Independent Banker - May 2021 - 58

How Alaska Airlines
makes good experiences
To make a positive impact on
customer satisfaction, you'll
need to understand that
empowering employees requires
giving them the tools they need
to delight customers.
Customer service consultant
and author Jeanne Bliss points
to SeaTac, Wash.-based Alaska
Airlines, which consistently
ranks in the top tier of J.D.
Power's customer satisfaction
scores. In a field of larger
competitors, the airlines
attempts to set itself apart by
providing all employees with an
" empowerment toolkit " of miles,
cash, restaurant vouchers and
fee waivers.
Whether an employee is a
baggage handler, a gate agent
or a pilot, they're authorized
to do what they can to make
things right-such as giving
customers $50 to spend in
airport restaurants after a
delayed flight-or to give
extra recognition to a couple
celebrating an anniversary with
a free round of cocktails.
Bliss references a quote in
Bloomberg from the airline's
president, Ben Minicucci, to
employees: " We trust you. You'll
never get in trouble for making a
decision. And we don't want you
to call the supervisor. "
cracked open the corporate veneer. Once you see the
CEO speaking to you directly from the couch in her
living room, you really can't go back to that formal,
stuffy way of communicating. I believe that this
pandemic has raised everyone's desire to work with
companies and institutions that put humanity first. "
Bliss says that younger people, especially those
who came of age during the Great Recession, are
going to insist on doing business with those who
share their values. " They'll be seeking out places
that are growing because of admirable practices and
how they choose to conduct themselves, " she adds.
Pamela Danziger is president of Unity Marketing,
Inc., a research firm in Stevens, Pa., focused
primarily on affluent customers. She sees an
opportunity for a shift from transaction-focused
businesses to ones that are relationship builders.
" The goal is to become part of people's lives, " she
says. " Every business is a people business, and being
" We have data showing that if
you are able to provide great
customer service, customers will
stay with you longer, buy more
from you and have an increased
lifetime value. "
-Kate Leggett, Forrester Research
part of the community is more crucial than ever.
In the retail world, that's why big national retailers
are failing, because they're no longer reflecting the
needs and personality of the local community. "
That's where community banks can make a
difference with existing and potential customers.
" Community banks are the ultimate Main Street
business, and they'll do better with post-COVID
customers if they keep their feet firmly planted in
the community, because the bigger players just can't
do that as well, " Danziger says. " I think we'll see
more people wanting to keep their money local, and
that extends to their bank, as well. "
Julie Kendrick is a writer in Minnesota.
56 Q ICBA Independent Banker Q May 2021
Independent Banker - May 2021

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