Well, my first travel of 2022 is in the bag. Dallas was a beautiful 75 degrees. Got home to the Eastern Shore and it was a balmy 22 on Friday night.
I was in Dallas for my Alliance Mastermind meeting.
What an extraordinary group of entrepreneurs! The goal of every meeting is for the members to have a written 90 plan to execute when they get back home. We identified over $300+ thousand in new revenue for these four companies, that they will get in the next 90 days!
Check out the math in this picture
On Saturday, I needed to book a bunch of flights for the Spring. For one of the flights, I was trying to redeem some flight credits, but the website kept kicking me out saying “need to call customer service”. (This seems to happen with American’s website any time you wan to use something other than a credit card for a purchase. Their way of hoping we don’t use our flight credits and force us to buy another ticket?)
The dreaded department of ‘customer service’
Last time I called, the automated voice said it was a 240 minute wait! At least it gave me the option to have them call me back, instead of sitting on hold.
This time the wait was less than 30 minutes, so I endured the scratchy hold music for what seemed to feel like hours….
the CSR was very friendly and quickly made my flight arrangements.
But I had to ask…. Why did I have to call in, instead of the crappy website?
Her answer?
“Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.”
This is not a phrase you want to hear from an airline!
- Does the same phrase apply to their baggage handling?
- Worse, does the same phrase apply to their planes?
Not reassuring at all!
In 99% of my other purchases, if I encountered a malfunctioning website, I would take my business elsewhere. My thinking being, if the web experience is atrocious, their product or service won’t be much better.
What’s this got to do with your business?
EVERYTHING!
- When was the last time you tested YOUR website?
- When was the last time you mystery shopped YOUR phone team?
Every detail is either…
Detracting or Enhancing
…the experience. There is no middle ground.
- Dusty plants in the waiting room of a doctor? Not reassuring and a detraction
- Broken link: Not reassuring and a detraction
- Chili stain on your shirt: Detraction (not reassuring if you sell shirts)
- Dirty/disorganized vehicle: Not reassuring and a detraction
Stop what you are doing and go check….
Right now
