(Tale of Tiger’s Big Adventure Highlights Airport’s Commitment to Customer Service – the Shorty Awards, n.d.)
Today, while all businesses know customer service is vital, it is rare to hear about employees that go above and beyond in airports. All too often, the stories that flood the headlines are disparaging stories of flight attendants who violated a customer’s rights or airlines that were non-communicative about delays. This story highlights the heartwarming tale of a boy who lost his stuffed animal, and because of “an airport operations manager who went above and beyond” (Tale of Tiger’s Big Adventure Highlights Airport’s Commitment to Customer Service – the Shorty Awards, n.d.), the story went viral for all the right reasons. This airline employee took the missing stuffed animal on an airport adventure, complete with photos, and presented a beautiful picture book with the stuffed animal to the boy and his parents upon their return.
The beauty of this example is that it goes beyond typical sales marketing. Even though Tampa International Airport is a business, the actions of this employee go beyond a characteristic sales model into a philanthropic model. Demographics are not the most important thing in understanding the wants and needs of the target audience in this example; psychographics is the focus. “When it comes to parents, it is important to take into account their values, attitudes, and lifestyle” (Allionce Group, 2023), and that is what this example does so eloquently.
While this is not a typical marketing example, the employee followed these strategies to address the needs and wants of this child and his parents:
- Ensure mental and emotional benefits for the family. The employee assured the boy and his parents that the tiger would be cared for, thus ensuring the safe return of the tiger and giving peace of mind to the family while they were on vacation.
- Make the lives easier for the family. The parents would not have to replace the tiger, nor would they have to comfort the child since their concern was taken seriously and resolved quickly.
- Create emotional connections between the airlines and the family. This family would never forget the caring people at the airport, and they were even given a souvenir of the momentous occasion.
This story demonstrates that the business does not always have the responsibility to tell its story. Suppose they play their cards correctly and do a good deed with the correct motivation. In that case, the account of the deed will almost tell itself with little input from the business (which makes the company look like the most customer-centric business with a genuine, caring heart). While the airport told the story with accompanying photos, customer service was highlighted with other user-generated stories being shared. Moreover, “extensive interest on social media led to widespread media coverage locally, nationally and internationally” (Tale of Tiger’s Big Adventure Highlights Airport’s Commitment to Customer Service – the Shorty Awards, n.d.). Tampa International kept things personal and let the family share their story rather than sharing the spotlight with the family. The airline was like the “guide on the side,” and the family was center stage.
This example is precisely what quality marketing campaigns should look like. It should not ever be all about the brands; it needs to be focused on the consumers. “Where many businesses miss a golden opportunity is failing to capitalize on the investment that customers have made in their brands” (Patel, 2020). Because the airline stepped aside and let the family and other customers share their stories of this and other customer service examples, the brand looked like the most caring airline ever. Imagine how young families reading and following this story may react when it comes to family vacation plans. They will echo the sentiment on Facebook:” ‘”What a great story. What a great airport'” (Tale of Tiger’s Big Adventure Highlights Airport’s Commitment to Customer Service – the Shorty Awards, n.d.). Disney World may be in the vacation plans of many young families worldwide as a result of this story and how it was handled.
As the story went viral, social media records for the airport were set with the following statistics:
- Facebook Reach–3,000,000+
- Facebook Likes–115,000
- Twitter Impressions–78,000
- Airport partner shares–Millions more (Tale of Tiger’s Big Adventure Highlights Airport’s Commitment to Customer Service – the Shorty Awards, n.d.)
The airport continued to do so much right in responding and interacting on social media. They responded appropriately as needed and shared the story, keeping it personal and straightforward. They never lost sight of the fact that this was a story of a real family, thus never turning it into a three-ring circus to capitalize on the pageantry of the story. Even the photos shared were unpretentious but fun. Moreover, the airport employee’s sacrificial giving of his time and money to create a special memory for the family truly demonstrated what was at the heart of this story.
(Tale of Tiger’s Big Adventure Highlights Airport’s Commitment to Customer Service – the Shorty Awards, n.d.)
Suggesting a more effective way the story could have been handled would be difficult. The only concern might be that all parents would expect similar treatment if something like this happened to them instead of considering this an outstanding example of customer service above and beyond. Employees are individuals just like the families they serve. Out-of-the-box stories with this much attention are few and far between. Hopefully, the employee asked his superiors before taking action, but he may not have thought it would garner such widespread attention. One can hope that as a result of this experience, employees were encouraged to think outside the box and truly serve the customers creatively while attempting to clear any ideas with their superiors beforehand. Maybe there is a way of tangibly rewarding employees who go above and beyond. Permitting the customer to tell the story was an exceptional move because it let the customers decide how much they would share instead of the airlines over-sharing and potentially making the customer an unintended spectacle.
As I look at the current Tampa International Airport website, Facebook, Twitter, and mobile app, I am encouraged to witness that they are still hard at work engaging with their customers and sharing fun and vital information to inform and entertain them. While I have not closely followed airports on social media (because they tend to look boring), Tampa International looks like a fun place to follow. I used to fly out of this airport, but I did not appreciate how friendly and engaging it was. I never thought about it, but that was before the era of social media. I see many authentic engagements, and with 132K followers on Facebook, 87.1K followers on Twitter, 68.8K followers on Instagram, and 1.5K subscribers on YouTube, their following is strong and engaging. They have contests, tips, photos, recommendations, and more that they share and respond to on an as-needed basis. They are working on a new website that is only available in beta now, so more is coming for this airport. Ethical engagements on social media are evident and handled professionally. I noticed several instances where they took complaints about specific airline/airport issues from customers.
“I’m never flying from Tampa airport again😤
— Taurus♉️ (@nenedenmark_) May 26, 2023
We’re sorry to hear that! Can you DM us what happened to make you feel this way?”
(FlyTPA, 2023)
This is an excellent illustration of how they respond to customers when things are not going well. They are still kind, considerate, and professional.
Their mobile app has all the vital information and is easy to navigate. They realize that most people have mobile devices and would not carry a personal computer to access the website in an airport. It serves the needs exceptionally well and has everything the person needs to know at the airport but is optimized for a mobile device (simple text, less photos, mobile-friendly menus, etc.).
References
Allionce Group. (2023, May 1). Marketing to Parents: Understanding Their Psychographics – Allionce Group. https://www.allioncegroup.com/marketing-to-parents-understanding-their-psychographics/
FlyTPA [@FlyTPA]. (2023, May 26). I’m Never Flying From Tampa Airport Again [Image Attached] [Tweet]. Twitter. Retrieved May 27, 2023, from https://twitter.com/nenedenmark_/status/1662048283873738753
Homepage | Tampa International Airport. (n.d.). https://www.tampaairport.com/
Patel, N. (2020). How to Get Your Customers to Market Your Business for You. Neil Patel. https://neilpatel.com/blog/use-your-customers-to-market-your-brand/
Tale of tiger’s big adventure highlights airport’s commitment to customer service – The Shorty Awards. (n.d.). https://shortyawards.com/8th/boy-leaves-stuffed-tiger-at-tpa-returns-to-a-tale-of-tigers-big-adventure-see-more-at-httpww
