It never ceases to amaze me how organizations of all sizes forget the influence their employees have over projecting the organizational face to their clients. Organizations will spend tons of money on marketing campaigns to influence the markets they serve.  But when it comes to the rubber hitting the road, it's how organizations actually treat their clients that will have the greatest influence on customer service.

Recently, I was on one of my many business trips when I was confronted by one of the most dissatisfying experiences in customer service I have ever realized.  During a change of planes in Detroit, a gate agent for a major U.S. airline forgot that his job is to safely manage the flow of passenger traffic on and off of aircraft, and to do his part to influence customer satisfaction within the scope of his ability.  Without going into the details of the event, we'll just say this gate agent stepped broadly across the line of being rude.  Granted, there were some minor weather delays during the day.  But, there were certainly no obvious environmental issues that would lead to such inappropriate behavior.

The event was so poorly managed by the airline, I opted to change air carriers and reroute to another destination to avoid spending my money with this airline.  Even at a significant additional expense to myself, I felt so strongly about not rewarding poor customer service I would not fly the airline.  The alternative airline, who was actually the ticket issuer and was partnering with the other airline as a code-share, commented on the particular gate agent as being a "train wreck".  They have also commented that from their vantage point (20 feet away); the gate agent had been behaving like that for months.

Here's my point.  Why would a struggling company, such as the airline in question, allow individuals to damage customer perception?  If the gate agent was such a "train wreck" then how might the people who maintain and operate the aircraft perform?  Why would anybody place their individual safety in the hands of an airline who does not behave in an acceptable manner?  Why would an organization spend millions of dollars in developing a perception only to allow their investment to be minimized by a couple of bad apples?  Why would another airline allow its partner (code-share) to carry on in such a fashion?  It's crazy, isn't it?

Organizations must consider all aspects of how customer perception is created.  From the office staff who answers the phone, to the pilot who greets passengers as they enter the aircraft, perception generation must be a key consideration for long term sustainability.  Organizations should consider perception generation as a key business process which must be continuously monitored and enhanced.  The more enjoyable an experience is the prone one is to desire the positive experience again.  And, the easier it is to do business with an organization, the higher the likelihood customers will flock to spend their money. 

These thoughts come from two areas of thought.  The first is from sociology and human nature, stimulus and response.  Humans desire pleasure and avoid pain.  The second is the water principal.  Water will flow the path of least resistance, as will cash flow.  Here are a few things to keep in mind when considering the capability of perception development in your organization.

• Every employee who can possibly come in contact with a customer must understand the importance of generating a positive perception.
• Employees who have contact with customers have the greatest influence on customer perception.
• Suppliers and partners are perceived by the customer as a part of the organization and the perception generated is directly linked to the organization (this includes code-shares).
• If perception development is not measured and controlled, then the perception created is not in control.
• Environmental influences such as stress can have a direct influence on perception development.
• Organizational leadership is ultimately responsible for the attitudes of its employees and must hold themselves accountable for the outcomes.
• Organizations must empower their employees to break the cycle of environmental stress which may lead to negative perceptions.

For example and on a lighter note, in the same month the noted event occurred, I also experienced a wonderful surprise when a different airline did its best to improve a situation with a minor investment.  Another flight was delayed by hours, this time in Milwaukee.  Since the weather was the cause there was little the gate agents could do to expedite the situation.  But in this case the local station manger took the initiative to bring stacks of free pizza to the stranded passengers and kept passengers informed of how the situation was evolving.  There was even an investment in humor as gate agents took a light-hearted approach to the updated announcements.  Though it was not a huge investment for the airline, these good intentions created a lot of value by decreasing the level of stress in the environment.  Not only was the reduced stress a good thing for the passengers, but also the gate agents.  The cycle of frustration was broken.

Now here's the challenge, what can you do to influence customer perception?  I bet you can make a difference.