"What Would Molly Do?" -- (an unsolicited compliment by a fellow flight attendant)

This is not a post about photography but about excellent customer service.  Most people are quick to complain when they receive bad service, but what if someone provides excellent service?  Do you write a letter or note, tell their manager or boss, compliment the person or say anything at all?  I always make it a point to tell a manager and compliment the person who has helped me if he or she has given excellent service.  This is a story about one of my closest friends with whom I worked on a 3-day trip last week.

Her name is Molly, and she was recognized in the top 1% of Delta Airlines' employees for excellent customer service.  When she told me this some time ago, I wanted to know what her secret was.  She was constantly receiving customer comment cards or letters from passengers telling her what a great job she did.  She told me that among other things, she uses the passengers names and recognizes their status as premium passengers.  I started trying what she suggested and am always asking myself, "What Would Molly Do?".

So, back to our trip.  In over 11 years with Delta, I have never seen anyone go above and beyond like Molly did.  Actually, I don't know whether I have ever seen such service in any situation.  She was incredible!  She greeted every passenger with a smile, knew every passenger's name in first class and addressed them by name throughout the flight.  She was very sincere and had such positive energy that one could not help but smile.  At one point, during a boarding process, it was pouring rain and the overhead cover from the jetway did not quite reach the plane.  There was about a 24 inch gap and water was coming into the plane.  She stood next to the doorway with an umbrella keeping each passenger dry while she got wet.  

I definitely learned a lot from her during those three days and decided to try using her skills.  The more that I practiced, the better I got.  I actually memorized first class passengers names on almost every flight.  At the end of one of my flights, a passenger came up to me and told me that I did an excellent job.  He gave me five excellent service customer comment cards!  The reason that is such a huge deal to me is that the premium passengers only get five per year and he gave them all to me!

Especially during these financial times and not so positive news, it is so refreshing to see something positive.  Molly helped me remember one of the reasons why I wanted to become a flight attendant.  She really inspires me to be my best at my job even if it is only for a 45 minute flight.  I am so happy that I had the opportunity to fly with her.  Why not try the "Molly" attitude and see what happens?