How Airports Measure Customer Service Performance (2013)

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31 This synthesis began with the premise that an airport is a complex organization supported by airport employees, volun- teers, business partners, and government agencies. When the airport organization makes customer satisfaction a strategic objective, most people that work at the airport will become engaged in this strategic effort. Customer service ultimately is a matter of continuous communication and relationship build- ing throughout the airport community. To accomplish excellent customer service, airports inter- viewed made the following suggestions: 1. Leadership of the airport must make customer service a top priority and commitment. 2. As a strategic objective, customer service must then translate into individual initiatives within the entire air- port organization. 3. Performance measures can track progress on these ini- tiatives at the department, business unit, and individual level. 4. Communication of a culture of customer service is assisted by training sessions that engage everyone who works at the airport: executives, staff, volunteers, station managers, business partners, TSA, and law enforcement. 5. Recognition of results and appreciation for employees, business partners, and volunteers reinforce the commit- ment to customer service. IMPLEMENTING A CULTURE OF EXCELLENCE At Dallas/Fort Worth International, the strategic objectives of the airport are tied closely to the ACI-ASQ performance metrics. Airport management is looking to achieve an overall ASQ satisfaction score of 4.2 (out of 5.0) and to obtain rank- ing within the top five large airports in North America. Each year, every department and most employees have perfor- mance measures to achieve. Work on department-level goals is supported by other strategic objectives including: • Fostering employee engagement • Creating an environment for excellence • Providing education, training and career development opportunities • Implementing talent reviews to prepare and enhance leadership. The Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority (MNAA) uses the Performance Excellence (Baldrige) framework to focus on self-assessment and improvements in the following categories: • Leadership • Strategy customer • Measurement workforce • Operations • Results (desired outcomes). As at DFW, the goals of the organization translate to initia- tives at the departmental level. BNA has a customer service goal to go “above and beyond expectations to provide out- standing customer service.” Current objectives for the cus- tomer service business unit are: 1. Complaint management through the airport website 2. Lost and found management 3. Paging/information service to internal and external customers. CUSTOMER SERVICE TRAINING A number of airports offer airport-wide training that focuses on the airport brand and culture of excellent customer ser- vice. At Colorado Springs Airport, ambassadors are specially trained to provide assistance to wounded warriors, returning military personnel, and athletes arriving to go to the Olympic Training Center. Halifax Stanfield International developed the Stanfield Way workshop designed by the airport community to pro- mote a consistent approach to customer service. The air- port hopes to put the entire airport community through the program. Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International is in its third year of an eight-hour training program based on the Disney Insti- tute model. Representatives from various airport depart- ments, cleaning contractors, parking operators, concessions, and customer service representatives worked together to develop the standards and a statement of core values and expectations that went into the program. chapter five COMMUNICATION AND RECOGNITION OF RESULTS

32 At MSP, the airport authority has introduced the MSP Nice Airport Community Customer Experience Training. This program is sponsored by the Customer Service Action Council and includes: • Setting the MSP internal brand standards • Cascading those standards throughout MSP • Measuring performance on the internal brand slogan, “MSP Nice, one experience at a time.” The program’s central theme is, “Good customer service is good business.” It is designed to reach all MSP employees and any person at the airport that has contact with custom- ers. The training sessions are run by representatives from the concessions, airlines, volunteers, TSA, and MAC executives. RECOGNITION OF RESULTS In addition to training, airports have appreciation programs that recognize employees, volunteers, and business partners. Halifax Stanfield offers employees recognition through the Thank You Program. Each month, recognized employees receive a letter from the airport CEO and a nominal gift or gift card. Quarterly awards of $200 gift cards are also given and the airport organizes an annual gala event to thank employ- ees. Often 500 people attend the gala. The Stanfield Way Employee recognition program Atlanta is in its 17th year of a recognition program held the first week of October to coincide with Customer Service Week. Employees receive awards in four categories for excep- tional performance. Nominations come from customer letters. A focus group of employees reads the letters each month for a monthly award of a gift card donated by airport vendors. Monthly award winners are eligible for the annual award, which includes larger gift cards and the hanging of their pic- tures on the Customer Service Hall of Fame wall. The event is jointly sponsored by the airport and airport vendors. The airport provides the facility and food; the vendors the awards.