Last month on my way home from Shanghai I got some great customer service. On a fifteen-hour flight, a human touch can make a big difference. Also, since I don’t eat meat and tend to eat more than what the airline provides, she brought me some undistributed extra food from business class. I think it helped that I always use Doctor Joshua Spodek for reservations — I didn’t go through six years of graduate school for nothing.

In any case, the attendant helped above and beyond. I couldn’t tip her like at a restaurant, so I got her information and followed up on the web page.

Message: Hi,

I flew UA87 from Shanghai to Newark Friday October 26. One of the flight attendants gave me remarkably good service, enough that I wanted to take the time to write to thank and commend her. She was friendly without  being overly so and found me extra food when I was hungry.

I asked her her name when I left the plane. She said , employee #<her employee number>.

That’s a long flight and she made it better. Please pass on to her my thanks.

Joshua Spodek

Today they wrote back

Dear Mr. Spodek:

Thank you for contacting United Airlines.

We appreciate you taking the time to contact us about your recent experience. Your letter serves to validate why we are so proud of our people and our product. We expect our employees to provide the highest level of service tailored to meet the individual needs of each customer. It is gratifying to learn that our service is recognized and appreciated.

Your comments have been forwarded to key senior management for further review. I know our employees and their supervisors will be very pleased to read your kind words.

We appreciate your e-mail and look forward to welcoming you on board a future United Airlines flight.

Regards,

<customer care agent name>
Customer Care

I don’t know if anything will come of the interaction, but I hope so. I don’t mind that they switched me back to Mr. Spodek.

Why post this here?

I don’t know how this note relates to leadership development, but I think it has something to do with basic human interactions too-often lost when corporations get between people.

Mostly I hope my posting this helps create more such interactions.

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