A couple of nights ago, I randomly stumbled upon an American Airlines training video from 2000, intended specifically for newly hired customer service representatives. It goes without saying that in recent years, morale among American employees is about as low as it has ever been. So this video was quite the throwback…
A fascinating American Airlines employee training video
The below roughly 22-minute video is something that American used in 2000, to welcome new customer service employees to the company. The first part of the video is all about American’s history of innovation, while the second part of the video is all about how American employees feel, and what customers expect.
While I think the entire video is worth watching if you’re an avgeek, the part about following the customer journey starts 12min19sec in, and is my favorite.
Admittedly I’d say this video tries to paint American in as positive of a light as possible, so I’m not suggesting this was the full reality back then. For that matter, the video highlights how Don Carty was leading the airline at the time, who might be American’s most unpopular CEO in history (there’s a lot of competition for that title!). But I digress…
Customer service and pride… what’s going on here?!
I love this whole concept of following the journey of “Mr. Williams,” as it’s sort of hilarious:
- “It’s important that you understand that my needs vary as I travel, and each agent that I deal with should understand these needs”
- “I really appreciate not having to stand in long lines”
- “I appreciate being called by my name, and as a frequent flyer, I like to be acknowledged as a valuable customer of American Airlines”
- “Of course on-time departures are important to me, and when occasionally a flight is delayed, I expect to be kept informed in a timely manner” (the gate agent proactively announced a 10 minute delay — hahaha, where are we, Japan?!)
- “When I fly, it’s important to me to get personal attention and service from the crew — hey, we all like to be pampered just a little”
Though my favorite of all is the employee who says “when I’m wearing my uniform outside of work, people always stop me and say, ‘I love American,’ and that makes me feel proud.” Man, the industry sure has changed, eh? I’d love to know how many times American employees are stopped outside of work nowadays in uniform, and people tell them how much they love the airline.
Though frankly this video pales in comparison to those Pan Am training videos, which are also worth a watch…
Bottom line
The industry has evolved a ton over the years, both for better and worse. It goes without saying that expectations of customer service have evolved over the years, especially in the United States (and not for the better).
While I imagine a training video is trying to paint the best possible image, the general expectations in the video aren’t unreasonable. It’s unfortunate that American lost sight of this for so many years, and is now just trying to improve things.
Anyone else enjoy this American training video?
Membership is free and takes no more information than commenting as a guest. Earn status points for good contributions, and see fewer ads as your status grows.