How's your communication and experiential alignment?
May 30, 2018
Gail Bower in Experience, Marketing
If you were in Gail Bower's community, you'd have gotten this earlyGet on the list to be among the first to receive more important articles just like this one.


On that Tuesday morning in April as my shoes caused the security apparatus at the Philadelphia International Airport to buzz, passengers on a Southwest flight nearly crashed to the ground.


I didn’t know this as I exited security. Nor as I ate lunch. Nor even as our plane taxied out to the runway.

I found out when my flight was delayed while sitting on the tarmac. A passenger seated behind me, who had switched off airplane mode and switched on the news, trying to find an answer about why our flight encountered what would become a 5-hour delay. 

Did our delay have something to do with the Southwest flight? We didn’t know.

Nor did the flight team. The pilot earned our trust by reliably returning to the airplane airwaves every 20 minutes, updating us with what he knew and didn’t. Something about a warning light on the dashboard of the cockpit. Then a return to the terminal. Then we disembarked and went to a new gate and a new plane. Then an interminable wait. And finally we were in the sky and landing at our destination.

The pilot was human and believable. When we changed planes, the airline surprised us with sandwiches, snacks, and beverages. A couple days later American Airlines emailed me, acknowledging their disappointment at not meeting expectations and giving me 4,000 extra miles in my AAdvantage account. 
All of this was refreshingly — even uncharacteristically — positive customer service by American Airlines that kept the mood light and passengers patient. 

So what’s the problem?

Auto emails nearly undercut the experience. Let me explain.

We believed the pilot. We collectively came to a hush when we heard his voice coming through the speakers. He was reliable by showing up every 20 minutes, even if the only update he could give us was that he had nothing new to tell us. 

But the airline’s email alerts gave us false hopes with at least 12 new definitive departure and arrival times. 

We need information when we’re traveling — or taking any kind of action — but when technology tells us one thing and a live human being tells us something different, one begins to undermine the other.

Does the pilot really not know when we’re leaving and is the auto-email that says 2:14 p.m. correct? If he does, why isn’t he telling us? And if he doesn’t, why is the email so definitive?

Can you see how this becomes problematic?

Here’s a challenge for you and your team. Imagine the experience of your organization for your client. Actually, don’t just imagine, take the steps. Walk the process. Dial the phone number. Look at what your customer sees through every point of their interaction with your organization and staff. How is this experience?

Now take a look at your communication materials. Does one reinforce the other? Or does one seem like a totally different organization from the other?

If you were the customer, what would your perception and experience be?

If you’d like, send me an email and let me know what you discover.

Article originally appeared on Gail Bower (https://gailbower.com/).
See website for complete article licensing information.