Thought I'd share this letter with y'all...wrote it on the plane during the flight referenced. I've written this sort of letter in the past...in one case, the flight attendant wrote me a personal letter in return to thank me for the effort and words, proving that Customer Care does indeed forward these letters as asked.

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Northwest Airlines
Customer Care
P.O. Box 1908
Minot, ND 58701

Subject: Letter of praise for one of your flight attendants, Ms. DXXXXX FXXXXXX, clock # ######

To whom it may concern:

It is my pleasure to take the time to write this letter in praise of one of your flight attendants, Ms. DXXXXXX FXXXXXXX, who worked Northwest Flight 447 from MEM to MSP on Sunday August 12, 2007. (Yes, I asked her for her clock # to use for this letter; you will read why below.)

I fly Northwest just about every week as a multi-year WorldPerks Platinum Elite level flyer (my WorldPerks number can be found at the bottom of this letter), well qualified to provide these observations and request that this letter be added to this flight attendant’s personnel file for use during her next performance appraisal.

This letter does not come from me lightly; most of the time I find the frequent flying experience to be quite an ordeal, even more so on Northwest during the past year or two when many of your employees, both in flight and on the ground, have chosen to take their frustrations regarding their relationship with management out on customers, in the form of poor morale, surly demeanors, and “bare minimum” customer service. (Sidebar: While I believe that many, and perhaps most, of those frustrations are quite valid, as a paying customer I also believe that it is never acceptable for customers to bear the brunt of that frustration.)

Returning to the subject of Ms. FXXXXXXX, here’s why she’s “a cut above”, based on my interaction with her on today’s flight:

- There was clearly something “different” about her greeting to boarding passengers…she truly seemed glad to see and interact with her latest planeload of flyers. The initial greeting at the beginning and the “b’bye” at the end must be a flight attendant’s most mundane moments of work, especially if it’s a bad day or he/she is not enjoying her job or her management, and yet DXXXXXX had a “sparkle”…it was obvious.

- I noted during the routine pre-flight safety announcement (to which, as you know, most frequent flyers like myself barely tune in), she made some subtle verbiage tweaks to make it more engaging. Not one of Northwest’s legal/safety obligations was affected, and yet I was instantly more aware.


- She is a rare flight attendant who uses the flight’s passenger manifest and calls each passenger by name during the in-flight service, a small detail and extra effort that is BIG to those of us who know the difference.

- During the in-flight food/beverage service, I noticed that the snack tray excluded one of the items I enjoy that is usually available, and I made a joking comment about it (of course I know that flight attendants cannot control what is provided when a plane is catered). Still, she volunteered to check, and returned with one of those items apparently left over from a previous flight; again, a small and otherwise-inconsequential gesture that in the overall scheme of her excellent service was duly noted and greatly appreciated.

- I also observed that her level of customer service was provided to every customer equally. (Note: Despite my Platinum status, I typically don’t wear the “frequent business traveler uniform” – instead, I travel in shorts, T-shirt, and carry a backpack instead of a rollerboard, and thus look more like a once-a-year leisure traveler – and yet I enjoyed a premium customer experience as a result of DXXXXXXX’s efforts.)

Quite simply, DXXXXXX represents the “gold standard” of customer service. The “little things” matter. As I mentioned above, I fly just about every week, and in my own career as a business owner/traveling technical consultant, I am also in the face-to-face customer service business. I know the difference between someone “going through the motions” vs. someone who still “gets it”, still takes pride in her work, and still cares about providing the best possible customer service, even in the face of budget cuts, labor and management contentiousness, lowered morale, and all the other tribulations of the Legacy Airline experience these days. DXXXXXX represents the latter, at the highest level.

Again, I respectfully request that you see to it that this is forwarded to her direct management so that it may be used as input to her next performance appraisal (and I would also like DXXXXXX to be forwarded a copy as soon as possible, without delay, as a short-term morale-booster; she’s earned it!). More importantly, please make sure that she survives any and all upcoming budget cuts that may cost some flight attendants their jobs…this is one you DON’T want to lose. This is the type of employee who should be showcased as an example of what you want all Northwest employees to be.

Thanks for your attention and anticipated action on this matter.

Sincerely,


***drat19***
Northwest WorldPerks number: #########

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