I am writing this blog post in a plane on my way home from Des Moines, Iowa. As I was thinking about what topic would be most interesting, my experience in the airport lead me to my story.

I arrived at the airport two hours early. I was keynoting at a luncheon and unsure how much time I needed to allow. I figure it’s better to be safe than sorry. I figured arriving early would have its perks. Boy was I wrong.

My interesting journey started when a Delta agent could not find my file in the kiosk. Instead of finding it in his computer, he asked me to enter my information three more times-he was convinced that I was in there. After the third attempt, I was allowed to come to the counter and given a ticket.

Because I was too early for the flight, I was told that I would have to get a seat assignment at the gate. When I inquired about this I was told it is always done this way. Funny…I never had this experience before.

The gate that I was directed to was C3. I walked up and down the terminal looking for C3. It was nowhere to be found. Apparently, it was once there but now under construction. Perplexed I inquired at a counter at a gate that was attended—these were few and far between. They indicated it had to be at gate 1 and 2. I proceeded to that ticket counter, waited in a long line to be told by the agent that I actually need to be at gate 4, not gate 2.

As I got to the gate, I looked up and nowhere on the monitor or any monitor did it mention my airline. Since no one was at the gate to help me, I sat down to wait. By this time it was 3:00 and my flight left at 4:10 p.m. I still did not have a seat assignment.

When someone arrived to help me, he assigned me a seat, never asking me what I would prefer and handed me a ticket. When I inquired about my seat on the second leg of my journey home he indicated I had to get that in Cincinnati and that is how it is always done.

Interestingly enough, I had never encountered this before and I have been flying for 25 years. I’m going to continue this blog discussion in my next post and explain why I am telling you this story.

Colette Chandler

Helping You Understand and Profit from Consumer Health and Green Trends

In my last blog post I mentioned my experiences flying which lead to this next discussion on customer service.

Now, why did I tell you the story about my travels and the different airline experiences?

Recession or not, customers expect good customer service. Shuffling customers around from gate to gate and be in essence punished for arriving early does not make a happy customer.

Compare this service to Midwest who went out of their way to help me get to Des Moines on the way over. It was my fault that I booked 9:00 p.m. instead of 9 a.m. This was the first time I had ever done this! There was a flight leaving at the same time and arriving in Des Moines around the same time. They apologized for having to charge me $50 to change it and were over the top accommodating. Then, once on the plane they offered everyone cookies—a very nice touch, even though I do not eat them.

When times are tough, especially for industries who are feeling it more such as the airlines, you need to recognize that the one thing that can separate you from the pack is your customer service. Now I may be singling out two airlines, but it could have been any one of them. I just happened to have this experience on Delta.

When you are in the sustainability arena, good customer service completes the people, plant and profit equation.

Remember, it is about treating people right. People expect more from companies today when they have less dollars and even more from sustainable companies who they feel should know better.

Colette Chandler

Helping You Understand and Profit from Consumer Health and Green Trends

I speak to both national and international audiences on topics of creating authentic green value, greenwashing, green marketing, and trends.

I always customize my speeches to my audience leaving them with ideas they can implement right away. I recently decided to include information about ways to know if something is truly green or if it is greenwashing. Considering the U.S. FTC already have charged three companies 4 months ago with false green claims, I figured knowing how to spot greenwashing would be important.

I have included the list below that I have put together and pulled from a couple of sources on the Internet:

-Follow the money and paper trail

Companies donate to political parties, think tanks, etc. Few disclose this in annual report – who donating to. Ask about all donations.

Ask about submissions made by company and lobbying issues you are interested in. Make sure on right side. Most companies and association will make submissions to government and other inquiries on issues of importance. These are often posted to website. Also send letter to politicians and government agencies—accessed by Freedom of Information Act.

-Find out associations to which they belong

Some companies may talk about their environmental policy and performance, but hide their anti-environmentalism behind banner of industry association to which they belong. See which associations they belong to and check and see their policies.

We;ll continue this discussion in my next blog post.

Colette Chandler

Helping You Understand and Profit from Consumer Health and Green Trends

My my last blog post, we discussion how to determine if a company is really green or greenwashing. If you missed it, scroll down below this post. Here are the remainder of my tips to determine this:

-Determine environmental track record

Many companies have had environmental issues or human rights violations that they may not want the public to know about. Check for info on watchdog groups and in the media and compare it to what they disclose – Green America. In sustainability transparency is everything.

-Ask for proof to back up claims (monitoring data, reviews, audits)

Companies may talk about commitment to transparency and prove info to stakeholders, but you need to check this on your own. Check their reports and where they refer to their monitoring data, reviews, audits.

-How do they handle their critics?

Some companies do go to great lengths to silence their critics. Make sure you know where your company and clients stand.

-Consistency in environmental launches and messages

Consistency needs to be tested both in US and Internationally if they operate in other countries. Make sure they do not opt for lower standards. Also, make sure that empty promises are not made under public pressure or that a new environmental launch isn’t starved of funds (are they talking about taking action to tackle climate change, yet withdrawing investments from renewable energy supplies?) – it’s a dead giveway how they feel about it overall.

Colette Chandler

Helping You Understand and Profit from Consumer Health and Green Trends