Customer Engagement is a Contact Sport and Much More…

Spirit Airlines Files for Bankruptcy, Again

It doesn’t matter how cheaply you sell your services and products; customers will not buy from you if your customer service is lousy. Spirit Airlines, the most hated brand in the US,  has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the second time in less than a year. This move comes just months after the airline emerged from its previous bankruptcy in March. Despite efforts to restructure its debt and operations, Spirit faces significant financial challenges, including high operating costs, weak demand for domestic leisure travel, and failed merger attempts with JetBlue and Frontier Airlines.

It is All About Perspective

Check out this great video. It reminds us that our struggles are not exclusive, and they’re “NOT ABOUT YOU!”

*Episode 221: Creating Memorable Experiences The Alpin Haus Journey

We are Currently Living in the Good Ole Days

Featured Article:

Customer Engagement is a Contact Sport.

World-class customer experience brands remove personal interpretation. Don’t just tell your employees to be present or to provide genuine hospitality without telling them how. Make it black and white and make it measurable. One of my favorite hospitality systems for creating a customer connection is the “5 E’s.”

1. Eye contact
2. Ear-to-ear smile
3. Enthusiastic greeting
4. Engage
5. Educate

Eye Contact

This eliminates the head-down, uncaring, robotic feeling when the frontline employee asks, “Next.” An excellent training method is to audit the employees by periodically asking them, “What was the color of the Customer’s eyes?”

Ear-to-Ear Smile

A smile is part of the uniform, and a smile has teeth. Demonstrate a positive attitude and let the Customers know you are happy to serve them.

Enthusiastic Greeting

Your greeting must demonstrate genuine warmth, not just a trained greeting. It should be one that shows enthusiasm in the voice, coupled with a smile and eye contact. We need to be giving genuine hospitality, as if the Customer were an old friend visiting our home.

Engage

Many companies provide little direction to employees on how to engage a Customer. This doesn’t have to be a ten-minute conversation. Every Customer can be engaged within the time it typically takes to serve them, be it ninety seconds in the fast food environment, two minutes on a phone call, or forty-five minutes in a meeting. This action demonstrates to the Customers that they are not a herd of cattle or one of a hundred Customers. It eliminates being too task-focused on the transaction and replaces that approach with real interaction, which starts with using our names and the Customers’ names. Utilize any Customer intelligence you can: find info in a database; recognize a name badge; point out a picture of their twins on the desk, a hat, a college shirt, a tie, or glasses; or do anything else that helps you connect with the Customer.

Educate

This may slightly affect the time of service in industries built around a rapid pace (fast food) and may have to have an “above and beyond” action when it is warranted (e.g., a new Customer unfamiliar with the menu). For the rest of us, it should have zero impact on productivity and be demonstrated every single time. Think of stores like Nordstrom and Apple. Their employees are brilliant about their products and applications.

I love the 5 E’s for the following reasons: (1) They are so simple to do, (2) they can be effective with every Customer, (3) the first four take zero time to execute, (4) they demonstrate genuine hospitality, and finally, (5) practically no one else is doing them even 25 percent of the time. The 5 E’s also apply to professional service providers or internal Customer service, support, or call-center environments.

Three Ways Your Employees Engage Your Customers

It is important to note that not all 5 E’s should be used in every customer encounter, as some might appear unrealistic in certain circumstances. Employees engage with customers in three ways: incidental contact, secondary contact, and primary contact.

Incidental Contact

Incidental Contact is traditionally very brief, like a walk-by, seeing the Customers (coming within ten feet), but not necessarily coming in direct contact with them, where you will have a conversation. This can be anyone in your business, from the President to the maintenance personnel. In these cases, only the first two E’s should be executed every time and take a total of two seconds to execute:

1. Eye contact
2. Ear-to-ear smile

Secondary Contact

Secondary contact with the Customer is usually a member of the support team, e.g., a hostess, a greeter, or a receptionist. The first three E’s should be executed every time, while only taking a total of two seconds to execute simultaneously:

1. Eye contact
2. Ear-to-ear smile
3. Enthusiastic greet

Primary Contact

Primary contact is more involved, generally with the service’s main person, e.g., a service provider, account executive, consultant, or customer service rep. All five E’s need to be executed every time. The first three only take a few seconds to execute. The fourth and fifth ‘E’s are a little more detailed, can be done quickly and efficiently, and are where the relationships are made and expertise is demonstrated.

1. Eye contact
2. Ear-to-ear smile
3. Enthusiastic greet
4. Engage
   1. Use your name
   2. Use the Customer’s name
   3. Provide Secret Service (FORD, customer intelligence)
5. Educate
   1. Ask “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

Empower Your Team to Deliver Genuine Hospitality and World-Class Experiences Every Time

Book a complimentary advisory call with a DiJulius Group expert today. You’ll learn how to empower your team, consistently create exceptional experiences, and, ultimately, build a culture that keeps top talent and loyal customers coming back.