Hey Mr Branson Come Take A Walk With Me

Many of you who know me know that I am a raving Virgin fan, their brand, people, culture, service standards is, in my eyes, the best in the travel industry.

However recently I have had experiences that have made me grind my teeth. It did get me thinking though that if Virgin did not have enough “smiles” points me I probably would have changed airlines.

From flights being cancelled in the last minute, long delays, bags taking too long to come off the plane, lack of communication on where I should collect “odd shaped” luggage, having to pay extra for schedule changes etc and all within the last few weeks I must say my status of “raving fan” has been tarnished.

But the peseta la resistance was when I got an email on the 13th of November saying I had been upgraded to Gold Velocity Member to then get a second email to say sorry we were just playing a Friday the 13th joke.... hmmm... not funny!!

However like we put coins into a cookie jar at home, that doesn’t really empty, Virgin does have enough credit with me to retain my custom.
The interesting part to all of this is that in many of the above examples Virgin was not directly responsible for the issues the suppliers they work with were. As their client however I will hold Virgin responsible for any inconvenience caused not the baggage handlers at Sydney airport.

Think about the customers in your businesses. How much credit do you have with them? Do the suppliers who work with you provide an agreed level of service?

If your clients are simply satisfied because you are delivering to an expected service standard... i.e. you are no different to any other agency in town then you probably don’t have many credits at all.

Think about all the touch points your business has, what is the experience like for them at each of these, how are you wowing them, are you building up credits and creating raving fans.

Remember if clients cannot see or experience your service difference then they will make decisions based on price.

To create raving fans of your business you need to ensure that clients continue to come back and talk about you.

Don’t forget you will be remembered for what you do not what you say.