Just Talk To Me!

Last week, I endured another unpleasant airline trip and it got me thinking. I was on my way from Albuquerque to Boston to teach workshops the next day.

The day began at 3 AM with a recorded call from American Airlines alerting me that my scheduled flight was delayed so I couldn't make my connection. Nothing more.

I called AA a couple of hours later and after a 30 minute hold to reach a human, more holds while someone wearily tried to solve my problem, I was booked on United flights instead.

In Houston, we boarded the plane to Boston...and sat at the gate, seat belts fastened, in a steaming hot plane for 3 hours...with little to no communication from flight attendants or flight deck. Passengers were restless, calling UA directly or checking via the Internet to gain information about why were were delayed, when we would leave, when we would arrive in Boston, etc.

The result? 200+ people left to wonder about their fate that day. Canceling plans. Delaying pick ups. Stressing out. And, ultimately, swearing they would never fly on United again!

Of course, this time of year, one expects weather delays in airports, so it was no surprise.

But the way both these airlines handled inevitable delays is a perfect example of why people get angry when they are left out of the loop, left to wonder, made to feel undervalued.

It got me to thinking about how often we probably do the same thing in our organizations. We either simply assume that everyone knows what is going on, or we appear to be too busy to stop and talk, or we let our own problems overshadow the work of others...

And all it takes is communication. Talk to employees. Talk to the board of directors. Talk to donors. Talk to those we serve. Empathize and understand.

If the 200+ people in the hot airplane were a part of the conversation, were kept in the loop about things that affected them directly, were offered water (for Pete's sake), were given a word of understanding for how inconvenienced they were, the end result would have been a positive feeling about the airline.

Food for thought...since there was no food on the airplane!

Jean Block
www.jblockinc.com