Trust your people

Last week, a fire crippled Heathrow’s power supply, and every flight was cancelled. Passengers were rebooked for the next day, doubling the foot traffic at Europe’s busiest airport.

This was a disaster for my friend, who had assumed his Saturday travel plans would be calm and quiet. He struggles with crowds even at the best of times, and now everywhere he turned there were hundreds of people. His stress levels exploded.

What happened next was a rare act of customer service.

A concerned staff member saw my friend melting down and offered to escort him to a quiet space, away from the crowds. She shared her phone number and told him to call if he needed anything.

The relative peace and quiet made the next few hours bearable. And yet, as my friend made to leave for his flight, our heroine stepped in again. Sensing he was still overwhelmed, she made a few calls and arranged a chaperone to help him onto the flight. He was able to board ahead of the other passengers, avoiding the stress and the crowds.

These thoughtful actions rescued the day and won my friend’s lifelong loyalty.

I love this story as a reminder that when culture sets the right tone and people have the trust and freedom to act, wonderful things happen.