?service.
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My Takeaway
There’s no doubt in my mind that when I crossed two-million miles, that airline staff had been trained to provide over-the-top service: the upgrade, the gift bag, the champaign, the visit from the pilot and the announcement to our fellow passengers. Training made them ready for this big moment when it happened.
My question is—where was the training for our recent moment of crisis? At midnight, when we deboarded the plane without a plan for the night nor the next day, it would have been so comforting to hear an announcement that said, “Passengers—we are so sorry for this inconvenience. But we have some good news. We’re ready for this kind of challenge, as it has happened before. We have a shuttle lined up outside of baggage claim and rooms reserved at a local hotel. We’ll be offering food vouchers as you hop on the bus. Rest well, and we will see you in the morning on the first flight out.”
Training and ownership make all the difference in the world. Leaders ensure their teams are ready for the best and the worst conditions. When crises occur, everyone is prepared. When training is absent, so is a sense of ownership on the part of employees. Customers are left to fend for themselves.
Never underestimate the power of training.
Helping Business leaders and Educators build Championship Teams. | Keynote Speaker, Workshops and Coaching | Author
1 个月Very powerful story! Being consistently excellent in good times and bad times is essential! Thanks for sharing and keep up your great work!
Creating Black Belt Leaders in Life who lead world-class organizations to even higher levels of success. Motivational Speaker, Trainer, & Coach
1 个月I had a similar experience trying to fly home from Florida. Storms in the area held us on the tarmac for more than 2 hours, before we had to return to the terminal as our crew had "timed out." We were told to deplane and wait for a new crew to arrive so we could depart (knowing my connecting flight was already long gone). After another 90 minutes of waiting, we were informed there would be no "new crew" and to come back tomorrow. We could not retrieve our luggage, as it was still on the plane. 185 people were displaced, with no assistance from the airline, having to fend for themselves. I was among the fortunate few who snagged an Uber (and a hotel room) several miles away. Returned the next morning to find, as I'm going through TSA, my new return flight had been canceled. So, I went to another airline and booked a return flight with them. After a bit of wrangling, the first airline issued a travel credit, but never an apology for leaving all of us stranded. My thoughts went to where yours did. An exceptional experience should not only happen when it's a celebration or a milestone. It should be the commitment of any organization - especially in times of crisis. It says how much or how little, they truly value people.
CEO & Founder, Lean Leadership Center | Program Developer of the Coaching Style of Leadership | Promoter of Heart-Based Leadership | Global Expert, Lean HR | Author | Speaker | AME Chair | TWI Expert | Shingo Fellow
1 个月Tim - I enjoyed this article and reposted it. I would have applauded if I were in the audience. I'm a big fan of realizing poor service is typically a function of how people are trained/coached with what expectations. You are also a great writer.
Authentic Leadership | Empowering Leaders to Leave a Legacy at Work and at Home
1 个月This is definitely thought provoking, for sure. Thank you for sharing Tim. I wonder though, if this also highlights a fallacy in training that we often make as leaders. When developing training, we research the data and follow the customers journey, identifying key interactions or moments along the way to show appreciation, but in doing so we trained for the moment, and not for the character of our people. People trained for character can recognize the moment, and when empowered can move any moment from crisis to connection to celebration... but people trained for a moment, may lack the character or empowerment to be the change that is needed for that moment as it doesn't look like what they have been trained for. Keep these stories coming. They are challenging me to grow my character to be ready for any moment
TEAM ENGAGEMENT CATALYST | Certified Facilitator | Passionate about Organizational Health | Helping to create a world where everyone is understood.
1 个月Thought provoking for sure! Leaders train their teams to deliver the best but I've rarely heard of leaders training their teams for the worst. Even when I've posed the question in training sessions, I've heard responses in the form of jokes. Thanks for the reminder!