Project Goal: Increase sensitivity and customer focus for airport Parking Control Officers (PCOs)

Client:
International airport for California's third largest city

Our level of responsibility:
I had total responsibility for the design and delivry of this program. I worked closely with the department manager and supervisors to ensure the program was relevant to them.

Duration of the engagement:
1 month

The problem(s) presented to us:
The airport PCOs are regularly faced with unhappy, irate, and belligerent public (customers). They possess varying degrees of skills for handling these situations with professionalism, politeness and authority. There needs to be consistency among all PCOs. As the Airport becomes more congested, especially Friday and Sunday nights, and holidays, PCOs need to sharpen their people skills to keep on top of tense situations.

Our steps in solving the problem:

Monitor the PCOs on two of their busiest days to assess their level of customer communication skills
Interview managers to see what skills they think need to be improved.
Interview PCOs to see what their biggest challenges are.
Design and deliver two one-day "Customer Service Survival Skills" program

Results achieved:
Nearly all of those who attended the seminar said the training was "the best we've every had." They said it helped them shift their negative attitude toward their customers and their job. The manager reports he's only heard positive comments about the program, and people are still talking about it months afterwards.