Air hostess

She was well dressed and stylish. With a smile She came to our row and asked, what would you like ?. Seated  with  me  was my friend traveling to kolkatta.  I was not sure, what to ask ?. Then   She continued..."I can offer only one choice and offered the  plate containing the snacks.

My friend asked immediately " what is this?".

"Beef with  rice",she smiled and said.

 "I am a pure vegetarian",He replied immediately.

 "Sir, I have only Non-vegetarian and I do not have anything other than this- in this flight.

You have not booked a veg food. We are carrying  only non veg food in this flight."

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 My friend did not  know what to do ?. Those days I was told that Singapore Airlines was one of the best Airlines and We thought everything was taken care of, once the ticket was booked from Jakarta to singapore. But that was not true. We realized that we made a mistake.

But what surprised me was the scenes unfolded after this Conversation.something Which I cannot not  forget. After she left,  I started eating what i got and my friend  was looking at me in total despair. After 5 minutes she came again.  Seeing her,  my friend's Spirits got kindled again. He was simply excited because he was being  attended  to without any request. That too With a smile, free of cost.

she said ' I am sorry sir, I could manage only this." she gave some cut fruits to him. "After handing over the fruits she said to him,Sir "I have ensured a veg meal for you in your next connecting flight from singapore to kolkatta".

We were completely floored at this statement. The most appropriate and proactive response from her to book a veg meal for him. Even today, I am not able to comprehend what made her to think in those direction to book a  veg meal in the connecting flight while we are still traveling. There was no need for her to do that.  Even if she had not done, my friend would not have blamed her or even felt bad about the services. she had already done what she could do.  but she took the pains of talking  to the ground staff from flight and booked a veg meal for him. How many Of us can think in those direction. We are in a world with ample opportunities to do good, but people resist or hesitate. In this case at the maximum ,a piece  of advise might have been given,  "please do not forget to indicate your preference while booking next time ." Who cannot give such advises ?.   Advise is something everyone would love to give in abundance. But calling  through the cockpit transmitter and booking a veg food for him and getting confirmation from next flight was something extraordinary ?. For me, it was very innovative and extraordinary approach to a customer issue.

Then how does it happen only with some people  ?. These situations are not taught in the class rooms. The theory of customer satisfaction is known to everyone.  " When perception equals expectation ,customer satisfaction is the result. When expectation is more than perception, complaint is the result and when perception is more than the expectation, it results in customer delight." Is Perception alone, more than customer expectation is enough to create customer delight.,"no,The  theory is proved wrong here.  Here She could not even deliver the normal service even though she understood the requirements. But  her response to an unexpected requirement  made the difference.The absolute truth is that 'perception exceeds expectation only if empathy is a part of perception'.  Thanks to that girl who taught us this great lesson and she is an unsung hero for both of us.