How much is exceptional customer service worth?

Today's Wall Street Journal fetes United Airlines Captain Denny Flanagan, who, in this day of cut rate airlines and even more cut rate service, buys delayed passengers food, raffles off unused first class wine in the coach cabin, and most importantly, goes out of his way to make customers feel informed and appreciated. The article's lead paragraphs:

When pets travel in cargo compartments, the United Airlines veteran snaps pictures of them with his cellphone camera, then shows owners that their animals are on board. In the air, he has flight attendants raffle off 10% discount coupons and unopened bottles of wine. He writes notes to first-class passengers and elite-level frequent fliers on the back of his business cards, addressing them by name and thanking them for their business. If flights are delayed or diverted to other cities because of storms, Capt. Flanagan tries to find a McDonald's where he can order 200 hamburgers, or a snack shop that has apples or bananas he can hand out.

And when unaccompanied children are on his flights, he personally calls parents with reassuring updates. "I picked up the phone and he said, 'This is the captain from your son's flight,' " said Kenneth Klein, whose 12-year-old son was delayed by thunderstorms in Chicago last month on a trip from Los Angeles to see his grandfather in Toronto. "It was unbelievable. One of the big problems is kids sit on planes and no one tells you what's happening, and this was the exact opposite."

I don't know how much United is paying Captain Flanagan, but I'm sure it isn't enough. A front page, middle-column story in the Wall Street Journal can't be bought, but a tiny front page ad goes for around $75,000 to $100,000, and this article was significantly larger. Further, Capt. Fanagan's efforts have undoubtedly retained numerous customers who might have defected to other airlines, and with the lifetime customer value of a loyal airline customer ranging in the low to high six figures, his exceptional customer service could easily be valued in the millions of dollars in revenue retention and cost savings.

An industry is in sad shape when serving customers well merits front page news. This story shows that the best marketing is done not by marketers, but by employees deciding to do what they can to make the customer's experience better. And maybe, just maybe, if other captains and airlines follow Captain Flanagan's example, it may be a starting point for the airline industry's service to climb out of this summer's low point.

Technorati Tags: Airlines, Customer service, Denny Flanagan, United Airlines, Wall Street Journal