I’ve long thought I’d be a diehard Virgin but meeting Kellie has me rethinking my options – flying, that is.
Kellie, the delightful, warm and friendly face at Adelaide’s Qantas check-in counter who made it part of her work day to add a little joy to an elderly stranger and her family.
The stranger being my dear old mum with myself and my teenage son, being the family.
We’d taken my octogenarian mum to check in for her flight back to Western Australia; she’s never been a fan of flying and since Dad, her husband of more than 50 years has now passed away, she has to do it solo and dreads it even more.
Her ticket allowed her access to the Qantas lounge but didn’t extend to those seeing her off.
Still, Kellie suggested we might like to all wait with her, calling ahead to let her colleagues manning its entrance know on this one-off occasion we were all welcome.
It was a generous, unexpected and touching gesture, adding a bit of fun to the dreaded departure gate farewell.
Mum doesn’t eat or drink before she flies, so it wasn’t about accessing the lounge’s buffet – although I’ll admit I did eye off the bubbles – but having a comfortable, slightly less busy area to wait and stretch out our last few moments together.
Mostly, it was just lovely to be at the receiving end of some genuine, real-person customer service and kindness – something I am pretty sure an AI avatar or chatbot isn’t likely to replicate.
Perhaps you’ll think it’s a little over-the-top penning a column about the experience but to me good service and kind-heartedness is well worth celebrating, never more so than in 2023 when so often big business rates technology over people.
Of course, technology has it’s place and there are many who’d prefer not to have to make eye contact or small talk, doing their own check-in and check-out. And that’s absolutely fine.
However, interestingly, recent research by national consumer trends provider Retail Doctor Group finds the vast majority actually do want human interaction when they shop.
“It is not just the older consumer you might expect but it is pretty consistent across the board … (our research) shows around 70 per cent of consumers … want to interact, to be around people, and that is the same whether they are 18 or 80,” the group’s head of consumer insights, Anastasia Lloyd-Wallis, told the Sunday Mail last week.
“There is a proportion who say, ‘it’s not for me, give me the details, give me the data and let me do it all online’ but there is that 70 per cent who are wanting reassurance, wanting human connection and craving that human interaction.”
A few weeks back I found myself inside a busy car dealership as I waited for my car to be serviced, the welcoming staff setting me up with my trusty laptop in a makeshift office with a desk and chair.
Given they were happy to have me, it made good sense to stay put and work as it was pouring with rain and the dealership was about half an hour from home as well as my office.
As I worked away I watched as customers came and went, each treated with good humour, respect and patience by the broad-smiling staff at the Semaphore-based double dealership.
The mainly middle-aged male workers got up frequently from behind their desks to open the door for the older customers, telling several to “be careful, it is slippery out there” and inquiring if they needed an umbrella.
The same when one was having trouble working out how to work the coffee machine.
When a country couple called in, explaining they’d had an unexpected trip to the city and wondered if there was any chance a mechanic might be free to look at an issue with their car, the day’s schedule was re-juggled without fanfare to accommodate the request.
It was uplifting to have a front-row seat to view the good, old-fashioned service and be reminded why I’d chosen to travel the extra distance to bring my car to this dealership – even better when they included me in the offering of shared office sweets.
There’s no doubt technology has it’s place and self-serve can be a convenient option but it can’t ever replace human connection – or the random act of kindness by a good-hearted soul, something that is worth reciprocating with a warm smile and “thank you”.
Originally published as The simple thing self-serve can’t deliver on: Rebecca Whitfield-Baker is reminded of good service