Indispensable: How to Become the Company That Your Customers Can't Live Without

Chapter 14. Repeatable Process

Is It in the Genes?

I'm on American Airlines flight 1088 from Nashville to New York. The flight attendant has been doing a great job—that perfect balance of thoroughly professional and warmly personable. So far—so good, but nothing really indispensable is going on. It's just a pleasant flight, and all is well.

The move toward indispensable came when the attendant approached me and said that she had seen from her passenger list that I was a two million mile flier with American Airlines. She said that, in this time of great stress and uncertainty for all airlines employees, she greatly appreciated my continued patronage. She then offered her hand and thanked me for "providing my paycheck." It's not a huge deal, but it made an impression. She went out of her way to thank me. Very few people do. I noticed. Indispensable companies become so through continuously making just that kind of impression.

I'm a very frequent flyer on a number of airlines, so I can roll out the travel customer service stories almost without end. What intrigues me about this particular incident, though, is my curiosity about exactly what prompted this flight attendant's behavior. It's probably not the direct result of a formal training program, although it certainly could be.

Maybe it's just genetics. Maybe she was born with some special relationship-building gene that drives her actions. Or maybe her parents raised her that way, or modeled such behavior throughout her life. If so, then ...