(C) IndyStar.com Anthony Curtis, gambling expert, author, and publisher of www.LasVegasAdvisor.com had this recent stellar customer service experience:
"I took a ride on JetBlue last month, since it flies into Long Beach, where I was making the odds on the Grand Prix. JetBlue impressed me as a good airline. That is, until I wanted a beer. After being offered coffee, fruit juice, or soda, I asked the attendant if I could buy a Heineken.
'I can get you a beer if I have time,' he said.
That’s one I hadn’t heard, but with the plane about a quarter full, there was plenty of time and another attendant delivered an opened can and a cup. But when I tried to pay (with perfect change), she told me that I had to use a credit card. Huh? When I explained that I didn’t have one with me, she picked up the can and walked away.
I was all right, though, ’cause she left the pretzels."
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Jet Blue had a great customer service start. The company stumbled last winter when it stranded customers on planes on runways in several cities for up to 10 hours. According to its CEO, these errors cost Jet Blue $30 million. The company pledged it would learn from its mistakes; and hopefully it has. Anthony's example shows how just one -- or in his case two -- employees can hurt a company's reputation. Every, single person who works for you is a living, breathing billboard representing your store. How are they doing?
