Sometimes, opportunity is found in places where most people think all opportunity has already been found. Take the airport, for instance. Think about the times you’ve flown out of or into an airport. Much of what you do or what the airport offers you hasn’t really changed in several years.
Recently, I flew out of an airport I’ve flown out of many times before. It’s the same airport where I’ve dropped off dozens upon dozens of rental cars. It’s been the same drill every time: Drop off car, roll bags to terminal, check in for flight, take off. Except this time was different.
This time, a skycap (the people who work outside the airport terminal, checking in people and bags), was waiting right where people drop off rental cars. And he was waiting with a trolley. I just happened to have numerous bags that I was already dreading dragging into the airport. And, I was thinking ahead to where the automated baggage carts were so I could swipe my credit card and push them inside myself.
But here, the skycap created opportunity, several of them, by simply showing up. Typically, travelers only see the skycap just outside the terminal. I’ve actually never seen them anywhere else. Many travelers use the skycap because a lot of flyers instinctively head to the airline agents inside, creating a backlog, and seasoned travelers know the skycap can save a lot of time.
But this skycap thought differently. By just waiting with that trolley, he created opportunity. It was an opportunity to help me out. It was an opportunity to make the airline he worked for look good. It was an opportunity for a good tip. It left a big enough impression on me that I’m writing this column about it. Minutes after checking in the bags, handing me my boarding pass and parting ways, he saw that I was trying to figure out where my gate was inside the airport. He could have just walked by and gotten onto the next traveler. After all, he’d already gotten a nice tip. But he stopped and helped me, again.
What kind of customer service is this? The most amazing kind! It was completely unexpected, timely and he went above and beyond what I’ve ever experienced at an airport.
So, of course, now I’m wondering whether this skycap’s colleagues will do the same thing. Was this customer service experience something that will catch on? Was this a fluke? I really hope not. It made my airport experience much less painful.
So, what do you do that you think no other parts store or warehouse does? If you don’t mind sharing, drop me a line at [email protected].
