Customer Service ROCKS!
Day 208 of Photo Inspirations — Customer Service ROCKS!!!
Day before yesterday I arrived safely back home in Tulsa on my Southwest Airlines flight — all was well, except one of my bags didn’t arrive. I routinely completed the missing bag report and was assured that my bag would probably be in on the next flight from Chicago. Southwest has been my airline of choice for a long time. I’m a fan because:
1) I always find a better airfare with them when I book 14 days out.
2) Their seating style is great — you get to choose where you want to sit (in order of your check-in).
3) Two bags can be checked in for free.
4) FREE inflight TV and music
5) Hilarious, singing flight attendants. And the rest of their personnel are friendly and courteous.
6) You still get free peanuts and pretzels.
7) There’s NO First Class Seating — you can go to whichever washroom you want.
8) Their flights are on time…..most of the time.
9) I had to make changes on my return flight from Seattle — no upcharge to change.
No, this isn’t a ploy to get you to fly with Southwest It’s a simple “give credit where credit is due”.
THEN — the unthinkable happened. Since there are two bags FREE, I reasoned it would be a good idea to check in all those things that I typically put in my carry-on, and this time, it included my computer — the computer that has all my graphics, photos, business contracts, and extremely important documents in it. So WHAT was I thinking? Perhaps, this was the Good Ship Lollipop? Actually, as one representative said, “The bag was probably held up in Security because of the computer” — it probably wasn’t a SWA issue, but a mistake on my part.
So what do I do when a crisis like this takes place? I go to the phone AND the throne. I texted my prayer walking friends to pray with me for protection and safe return of my luggage AND my computer. They did. I did. Throughout the day I would thank God for the safe return of my belongings, and then call to see if they had word. Each time….no word.
Then while I was at a women’s meeting last night, Cindy from Southwest called to tell me my bag had arrived in Tulsa. She was the one I filed the original report with. She was so kind and accommodating and apologized (even though it sure wasn’t her fault). I gave her thanks and to God and my angels for the blessing. When I told the women at the meeting about my answer to prayer, one lady said, “I’ll bet your computer won’t be in it!” I assured her that my trust was in God. After the meeting, I headed to the airport and as I walked to the door, I noticed this penny on the ground. I never miss picking up pennies. You see, on the penny is “In God We Trust” — and I’m always reminded, that it is HE that I trust in for the big AND small things. He is so faithful to me. At the Southwest baggage office, there was this smiling, sweet lady with my bag by her side…..as well as an envelope. The envelope contained a Southwest $50 voucher in it.
So now I’ve added another point about Southwest being so great: 10) They apologize profusely for the luggage delay and they back up their apology with a voucher for your trouble……even though it may not even be their fault.
Customer service and customer satisfaction is BIG on my list. Being a people person and I’ve been in sales and marketing for many years, I notice genuine care and concern for customers. This experience with Southwest gave me hope for other companies and businesses to become “customer-friendly and customer-focused”, too. But, the greatest part of this experience was, once again to take life in stride. Stuff happens and when it does…..SHIFT the focus off of the stress, concern and worry by picking up a penny, reading IN GOD WE TRUST….and REALLY trust Him for the outcome. “All things work together for good to those who love God and are the called according to His purposes.” Romans 8:28. That $50 voucher showed me how trusting in Him reaps great rewards. Thanks, God! Thanks, SWA!
#SouthwestAirlines #CustomerService #TypingOnMyAwesomeComputer