Imagine delaying riders for an hour. And then imagine their response being that of laughter and joy, and their recollection of the time being fun and memorable.
Many of you I talk to at industry events may recall me saying, “I’m an angry traveler,” and I am. Maybe it’s because of all the happy people on vacation at the airport but I like to grumpily hide away in a corner with my writing and Netflix.
From years of working retail through high school and college, I’m not one to complain when things don’t go ideal, but my attitude and body language are in no way helpful to those announcing disruptions or delays.
A recent delay at O'Hare International Airport, however, led to quite an unexpected experience.
As I was dragging my luggage down the terminal, there was commotion and cheering coming from the gate. A United customer service manager was leading everyone at the gate in a paper airplane contest.
It was late at night, so the terminal was pretty empty except for the last unfortunate travelers waiting for the final planes to leave, and an abundance of paper airplanes littering the terminal floor.
Everyone was involved. Kids, adults, all ages created their best invention to test and those opting to not create one where there cheering others on.
The winners’ "trophies" were their airplane with the customer service manager scribbling their placement on the plane, calling out for who’s it was, and them stepping up to receive their honor. So for the cost of about 30 pieces of 8-1/2x11 paper, they had a gate full of happy — though delayed — passengers.
Yes, it was a fun, happy time, but the real reason I’m writing about it is because it illustrates one of the points made by the keynote address at the American Public Transportation Association Rail Conference, a critical concern for our industry: the future workforce.
As autonomous vehicles are being tested across the country and around the world, news articles like “Self-Driving Cars Could Wipe Out 4 Million Jobs,” posted today on Business Insider, come out and question the future role of employees.
Oftentimes, like the aforementioned news story, they focus on the future’s job loss. But Greg Williams, editor-in-chief of Wired Magazine, during his address to rail conference attendees, focused on the evolution of jobs.
He contends that jobs like those of truck drivers or retail workers will be threatened with future technologies, but there will be growth in customer-related roles.
Human beings are social animals and technology is changing how companies interact with their customers. An example he used was when a family bought an electric toothbrush in the past, the relationship is with wherever you bought it, but the Internet of Things will change that so the manufacturer can watch how it’s being used and the relationship will be with the manufacturer.
In the years ahead, cognitive, emotional and social skills will be the high-demand job skills as customer-related roles grow, such as augmented reality journey planner, customer relationship director or customer experience managers.
While cost and timing are probably the biggest determining factors for anyone choosing a flight, after that it starts to come down to the low-cost frivolities, such as the free drink on holidays on Southwest flights or the once-infamous Midwest Airlines cookie. And finding those creative, low-cost solutions to improve the customer experience are just the kind of thing Williams was talking about.
As our industry looks to improve the customer experience, it’s where we’re headed, as well. Since meeting with Community Transit’s relatively new customer experience director, I’ve talked to a number of transit agencies that have added that role to their organization. As agencies shift from the local public transportation provider to the regional mobility manager, using data to create an improved, personalized customer experience will be indispensable.
And for anyone wondering, I came in 8th place.
