Let’s face it, nothing runs perfectly at 100%. Mistakes happen, and sometimes things just don’t go as planned. But here’s the thing – how an organization handles those hiccups can make all the difference in the world. That’s where onsite recovery comes into play. It’s all about fixing problems right then and there, and it’s a total game-changer for customer experience. I’m going to share it fresh from a recent flight delay incident with Malaysian Airlines. They’ve made some progress but there’s a big gap too.
Here’s what happened. At 3pm, I was informed by SMS and email about a delay and a retimed flight back by around 1 hour and 45 minutes. Not the best of news but at least they did inform you so I know that there’s no rush to check-in. The challenge with today’s stretched cost-efficient focus airline is that you have little buffer in the system. One delay cascades and snowballs into a large one as there is little additional capacity (aircraft) to step into the gap.
The problem was if you searched FlightRadar and Google for flight info, I was able to get more information than any update I was receiving. This means the local team wasn’t in the know – if they did, I definitely did NOT get that impression.
Here’s a tip to find out if your flight is about to be delayed: Airlines typically use a particular aircraft to on a circuit of routes, i.e. FH01 from A to B, then FH11 back to A, then FH20 from A to C and then FH21 back to A where A is the home airport. If the first flight (FH01) is fairly delayed, and you’re waiting for FH21 like me, the delay is probably quite bad by then. So, I look for FH21, find the aircraft registration, then search for the aircraft registration – it will give all the flights of the day like above.
So clearly, I knew it was a bad delay, since FH01 in my case, was delayed by 3 hours. To be fair, the airline tried to make up the lost time the best they could but 3 hours was a bit hard to recover from. My delay ended being from 7:30pm to 9:40pm. Granted, it’s a small municipal airport with limited facilities (Tawau, TWU), the airline could have done 2 basic things immediately to make this better easily.
- Let us know when FH20 departs – this dictates when the aircraft will arrive and therefore, what would the earliest time we could depart. I know this because I set the alert in the FlightRadar app to notify me on take-off. Unknowns are uncomfortable so imagine if you heard an announcement about the aircraft taking off and arriving at 9pm instead of just waiting.
- A simple meal or snack voucher would have made the passengers happier, less grumpy and the wait much easier.
Both options don’t cost much but go a long way in making the problem bearable for everyone. An immediate fix, is an immediate happy customer for sure!
Instant Fixes = Happy Customers
Imagine you’re at a restaurant, and your order comes out wrong. You’re hungry and annoyed, right? But then, the staff quickly swoops in, apologizes, and fixes the issue on the spot. Suddenly, you’re not so annoyed anymore. That’s the magic of onsite recovery. It turns potential disasters into no big deal, keeping customers happy and preventing small issues from turning into big complaints and angry social posts!
Trust is a precious commodity
When a business fixes problems fast, it sends a message: “Hey, we’ve got your back.” This builds trust and loyalty, which are like gold in this competitive environment. Customers who feel valued and taken care of are more likely to stick around and even spread the good word about their experience. Trust equates to a very high NPS score.
Empowering the Frontline
Let’s give it up for the frontline staff! These are the folks who interact with customers daily, and they need to be able to handle problems as they arise. Giving them the tools and authority to do onsite recovery not only makes customers happy but also boosts staff morale. I’ve written about how the lowest employee ends up dictating how an organization’s CX is defined means we really need to empower our employees – from the bottom up!
Turning Oops into Wow
The coolest thing about onsite recovery? It can turn a negative experience into a memorable, positive one. Customers are likely to remember how a business went above and beyond to fix a problem, and that can turn them into loyal fans.
In a Nutshell – Good CX is Good Recovery
Onsite recovery is a big deal for customer experience. It’s all about fixing problems on the fly, building trust, empowering staff, and turning negative experiences into positive ones. In today’s world, where customers expect top-notch service, nailing onsite recovery can really set a business apart. So, if you really want customer trust, and show that we’re serious about customer experience, we need to ensure that people and processes are in place to deliver wow, especially when things go wrong. Everyone loves a rescue.
