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Read this interesting article from WSJ online, FFs would be delighted if they have someone who takes of them like this lady does!
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As American Airlines Flight 825 to Miami boarded, Rocco Angelo calmly waited for a first-class upgrade even though everything appeared full.
"Ellen always takes care of me," he insisted.
Sure enough, a first-class customer in seat 5B had changed plans but hadn't yet canceled his ticket on Flight 825. American gate agent Ellen Heberer called the passenger, heard about his change of plans, and then handed a boarding pass for 5B to Mr. Angelo. "Here you go, my dear," Ms. Heberer said to the university dean from Florida, confessing later that when Mr. Angelo said he'd known her for years, she had to pretend to remember him.
In the kiosk era of self-service travel, when travelers often think customer service flew away with airline meals and free checked bags, Ms. Heberer is a rarity.
Ellen Heberer, a 30-year-veteran gate agent for American Airlines at New York's La Guardia airport, can find better seats for regular passengers.
The 30-year veteran agent at New York's La Guardia Airport personally phones first-class passengers when they are running late to see if she needs to hold their seats, which normally get reassigned 15 minutes before departure. She knows repeat customers by name, (or at least looks up names and makes them think she knows them) and juggles seat assignments to get her regulars good seats or keep families together. She soothes angry travelers by slipping them into the airport club, even though American doesn't normally give out free passes for everyday aggravations.
"She's a real throwback—exuberant and unflappable," said Karen Novak, a Chicago public-relations executive who was befriended by Ms. Heberer years ago during regular trips to New York. Ms. Novak had stopped flying to New York for about five years and lost her elite status, but Ms. Heberer still recognized her on a recent trip and got her a better seat in the front of the plane usually reserved for elite-level frequent fliers.
"You'll always have status with me," Ms. Heberer told her. (Ms. Novak wrote to The Wall Street Journal to single out Ms. Heberer for praise.)
Passenger service at the airport is a huge issue for airlines right now, with airlines caught between the rush to cost-saving self-service and pressure to personalize the experience for premium passengers.
Several carriers in Europe are using self-service boarding gates—scan your boarding pass yourself and doors swing open. Upgrades, seat changes and standby changes are all computer-generated; self-service bag tagging is being deployed. At the other end, British Airways recently said it would use Google and other online sources to check up on top-level customers and give agents personal information about them.
Yet even with the technological advances, for front-line airline workers, experience counts. Gate agents, whose pay at American tops out at just under $22 an hour, routinely find themselves under stress, especially when airline operations throw passengers' plans into chaos. But after years of downsizing, layoffs, pay cuts, pension-plan collapses and early retirements, that experience can be hard to find.
Managers say agents, who typically handle six to seven flights a day, are essentially on stage before an audience that sometimes hangs on every move.
"You have to be a good performer. This is your Broadway," said Jimmy Brooks, American's manager of customer service at La Guardia. Ms. Heberer's talent, he said, is making every passenger, not just the top-tier frequent fliers, "feel as though they are No. 1."
American and others are moving to give agents more information on computer tablets and smartphones. Some airlines have equipped roving agents with hand-held machines that can print boarding passes and bag tags.
New versions to be rolled out in the next couple of months will include information about top-level frequent-flier status and wheelchair requests. Forty American flight attendants are currently testing hand-held devices loaded with passenger information and capabilities such as reseating customers.
"We want to make it a more consistent experience," said Maya Leibman, American's chief information officer. "It shouldn't have to be that it only happens with a great agent."
Over the years, Ms. Heberer has created her own customer-friendly policies. She never lies about the reasons for a delay or sugarcoats what the airline will or won't do. She offers as much information as possible. She always listens when people have a problem. And she never gives away a first-class seat from a customer late to check in unless she tries to call first.
"Those passengers pay a lot of money for those tickets. My motto is, do the extra thing," she said. Earlier this month, a grateful regular sent her two tickets to "Wicked" on Broadway.
American doesn't let gate agents decide on their own to hold airplanes for late-arriving passengers, but they do have leeway with seat assignments. First-class upgrades at American and other airlines have been automated for years based on ticket price, frequent-flier status and how early requests were made.
Still, Ms. Heberer says she can usually help someone find a better seat, or rearrange seating so passengers with closely timed connections sit up front.
Seat assignments are constantly changing even on full flights. Some passengers don't show up or jumped on earlier flights, yet the reservation system still has their seat blocked out for the original flight. Others who do get upgraded leave behind good seats in coach. Seats that the airline reserved for extra fees, like exit rows and front rows, become available for assignment by gate agents if they don't sell.
"It's a constant juggling act, like a game of chess," Ms. Heberer said.
Ms. Heberer says she's developed a range of customer-friendly policies over 30 years as a gate agent.
It also highlights the limitations of automation. If there are no seats open, a kiosk can't help you find another seat. "You can't get everything you want out of a machine," she said.
Sometimes, airlines simply can't deliver what travelers want. As Flight 825 was leaving, a man came up to Ms. Heberer's counter, worried about his connection to El Paso, Texas, since his flight to Dallas was running late. Ms. Heberer found that he would indeed miss his connection. American's computer planned for him to fly to El Paso the next morning, leaving him stuck in Dallas overnight.
She found a better plan through Chicago. But his checked bag wouldn't arrive until the following morning. Ms. Heberer made one more call—to a friend working the front desk at the Admiral's Club lounge. "Will you let him in for me, Patty?'' Ms. Heberer pleaded in a sweet New Yawk voice, then told the customer to go to the club, ask for Patty, and maybe the four-hour wait would be a bit easier.
The man had no top-tier status, corporate title or expensive ticket. "He didn't have anything but a problem," Ms. Heberer said.
Another passenger, so impressed, asked Ms. Heberer for her name so she could report her good deed to American.
"She could have just let it go, but he was visibly upset," said Valerie Longs, a frequent business traveler for 30 years. "She sent him to the club and nobody lets you go to the club free. You just don't see that kind of customer service anymore."
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Link to the article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...154205444.html
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As American Airlines Flight 825 to Miami boarded, Rocco Angelo calmly waited for a first-class upgrade even though everything appeared full.
"Ellen always takes care of me," he insisted.
Sure enough, a first-class customer in seat 5B had changed plans but hadn't yet canceled his ticket on Flight 825. American gate agent Ellen Heberer called the passenger, heard about his change of plans, and then handed a boarding pass for 5B to Mr. Angelo. "Here you go, my dear," Ms. Heberer said to the university dean from Florida, confessing later that when Mr. Angelo said he'd known her for years, she had to pretend to remember him.
In the kiosk era of self-service travel, when travelers often think customer service flew away with airline meals and free checked bags, Ms. Heberer is a rarity.
Ellen Heberer, a 30-year-veteran gate agent for American Airlines at New York's La Guardia airport, can find better seats for regular passengers.
The 30-year veteran agent at New York's La Guardia Airport personally phones first-class passengers when they are running late to see if she needs to hold their seats, which normally get reassigned 15 minutes before departure. She knows repeat customers by name, (or at least looks up names and makes them think she knows them) and juggles seat assignments to get her regulars good seats or keep families together. She soothes angry travelers by slipping them into the airport club, even though American doesn't normally give out free passes for everyday aggravations.
"She's a real throwback—exuberant and unflappable," said Karen Novak, a Chicago public-relations executive who was befriended by Ms. Heberer years ago during regular trips to New York. Ms. Novak had stopped flying to New York for about five years and lost her elite status, but Ms. Heberer still recognized her on a recent trip and got her a better seat in the front of the plane usually reserved for elite-level frequent fliers.
"You'll always have status with me," Ms. Heberer told her. (Ms. Novak wrote to The Wall Street Journal to single out Ms. Heberer for praise.)
Passenger service at the airport is a huge issue for airlines right now, with airlines caught between the rush to cost-saving self-service and pressure to personalize the experience for premium passengers.
Several carriers in Europe are using self-service boarding gates—scan your boarding pass yourself and doors swing open. Upgrades, seat changes and standby changes are all computer-generated; self-service bag tagging is being deployed. At the other end, British Airways recently said it would use Google and other online sources to check up on top-level customers and give agents personal information about them.
Yet even with the technological advances, for front-line airline workers, experience counts. Gate agents, whose pay at American tops out at just under $22 an hour, routinely find themselves under stress, especially when airline operations throw passengers' plans into chaos. But after years of downsizing, layoffs, pay cuts, pension-plan collapses and early retirements, that experience can be hard to find.
Managers say agents, who typically handle six to seven flights a day, are essentially on stage before an audience that sometimes hangs on every move.
"You have to be a good performer. This is your Broadway," said Jimmy Brooks, American's manager of customer service at La Guardia. Ms. Heberer's talent, he said, is making every passenger, not just the top-tier frequent fliers, "feel as though they are No. 1."
American and others are moving to give agents more information on computer tablets and smartphones. Some airlines have equipped roving agents with hand-held machines that can print boarding passes and bag tags.
New versions to be rolled out in the next couple of months will include information about top-level frequent-flier status and wheelchair requests. Forty American flight attendants are currently testing hand-held devices loaded with passenger information and capabilities such as reseating customers.
"We want to make it a more consistent experience," said Maya Leibman, American's chief information officer. "It shouldn't have to be that it only happens with a great agent."
Over the years, Ms. Heberer has created her own customer-friendly policies. She never lies about the reasons for a delay or sugarcoats what the airline will or won't do. She offers as much information as possible. She always listens when people have a problem. And she never gives away a first-class seat from a customer late to check in unless she tries to call first.
"Those passengers pay a lot of money for those tickets. My motto is, do the extra thing," she said. Earlier this month, a grateful regular sent her two tickets to "Wicked" on Broadway.
American doesn't let gate agents decide on their own to hold airplanes for late-arriving passengers, but they do have leeway with seat assignments. First-class upgrades at American and other airlines have been automated for years based on ticket price, frequent-flier status and how early requests were made.
Still, Ms. Heberer says she can usually help someone find a better seat, or rearrange seating so passengers with closely timed connections sit up front.
Seat assignments are constantly changing even on full flights. Some passengers don't show up or jumped on earlier flights, yet the reservation system still has their seat blocked out for the original flight. Others who do get upgraded leave behind good seats in coach. Seats that the airline reserved for extra fees, like exit rows and front rows, become available for assignment by gate agents if they don't sell.
"It's a constant juggling act, like a game of chess," Ms. Heberer said.
Ms. Heberer says she's developed a range of customer-friendly policies over 30 years as a gate agent.
It also highlights the limitations of automation. If there are no seats open, a kiosk can't help you find another seat. "You can't get everything you want out of a machine," she said.
Sometimes, airlines simply can't deliver what travelers want. As Flight 825 was leaving, a man came up to Ms. Heberer's counter, worried about his connection to El Paso, Texas, since his flight to Dallas was running late. Ms. Heberer found that he would indeed miss his connection. American's computer planned for him to fly to El Paso the next morning, leaving him stuck in Dallas overnight.
She found a better plan through Chicago. But his checked bag wouldn't arrive until the following morning. Ms. Heberer made one more call—to a friend working the front desk at the Admiral's Club lounge. "Will you let him in for me, Patty?'' Ms. Heberer pleaded in a sweet New Yawk voice, then told the customer to go to the club, ask for Patty, and maybe the four-hour wait would be a bit easier.
The man had no top-tier status, corporate title or expensive ticket. "He didn't have anything but a problem," Ms. Heberer said.
Another passenger, so impressed, asked Ms. Heberer for her name so she could report her good deed to American.
"She could have just let it go, but he was visibly upset," said Valerie Longs, a frequent business traveler for 30 years. "She sent him to the club and nobody lets you go to the club free. You just don't see that kind of customer service anymore."
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Link to the article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...154205444.html
This is the kind of person that you want across the counter when one hits a snag.
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