Recently I was taking one of my first flights after the COVID-19 lockdown. I was quite apprehensive about how things will work on the flight. When it came to mealtime, the flight attendant offered me a choice of a snack box or grilled Cheese sandwich. I chose the snack box and went for a quick restroom visit. When I came back a grilled cheese sandwich was waiting for me. I requested the flight attendant to change it for my snack box. She brought the snack box to me and then asked me “Did you open the plastic pouch for the sandwich? If you opened it, I cannot give you this. Is it EITHER-OR?”

I could not believe what I heard. My mind went to, “Wow, you will EITHER-OR a frequent customer for a $5 sandwich, that too when I am just venturing back to flying again? Do you realize I have a bigger EITHER-OR power as I can EITHER choose your airline OR your competition?”

Businesses need to see beyond the current moment when interacting with guests. Once you see the lifetime connection with a customer and its impact on the business, then EITHER-OR gets easily empowered by GIVE MORE. It is also important how businesses measure success. In a world of saving costs, if the airline would have penalized the flight attendant for giving away an extra sandwich, of course that would encourage EITHER-OR culture.

Three questions to ask in every customer interaction moment:

1. What is the value of a lifetime connection with a customer?
2. How can you create a culture of wowing customers?
3. How can you empower every team member, every time, to take care of every customer situation?

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