Supplmentary material.docVIP

Supplementary material Text A BA = British Airways = Bloody Awful Thats the way people used to think about British Airways. But not any more. Now the airline is ranked among the top three in the world - along with Swiss Air and Singapore Airlines - in customer service. What happened? BAs transformation began 5 years ago, when Sir Colin Marshall became CEO. Marshall immediately set to work to change the airlines focus from operation to customers. Market survey showed that passengers place twice as much importance on friendly service as they do on operational factors like fast check-in. But BA was not a customer-oriented organization; even its managers had failed to recognize how highly passengers value sympathy and courtesy. Marshalls greatest challenge was to convince the airlines 35,000 employees that travelers need to be treated like people, not like units or components of a transportation system. Marshall launched an extensive training program called Putting People First, that was designed to teach employees to put themselves in the passengers shoes. A new motto - To fly, to serve - was created, and $80 million was spent upgrading business and first-class accommodations. Marshall (who was once a steward on a cruise ship) also undertook to deregiment the airline: First-class passengers are served meals at times of their choosing; the menu has been broadened; and, on some aircraft, in-flight movies have been replaced by individual video screens with a wide selection of classics and recent box-office hits. Business-class service has been expanded, and passengers may now enjoy such amenities as a separate check-in counter and a departure lounge with comfortable chairs and a free bar. In the airports, sixty trained problem-solvers (called hunters) roam the terminals and help passengers cope with such matters as lost luggage and missed connections. The airline has also installed Video Point booths in which passengers can tape complaints immediately after leaving