Part II Tale of Two Travels

Only one week after the American Eagle situation, I had an experience on a Delta flight from Atlanta to Knoxville that was truly remarkable.

Image used via creative commons license via @kevinkluu

After boarding the plane, my business partner and I were seated directly in front of the bulk head (the same seat as the other flight). The flight attendant leaned against the flight cabin door with perturbed demeanor. With each question, he would roll his eyes and say something under his breath like, “If you’d just listen, you wouldn’t have to ask all these questions.” He was clearly from Jamaica with a very thick accent. Occasionally, he would roll his eyes and shoot a grimace to the passengers in the front of the plane.

Then we were told that the plane needed to be refueled before taxiing to the runway. This gave plenty of opportunity for the passengers to interact with the flight attendant. Each time, he was less than enthused, but he was not confrontational.

Finally, after the plane was fueled and the main door closed, our flight attendant changed demeanor. He stood tall, stretched his arms and then drew the handset to his mouth like a professional referee in a Las Vegas boxing match: “GOOD AFTERNOON LADIES AND GENTLEMEN AND WELCOME ABOARD. My name is Rinsky and I will be your flight attendant today. It’s a short flight to Knoxville, but I aim to make it the highlight of your day. No, I don’t have a Jamaican accent; I’m from Arkansas. My job is to make you smile and enjoy the brief time that you are on the flight. You may hate airports, you may hate Delta, but while you are on this plane my goal is to make you like me. So, if I can do ANYTHING to make your trip better than it is right now, let me know.”

The laughter echoed the plane, and passengers that were once fearful of his terse demeanor were so pleasantly surprised that they were engaging with him as he walked up and down the aisle. Not a single announcement was read and every time he made a public address, it seemed fresh as though we had never heard the instructions to fasten and release our seat belts.

The plane landed without incident and Rinsky was truly the star of the day. After landing, I told his story over and over because he delivered happiness.

In the final post of this series, I am going to comment on the customer service principals of these two stories.

Related posts:

  1. Customer Service & The Tale of Two Travels-Part I We are all in the customer service business. Sometimes we...
  2. Meant to be The buzz of the 4 am alarm clock came in...
delivering happinessdeltaFlight Attendanthelpsmile
Jeremy Floyd

Jeremy Floyd is the President at FUNYL Commerce. Formerly, he was the CEO and President of Lirio, Bluegill Creative, a marketing and communications firm in Knoxville, Tennessee. In addition to managing the digital strategies, Floyd was an adjunct professor for the University of Tennessee Chattanooga MBA program teaching digital strategies and social media. Floyd blogs at jeremyfloyd.com and tweets under the name @jfloyd. Jeremy is licensed to practice law in the State of Tennessee and holds a law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from MTSU in English and Philosophy.

  • I confess that I, too 2 to, sometimes forget to put on my “I’m OK, your OK” mask soon enough. O LORD have mercy!

  • Glenneth

    I have always heard that flight attendants only get paid for their time in the air – not at the gate. Wonder if he was just frustrated about the wait because he wasn’t getting paid (but yet is still expected to do a job).

  • @David – I think we all do. I really loved to watch him work his magic. He said that he always uses different voices at first: British, Australian, etc. He works to bring out the smile, which I know you do too.

  • @Glenneth – Good point, I didn’t know that. But, I honestly think that the surprise of the passengers is magical to him.

  • kristin

    Ok, I’m a bit confused. He was actually grimacing and rolling his eyes at travelers who asked questions or needed something? I am having a hard time seeing how his announcement would have made up for his demeanor had I needed something before he put on the show. Did I miss something?

  • It has been said that body language comes from the heart; our spoken words from the head.

  • @Kristin – Thanks for the comment. I probably overemphasized his attitude before take off. Despite any of the commentary that he made, he was very helpful to the passengers. And, perhaps I under-emphasized the level of engagement that he had with the passengers after we took off. To me, the theatrics that he brought to the plane that day were well beyond the minimum requirements. Too often employees at every level bring the minimum level to work every day that keeps them from being fired.

  • @David – I really like that:

    It has been said that body language comes from the heart; our spoken words from the head.

  • Pingback: We’re All In the (Customer) Service Business | Jeremy Floyd - Between You and Me()

  • Ester Raffa

    Good point, I didn’t know that. But, I honestly think that the surprise of the passengers is magical to him.
    murray river houseboats