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A friend recently flew first class on a connecting flight, before heading out on a road trip.
He arrived. His luggage did not.
American Airlines said his suitcase—ironically marked “Priority” because of his first-class status—would arrive on a flight seven hours later.
By that time, my friend would be heading out on his eight-hour drive with about an hour of daylight. Not ideal.
He negotiated with the airline to provide a hotel room, so he could set out fresh in the morning.
Alas, the hotel they offered him was just a grade above a Motel 6. Disempowered the airline representative said, “My hands are tied.” There was nothing more she could do.
He stayed elsewhere.
What does this have to do with you?
This article is not about customer service and travel. Complaining about rampant travel problems is tedious, and this one clearly is a first world problem.
Rather, this story is about your mission and your brand.
Besides galvanizing your culture, your mission—whether you are a nonprofit, an entrepreneur, or a mid-size or larger organization—needs to have a through line.
If you’re American Airlines offering a first-class ticket, you need to offer a first-class experience. All the way through.
It’s inconsistent to charge $1200 for a first-class ticket, mark the luggage “Priority,” then forget to stick it on the plane. The through line is broken.
Sending a first-class customer—whose travels you've just disrupted—to a hotel that is inferior to “first class” also breaks that through line.
If your mission is about healthcare yet we see your employees smoking cigarettes in front of your hospital, we have cognitive dissonance.
If your bank’s mission is about the environment, yet your commercial lending department is funding mountain top removal for coal mining, you’re busted. We don’t believe you.
If your organization is putting an end to poverty but underpaying your staff, you’re contributing to the problem.
If your company champions women but prevents them from excelling in your offices, I don’t think so.
This week, take a walk around your offices or think about all your operations and look for these kinds of disparities.
Is your mission really reflected by your organization? Do you have what I call a “mission through line”? Or are your operations out of alignment with what you say your mission is?
These problems can creep up and surprise you in undelightful ways. Be proactive to unearth these inconsistencies and correct them. You don’t want viral video to trigger the correction.
Not sure if you’ve uncovered all your blindspots? Give me a call at 215/922-6937. Send me an email at hello@gailbower.com. Let’s discuss how I can reveal what may be lurking around your operations and assist you in correcting these issues.