Opportunity

While on the road last week i passed through the Delta terminal at La Guardia. Much of the grief airlines receive is earned, but I did notice a bit of intelligent planning to meet traveler needs.

Amongst the ten gates that are clustered together is a kiosk with eight telephone receivers. The phones have no buttons- when you pick up, the phone dials an operator somewhere. Out of curiosity, I called.

(Side note: the kiosk also has a shelf and power strip on either end for the charging of your various electronic devices. I charged my cell phone while talking to the Delta rep. Smart.)

The Delta staff was very helpful, and answered my question about how many frequent flier miles I. The kiosk seems designed for when a flight gets canceled and a hundred people need to talk to a service rep right now. But that's the key- service capacity was put in place to be used only at moments of high demand. Its free and easy to use. No hunting for the 800 number on the Delta website. Just pick up the phone and call.

Its the same philosophy as putting your 800 number or email address on every single page of your website. Don't make your customers hunt for it- put it out front. They may never use it, but knowing they could builds a lot of trust in the transaction process.

Peter