United Airlines used to have the tagline “Fly the Friendly Skies” to encourage travelers to pick their airline over others for that personal touch. Having flown recently, I appreciate the difference a little friendliness can make while traveling. Despite all the improvements in aviation, technology and procedures, flying can still be a very stressful experience. Between the bag fees, security lines, delays and crowded flights, it can be downright unpleasant.
My last flight experience was complicated to say the least. We arrived at the airport to find that our flight had been delayed, then watched the electronic board as the status was changed to canceled due to strong storms in the area. Many flights were canceled that evening and we joined a long line of similarly displaced passengers to wait for our chance to be rebooked. The next day, we were on our way to our destination and were assigned seats directly behind the first class cabin with lots of legroom…score!
The patience expressed by the airline staff was commendable. Despite not having any control over the circumstances, they endured angry outbursts, steely glares and temper tantrums from children way too young and tired to understand why they were not on a shiny plane yet. It takes a special type of person to respond to extreme dissatisfaction with a smile and a solution.
As a service company, Teltek is often in the position of taking a call from someone in dire need and we are happy to do what we can to make the situation better. Whether it’s calling Verizon for you to find out why there is static on the line or sending one of our technicians out with a crash cart to replace a belly-up phone system, we want your experience to be as stress-free as possible.
One of our special Teltek touches is our own customer service practice for incoming phone calls. Unless all of us are in a meeting or it’s after business hours, every call is answered by a Teltek team member. It’s not an automated voice asking you to press 1 for sales and 2 for service, it’s a live person who cares about your problem and is eager to assist you, or at least facilitate the fix.
It’s not just us that makes the interaction so pleasant, Teltek has some of the world’s best customers! The calls we get 95% of the time are from patient, professional and thoughtful people who sometimes go as far to say “I’m sorry to bother you with this” when reporting that the have no dial tone or can’t receive faxes.
It seems more people are learning that although anger and frustration are natural emotions, it’s not the best tactic to lead with that when trying to communicate with the person empowered to fix the problem. If you are patient and kind when reporting your issue, most likely those attributes will be reflected back to you. While it’s a challenge to answer negativity with a smile, a true professional will dig deep and find a way to pull that off.
Just remember, if your skies are not friendly, that passenger will keep trying other airlines until they find that level of customer service. Having a positive and helpful attitude will help you and your customers soar above any problem.