I'm on a Southwest Airlines flight, something I vowed I would never do again but I didn't really have a choice. It has reminded me of all the things I hate about Southwest, notable exceptions being seat and leg room. It also has me thinking about customer service again... here's my latest thought: Is good customer service obtained by accomplishing the task where as good customer satisfaction is more about how the task is accomplished?
In other words focusing on customer service is getting someone to a satisfactory conclusion where as customers satisfaction is more a function of the journey, the how, you get someone to a satisfactory conclusion.
Take the example of my Southwest flight. Did they meet their obligations? Yes, I got to and from my destination on time. However, the staff appeared unprofessional both in action and attire (again) the flight was oversold (again) lack of seat assignments caused boarding to take twice as long (again), etc. etc. etc. So while the function of taking me from point A to point B was accomplished the poor way with which it was done has reinforced my commitment to never fly them again (unless it's out of my control)
Just musings, I think I'll need to think more about this to decide if this has merit or not. Comments or thoughts?
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