Tuesday’s The Wall Street Journal had a great article on Denny Flanagan, a United Airlines pilot who provides incredible customer support – he buys delayed passengers McDonald’s, calls the parents of unaccompanied minors with updates and takes pictures with his cell phone camera of animals in the cargo hold to show the owners their pets are OK. The story reminded me of The Fred Factor by Mark Sanborn. In The Fred Factor, Sanborn relates the story of his postman, Fred, who constantly exceeds his expectations and provides incredible customer service.
In an age when Pottery Barn sends me, as I’m 8 months pregnant, a form letter telling me that the baby dresser I ordered in June won’t be delivered until November at the earliest, I love hearing stories about the Dennys and Freds of the world.
And every time I hear such a tale, I wonder what exactly it is that makes them consistently go beyond the call of duty. It’s not a huge raise based on customer satisfaction ratings. It’s not a big promotion (Fred had been a mail carrier for years).
I have to believe there’s some incredible internal motivation, but what is the root cause? Any thoughts?
DS
I had the same thoughts when I read the article on pilot Denny Flanagan--he's definitely a "Fred"! As someone who flies 160 days a year, I only wish there were more like him.
Thanks for mentioning my book, The Fred Factor. You have an excellent blog.
Posted by: Mark Sanborn | August 30, 2007 at 10:59 AM