One of the best examples of customer service I’ve ever experienced

In my last entry I talked about how global business has become and how many changes that has created. One of the most significant changes has been in business travel. If you think about it, from the tip of Florida to the northwest corner of Washington state is about a five-and-a-half or six-hour flight — and you can catch one every four or five hours. But, from Los Angeles to Singapore is 18-and-a-half hours, and there are only two or three daily.

So, while a mistake in flight arrangements in the states is measured in hours, a mistake in arrangements half a world away could be measured in days. Here is the story of my worst flight situation.

I had been in Hong Kong for about a week and a half. It was early days in the global phenomenon, and my first trip to Asia. The business portion of the trip had gone extremely well. It was Friday and I was going home. The fun part about going to Asia is that you can leave Hong Kong on a Friday and arrive in Los Angeles earlier in the day on Friday than you left Hong Kong to begin with. It’s a bit of a mind-bender.

In any case, I had a full weekend planned and I was literally whistling a happy little tune to myself as I left my hotel and set off on my return journey. I got to the airport in plenty of time to make the flight and all was well until I handed my ticket to the gate agent. He asked me, “Mr. Frazier, did you call ahead to confirm this flight?” I stopped whistling. No, I had not. He said, “Mr. Frazier, this ticket was for yesterday.” Have you ever been hit in the stomach when you were not expecting it? I have not, but I think it is probably the feeling I was having.

Then, I got another punch. Not only was I a day late, but the airline was having a special on flights from Hong Kong to L.A. or San Francisco — there were no available seats until Monday. What had started as a great day had turned to $%#^. I couldn’t even yell at anyone because it was my own fault.

The gate agent, who was a wonderfully professional young man, told me to check the other airlines to see if there was availability. He said to come back in 20 minutes, he’d try to help me out. Of course, if one airline is having a special, all the other airlines follow suit … no seats anywhere. To top it off, I called the hotel I had just left and they had no rooms. I started scanning the seats in the airport to decide which one would be my home for the weekend.

I went back to the gate agent, and he and I started to work. He told me to stay with him as he searched his computer because I might have to make a split-second decision in order to secure a seat. To this day, I do not think I have ever seen anyone type faster. He would type for a bit, and then shake his head, more typing, more head-shaking, until finally he looked at me and said, “Would you mind sitting in a broken seat that will not recline?” Hmmm, 14 hours in a seat that will not recline versus sleeping in the Hong Kong airport for three days? Heck no I did not mind being in a broken seat. I was willing to fly on the wing if I needed to — just get me home.

When I got on the plane, the flight attendant met me and reminded me that the seat was broken, but she told me to hit the call button when the pilot turned off the fasten seat belt sign and she would see if she could repair my seat. Of course, I tested the seat, and sure enough, it wouldn’t budge. I dutifully hit the button at the appropriate time and she came over, took the cover off the front of the seat, hit a button inside, and voilà the seat worked perfectly. She did say that she wanted me to ring the button again prior to landing. I did this and she repeated the process. When she was done, the seat did not work. Then it dawned on me: The gate agent had somehow created a broken seat in the computer. He had communicated with the flight attendant and they worked together to get me home when there were no seats available. I will probably never see either one of them again, but they are one of the best examples of customer service I’ve ever experienced, so if you ever get a chance to fly Cathay Pacific –I heartily recommend it. You’ll also be happy to know I always double check my departure dates whenever I travel.

This blog post was contributed by Greg Frazier, executive VP of supply chain services, worldwide, at Avnet Electronics Marketing. Greg is charged with designing supply-chain strategies for the company’s global suppliers and customers. He also has responsibility for Avnet’s global-accounts model and the business migration initiative, helping customers that are transitioning their business to different global regions.