I (along with every other AAdvantage member) received an email today from Dan Garton, the Executive VP of Marketing at American Airlines. In that email Dan announced that once again, American Airlines travelers will be able to say thank you to an employee who provides outstanding customer service. American will be mailing a stack of employee recognition certificates to it’s elite flyers to handout to employees who go above and beyond.
Prior to 9/11, American had just such a program which was called Someone Special (SOS). The certificates could be turned in for free travel passes on AA. The memory is a little fuzzy now, but I think they could be redeemed for some other trinkets as well. This excellent program was one of the very first things to be cut by AA in the aftermath of 9/11. It may not sound like much, but the agents on my team acted like they’d been handed a 20 dollar bill everytime they got one from a customer. Little things do make a difference, and I’m glad to see that AA has seen fit to bring back a similar program. Let’s hope they don’t axe it at the first opportunity this time.
So…AA elites…be on the lookout for these certificates, and hand one out when an employee does right by you. They appreciate it more than you think. And frankly, good service seems to be such a rarity nowadays that when it does happen, I think some recognition is warranted.
