Same Flight, Two Personal Brand Experiences

[David Sandusky]

My Frontier Airlines flight from Orlando, FL to Denver, CO Saturday was a great example of how a personal brand can dictate the attitude one has with a company and profession. In this case, Frontier and Flight Attendants.

The flight was a challenging environment because of the number of tired and cranky families headed home from loaded activity at Disney World, etc. It was hot and humid on the plane while delayed because of the number of strollers and basic needs parents had in order to situate young kids for a long flight.

Here is where the simple separation begins.

A common question as we prepared to take off was "why is it so hot in here?" Another common question I noticed was clarification on whether or not there would be snacks on the long flight. Frontier has a new policy with more available snacks, but for purchase only.

One flight attendant was working a section of rows in front of me. She did her job as you would expect, but was short and even sarcastic with people on what she perceived as obvious questions she had to answer over and over again. She contributed to the frustration.

Just behind me was an identical scene accept the flight attendant had a fun loving and inspiring way about her. She had explanation and empathy. It seemed to me, as a solo traveler observing, that she was taking more time with people, but they were settling in faster. She was helping organize carry-on bags and creating positive reinforcement.

As I looked forward to see what was taking place just in front of me. The flight attendant here was in a sea of frustration as she seemed to be in the way as apposed to helping organize the overhead compartments. She was talking over people in a mad rush to get kids seated and buckled in. It was not working.

In a matter of a few moments and just a few rows of people, there was a different feeling within the same circumstance. One group may not be thinking twice about the fact we were only ten minutes late pulling from the gate while the other group may be telling others about the hot annoying delayed flight.

Big difference and a great impact from the leader just behind me. What little thins can you do different to make a big experience swing for those dealing with you?