I had to ride in coach class this week to Chicago! Can you believe it? My friend Rick and my daughter Leslie never hesitate to refer to the status of my flight and I as, “the princess”. Apparently there were enough other princes and princesses that I got bumped to peasant. And for this week it was a good thing.
Service is not the same in the back. They have a lot more people to deal with and the perks are few. Oh, let me not forget to mention that the seats aren’t as wide. I was in the exit row so that helps, but I did have a giant man in the seat next to me. The flight attendants were not attentive and it seemed to me as if they were just going through the motions of doing just enough to get the job done.
This got me thinking. At a baseball or a football game, the suite is way better than the stands when it comes to comfort. I also notice that the staff is better. They dress different, they are more attentive, they seem kinder, and more interested in taking care of the customer.
This is also true of the flight attendant. I don’t know what it takes to work the first class cabin but I’m going to ask. I started wondering who qualifies as a first class guest in a family entertainment facility. Do we even have first class accommodations? I think the boutique or VIP lanes in a bowling based FEC certainly have that first class feel. Disney has a pass that you can pay more for that lets you bypass the line. If we decide to deliver first class accommodations, do we have staff that is trained to deliver first class service?
In our guest service training I often suggested that we learn to have a limo mindset. What I mean is, if someone drives up to the center in a limo we all have a different attitude about how to treat that celebrity. Of course my thinking is that WOW what a cool business we would have if everyone were treated like a VIP.
But for today it seems like the team member who is qualified to handle VIP customer is the key. Do we have staff or are we grooming our employees to handle the VIPs who come into the Center? Maybe this is the place to start. There’s an entry level position where you get to work coach and then when you get good enough you work the first class section. What kind of employee do you want to be? What kind of employees do you want on your team?
Okay, here’s an update: As I’m writing this article I had the opportunity to ask my wonderful flight attendant, named Brooke (must be in the name), how they decide who gets to work the first class cabin.
Amazing information. She said it depends on seniority. They have a bid process and with enough experience and desire they may bid on working the first class cabin. Brooke also said most flight attendants want to work in the back because there is less to do. I thought just the opposite because there are so many more passengers in the back.
She also let me know that she prefers to work up front because a lot of the attendants in the back are very negative and she just doesn’t enjoy having to apologize for someone’s behavior. WOW WOW WOW. That’s not different than our day-to-day experience is it? It’s hard to work along someone who is not pulling their weight or has a bad attitude!
Our employees depend on one another to be positive. I think when everyone embraces the job at hand rather than trying to find a way to do as little as possible that service moves to a VIP level.
I’m curious to know if you have a first class training program. I do believe we know who we value as first class service minded team members. Wouldn’t it be cool to create a program for our staff and maybe even our guests that put them in that VIP role? What do you think?
