The reporting on the airline situation seems to be reduced to a low simmer, but I continue to mull how this happened. My theory is that there is a huge disconnect with whatever their mission statement outlines (which is impossible to find on their website or through other means) and what happened since the ink dried. I have to assume that there is at least a mention of serving customers within the document that is supposed to guide the ship. Don’t most organizations have a hint, if not a direct reference, about being “service–driven” or “customer–focused” woven somewhere into their mission?
WHY? discusses this. It doesn’t happen by just writing it down. It cannot be implemented successfully unless the leaders at the top ensure that their philosophy and actions set the proper stage. They have to live it and breathe it every day. All processes and procedures in place must also support the goal to be customer–driven. This is the only effective path to establishing and maintaining a customer–centric culture. The initial statements the airline put out indicated to me that they are not there yet. I do hope they make good on their more recent statements to take a thorough look at current procedures for crucial improvements. Actually, there are many companies that might want to consider the same review of their organizations.
Don’t wait for a disaster to happen. It CAN be done.
