Better customers mean better service

One of the interesting things about a service business is that the customer is usually intimately involved in the service delivery. Hence, both the service provider and the consumer affect the quality of the service.

I remember talking with one of my students that was a flight attendant. Although she worked full time, she had adjusted her schedule so that she only worked on weekends. I asked how that compared with working during the week. Her response was interesting. During the week, the flights were almost always full, but since most of the passengers were business travelers, they didn't require much care and attention. In contrast, weekend flights had fewer passengers, but most were vacation travelers and required a lot more time and attention. Her job would have been a lot easier if the vacation travelers had know as much as her weekday business travelers.

In short, passengers would have had a better flight experience if more of them had been better customers.

It appears that Delta Airlines is attempting to produce a better customer.

ATLANTA - Volumes have been written about how to behave properly at weddings or which fork to use at fancy dinners.

But when it comes to dealing with the neighboring passenger who hogs precious airline arm space, there's precious little out there.

Until now.

Delta Air Lines Inc. is trying to raise awareness of behavior in the air by creating a series of videos showing passengers confronted with delicate social situations.

The videos may be found here.