On The Road Home

Well - I'm traveling home over today and tomorrow so I'll miss an article or two. Coming home is always a great thing but what makes the travel easier to bare is good customer service. Surprisingly it does not take a whole lot to make it easier either.

A hotel employee remembering your name, the airport ticket counter being quick and friendly and an airport lounge to relax in making the stress of travel easier. I've had those times where a ticket counter employee just couldn't seem to be pleasant at all. It is those times when you have to convince yourself to be the bigger person and smile. Getting angry just doesn't solve anything, raises tension in yourself, the other person and those around you.

But when I encounter the good customer service, the quick customer service and the 'doing just a bit more for you' customer service...then those people have made a difference. Airlines are having a tough thing going right now and it will be interesting to see if customer service is effected.

In one particular airline magazine for a major airline based out of Atlanta that recently entered bankruptcy - no names but you probably know - they are talking now two months running about how important customer service is. This tells me they are concerned that it could become an issue and their employees are going to be struggling to maintain a positive attitude.

It will take a lot of hard work and convincing by this company to keep the employees in a good frame of mind. But each of the individual employees have to take on the task as well. As an individual, you need to assume the responsibility of maintaining your own attitude. As an employer, you need to foster an environment in which individuals can achieve that attitude.

I hope the best for this company and more so for the employees of that company. I went through a situation of downsizing at a company before being bought out. People that I knew lost their job...but those that were able to remain, including myself had to work through the negative feelings and keep a good attitude. Not only for customers, but for our families, friends and ourselves.

Work through it folks as only you can. Keep up the the great attitude and I'll pass it along as well when I pass through the airports in my travels. See you in a couple of days.