正能量：航班延误 机长赏酒

    节日出行经常会遇到暴风雪、机械故障或调度混乱造成的航班延误。如果你的航班被长时间延误，你肯定希望坐在驾驶舱里的飞行员是丹尼•弗拉纳根机长。

    前不久，在美国联合航空公司（United Airlines）一架航班即将从休斯顿飞往洛杉矶之前，登机口的广播传来弗拉纳根的声音，他先是自我介绍了一番，然后与乘客分享了航班和天气信息。所有人都抬起头，以为会有坏消息，结果并没有，于是人们开始猜测这位机长到底是谁。几分钟后，弗拉纳根站在舱门口，向乘客发放带有波音757统计数据的名片。广播上不同寻常的欢迎结束之后，所有人都扣好安全带，准备起飞。

    然而，常规检查发现飞机一侧机翼前缘有微小的裂痕，于是弗拉纳根宣布飞机推迟20分钟起飞。之后，20分钟变成了一个小时，等维修完成，飞机已经延误了两个小时。大多数乘客都下了飞机，打算改签航班，或是寻找食物。让留在飞机上的乘客感到高兴的是，弗拉纳根一边要求空乘人员发放饮料，他自己则打开飞机厨房的门，沿着过道分发免费食品。

    在节日旅行季，航班延误就像感冒一样，已经见怪不怪，而弗拉纳根机长的做法，简直就像是来自圣诞老人的意外礼物。这位飞行员说道：“在服务行业，成功的秘诀非常简单。选择你的态度，预测客户的需求，然后提供超出他们预期的服务。我将驾驶舱当作我的空中办公室，我就是这架飞机的CEO。我不仅负责开飞机，还要照顾机组人员和乘客。”

    曾是美国海军少校的弗拉纳根表示，在1986年加入美国联合航空之前的20年间，他曾驾驶C-130运输机为在南极洲的“深冻行动”（Operation Deep Freeze）提供支援，还曾驾驶过P-3猎户座海上侦察机。由于美国海军飞机有14名机组人员，这位以完成任务为使命的飞行员还要照看好自己的下级。

    弗拉纳根现在依旧在美国海军预备役（Naval Reserve）负责飞行任务。在成为航空公司飞行员后，他保留了这种心态。911恐怖袭击发生后，航空业遭到重创，有3,600名联合航空的飞行员被暂时解雇。以积极进取著称的弗拉纳根决定想法设法地赢得客户的忠诚，同时希望航空业回暖后，那些失去工作的飞行员也能够重返工作岗位。

    于是，他开始从舱门广播、名片等细微之处着手。只要飞机上有无人陪伴的未成年人，他都会在起飞之前打电话向孩子家长报平安。在中途停留期间，他会在自己的名片背面，为下一班乘客写上几句暖心的感谢语，并在登机结束之后，按照旅客名单添上乘客的姓名。

    弗拉纳根说道：“我每一次飞行通常会发出50张名片。我会写给头等舱乘客，还有坐在经济舱中间座位的乘客。我们都坐过中间的座位，如果旁边的人用了扶手，你会非常不舒服。”

    弗拉纳根机长认为，如果空乘人员送给中间座位的乘客一封感谢信，便能引起两边乘客的注意，让大家交谈起来。而通常情况下，聊到最后，大家便会一起使用扶手。

    弗拉纳根有许多做法可以被视为出色的客户服务，不过最有意义的通常是无意中的善举。2008年，一位收到弗拉纳根感谢信的乘客给他回信，问他能否为洪都拉斯一位残疾男孩送去一辆电动轮椅。弗拉纳根打电话给联合航空快运公司（United Cargo）的同事，这家当时还被称作美国大陆航空的公司（Continental Airlines）在圣诞节当天，将轮椅免费送到了那个男孩手中。

    弗拉纳根发现，节日期间，休闲旅行者和首次乘坐飞机的乘客增多。他在登机口向孩子们发放飞行胸章的时候，在行李箱里还会随身携带一些帆布袋，专门提供给那些携带大量礼物的父母们——他们的纸质购物袋很容易破碎。如果看到有来自军队的乘客集体乘坐飞机，他会通过舱门处的广播，建议乘客与军人们交换座位，让这些不畏生死，报效祖国的勇士们度过一段更舒服的旅程。

    弗拉纳根回忆道：“当时有一群20岁左右的男女一起坐飞机。大家大叫着欢呼，每个人都得到了头等舱乘客交换的座位。”

    弗拉纳根积极的态度，以及与乘客建立友好关系的意愿，让他在飞行常客中成为明星，人们都亲切地叫他“丹尼机长”。他的航班时间表被公布在社区论坛flyertalk.com上，许多粉丝会专门根据这份时间表预定航班。

    一位名叫Goalie的用户发帖称：“在短暂的转机逗留期间，我在乔治•布什洲际机场到达口见到过他。我们当时正从他的登机门走向我要乘坐的航班，一位女士和她的女儿正走向与我们相反的方向，突然他停了下来，从口袋里拿出一对胸章，送给了那个女孩。那个小女孩脸上的笑容已经说明了一切。”

    Pat89339写道：“旧金山地区的朋友们注意了，我们正在计划（与丹尼机长）另外一次聚餐。日期确定之后，我会再发帖通知。”

    弗拉纳根有时候会与乘客一起用餐，在中途停留的时候如果他有时间，乘客会争先恐后地请他用餐。如果航班延误超过两个小时，弗拉纳根甚至会给机上的所有乘客买汉堡或披萨。当然账单最后要由联合航空报销。

    2010年，联合航空录制了弗拉纳根普通的一天，并将其制作成面向所有新晋员工的培训视频。虽然弗拉纳根并非唯一一位提供出色客户服务的飞行员，但为什么其他人并没有像他那样引人注目呢？

    客户服务或许是弗拉纳根与生俱来的本领，这项技能可以通过学习掌握，并且非常容易衡量。当然，飞行员的绩效评估中，排在首位的必须始终是飞行安全，但客户服务还应该包括许多方面。联合航空发言人珍妮弗•多姆表示：“弗拉纳根机长是一位杰出的员工，我们支持他以及所有飞行员，为了提供超出客户预期的服务所付出的努力。其实，丹尼一直都在这样做。他致力于为乘客创造最友好的飞行体验，成为所有人交口称赞的榜样。”

    还记得弗拉纳根在每一次飞行开始之前发放的名片吗？他会在其中两张上签名。在飞行结束时，如果头等舱有剩余的酒水，持有签名名片的两位乘客便可以免费将一瓶红酒带回家。

    在最近一次延误的航班降落之后，乘客收到了联合航空主动恢复操作团队(Proactive Recovery Operations Team )的电子邮件，为了表示感谢，航空公司将为乘客的下一次飞行提供50美元折扣，或赠送额外的奖励里程。

    积极主动提供优质的客户服务，是任何公司生存和发展的根本。喜欢弗拉纳根的人似乎成了联合航空最特殊的宣传大使。

    弗拉纳根说道：“我喜欢像对待与我一起飞行的亲人一样，对待我的乘客。我有妻子和孩子，生活很幸福。当我在我们的飞机上看到行动不便的人、受伤的士兵和有其他健康问题的乘客时，我都会感谢上帝让我有机会从事自己一直想做的事情——驾驶飞机。”

    与弗拉纳根一起经历的飞行，将是乘客们久久难忘的一段经历。毕竟，谁会忘记与圣诞老人的助手一起飞行的经历呢？（财富中文网）

    译者：刘进龙/汪皓

    Holiday travel often comes with flights delayed by winter storms, mechanical failures, or schedule snafus. If your flight is hit by a lengthy delay, the pilot you want in the cockpit is Captain Denny Flanagan.

    On a recent United Airlines UAL 3.92% flight from Houston to Los Angeles, Flanagan made a gate announcement, introducing himself and sharing flight and weather information. Everyone looked up, expecting bad news, and when there was none, the talk turned to wondering who this captain was. A few minutes later, Flanagan stood at the plane door, handing out trading cards with stats about the Boeing 757 being boarded. After the unusual welcome on the PA, everyone buckled up, ready to depart.

    However, when a routine inspection uncovered a small crack in the leading edge of a wing, Flanagan announced a 20-minute delay. That turned into an hour delay for maintenance, and another hour to complete the repair. Most folks got off the plane to try to rebook flights and find food. To the delight of those who stayed on board, Flanagan opened the galley doors and walked down the aisle, handing out free food as he asked the flight attendants to serve drinks.

    During this season of holiday travel, when sniffles and delays run rampant, it was like getting an unexpected gift from Santa. “In the service business, the recipe for success is quite easy,” the pilot says. “Choose your attitude for the day, anticipate your customers’ needs, and exceed their expectations. I call the cockpit my sky office, and I’m the CEO. I run the airplane, and I take care of the crew and customers.”

    Flanagan, a former lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy, said he flew C-130 transport aircraft in support of Operation Deep Freeze in Antarctica and P-3 Orions (maritime surveillance aircraft) for 20 years before joining United in 1986. Since the Navy planes had crews of 14, the mission-oriented pilot routinely looked after those under his command.

    Flanagan, who still flies in the Naval Reserve, kept that mindset when he became an airline pilot. After 9/11, when the airline industry was hit hard, 3,600 United pilots were furloughed. Flanagan, clearly a go-getter, decided to do what he could to build customer loyalty, hoping that as business came back, the pilots who had lost their jobs could also return to work.

    Thus the gate announcements, the trading cards, and other little touches began. Whenever unaccompanied minors are on the plane, Flanagan calls the child’s parents before take-off to let them know all is well. During layovers, he writes thank you notes on the back of his business cards for the next flight, adding passenger names from the manifest after boarding.

    “I usually give out 50 cards on each trip,” Flanagan says. “I write them to the passengers sitting in first class, and to those sitting in middle seats in coach. We’ve all been in that middle seat, and when the person on either side of you takes an arm rest, it’s not that comfortable.”

    The captain figures if a flight attendant hands the middle seat passenger a note from the pilot, those on either side will take notice and strike up a conversation. Usually, that conversation ends up with people sharing the arm rests.

    Many acts can be considered exceptional customer service, but the most meaningful ones are really unplanned acts of kindness. In 2008, a passenger who got one of Flanagan’s notes wrote back, asking if the pilot could get an electric wheelchair to a handicapped boy in Honduras. Flanagan’s calls to colleagues in United Cargo and then-Continental Airlines got the wheelchair delivered, at no charge, on Christmas Day.

    During the holidays, Flanagan notices more leisure travelers and first-time flyers. Along with passing out pilot wings to kids in the gate area, he carries canvas bags in his suitcase to give to parents whose gift-loaded paper shopping bags have ripped. Whenever the captain sees military passengers traveling as a group, he gets on the PA at the gate and suggests how nice it would be to exchange seat assignments to make the trip more comfortable for those who are risking their lives to serve.

    “I did this with one group of 20 young men and women flying together,” Flanagan recalls. “There was a lot of crying and hoo-rahs, and every one of them got a seat in first class from another passenger.”

    Flanagan’s positive attitude and willingness to engage with customers has made him a celebrity among frequent flyers who refer to him as “Captain Denny.” His flight schedule is posted on flyertalk.com, and a number of fans book their flights around it.

    A board posting from a user named Goalie: “I met him at his arriving gate during a mutual layover (at IAH). As we were walking from his gate to mine, a woman and her daughter were walking in the opposite direction and in the blink of an eye, he stops, reaches into his pocket, pulls out a pair of wings and gives them to the daughter. And the smile on the little girl’s face was what it’s all about.”

    Pat89339 wrote, “For people in the San Francisco area, we are in the planning stages of another dinner (with Captain Denny). I will post more when the date is settled.”

    Occasionally dining with passengers — who vie to buy him meals when he’s available on layovers — Flanagan has even been known to buy hamburgers or pizza for all his passengers when flights are delayed longer than two hours. United foots those bills.

    In 2010, the airline filmed Flanagan, following him around on a typical day, and turned it into a training video shown to all new hires. While Flanagan is not the only pilot to provide great customer service, you have to wonder why more don’t stand out like him.

    Customer service may be innate to Flanagan, but it’s also a skill that can be taught and a behavior easily measured. Flying safely, of course, must be at the top of a pilot’s performance review, but points for customer service should be in the mix, as well. “Captain Flanagan is an outstanding employee, and we support his – and all of our pilots’ – efforts to go above and beyond for our customers to provide great service,” says Jennifer Dohm, a spokesperson for United. “As far as anyone can remember, Denny has always operated this way, and we commend his dedication to creating the most flyer-friendly experience he can for our customers.”

    Remember those trading cards Flanagan hands out at the beginning of every flight? He also autographs two of them, and if there’s wine left over in first class at the end of the flight, two passengers with autographed cards get to take home a free bottle of wine.

    After the recent delayed flight landed, passengers received e-mails from United’s Proactive Recovery Operations Team, offering $50 off their next flight or extra bonus miles, as a gesture of appreciation.

    Being proactive about customer service is essential for any business to survive and thrive, people like Flanagan appear to make exceptional ambassadors for United.

    “I like to treat my customers as if they were my family flying with me,” Flanagan says. “I’ve got a blessed life with my wife and children. When I see people in wheelchairs, injured soldiers, and those who aren’t as healthy as I am on our planes, I’m grateful that I’m able to do what I’ve always wanted to do, which is fly airplanes.”

    Flying with Flanagan is an experience customers long remember. After all, who could forget flying with Santa’s helper?