My Breakfast with Richard (Branson): The Customer Service Interview

[Originally published in Forbes.com. Written by Micah Solomon, an author, keynote speaker, and consultant on customer service, customer experience, and company culture. Reach Micah by email or phone, 484-343-5881, or visit his website.] 

I’m in Chicago with Virgin Group founder Richard Branson; we've come together to discuss my favorite topic, customer service. Branson gets right down to it: “The kind of service that customers want today is unscripted and authentic. Take Virgin Hotels, since we’re sitting here” (we’re in Miss Ricky’s Diner, a restaurant within Virgin’s flagship downtown hotel. Its name is a tribute to Branson’s mum, who still calls her boy “Ricky”): “Our approach to customer service here is very anti-scripting. Although Virgin Hotels is a luxury hotel, we don’t feel that luxury has to mean formality and stiffness. Customers want service that’s delivered by a personable employee and tailored to the customer and the customer’s situation.”

Avoiding “Stepford Customer Service”

“We take this same informal approach to customer service at all our Virgin brands,” continues Branson. By contrast, “the Asian airlines have service standards that are extremely high, but it’s not the right style of service for customers today. All of those incredibly young, incredibly pretty flight attendants who they keep around for what seems like only three years, who seem interchangeable and can only deliver scripted lines—that’s not what we’re about and that’s not the kind of service customers want today.”

Micah: “Stepford Service.”

Branson: “Yes, that’s the image I get too. And that’s what I want to avoid: 'Stepford Wives'-type customer service.”

Monitoring social media, to be able to respond more quickly

Customers today have an increased sense of urgency, says Branson; responding to customer complaints properly today means responding quickly. “Which means,” he says, “you need to hear those complaints in the first place, and right away; they’re often offered via social media and you have to be paying attention. We have 30 million Twitter followers and we’re very active at monitoring comments on Twitter. It’s hard work, but it’s the direction the world has gone, and we want to be on top of it.”

Turning complaining customers into lifelong friends 

“We’re not scared of these complaints, although of course they can be uncomfortable. A complaint is a chance to turn a customer into a lifelong friend. I say that seriously, not as some press release baloney. We listen to feedback all the time, from employees and from customers, we really think if we address a complaint well, and even involve the customer in the solution, it brings customers closer to our brand.”

Micah: “Like the curry story.” [A passenger who had suffered through a questionable curry dish on a Mumbai to Heathrow flight once wrote Branson a hilariously devastating culinary critique; Branson responded not with defensiveness but by inviting the passenger to help Virgin Atlantic improve its menu.]

Branson: “Exactly. The gent who complained about the curry is now on our advisory board for food for Virgin Atlantic, and he really does contribute.”

A leadership lesson from Sir Richard’s mum

Branson moves on to a leadership lesson. “When I was a kid, I had a tendency to criticize. But when I did, my mum would whisk me off to the bathroom to stand in front of a mirror. Ten minutes, never less. To think about how criticism is a poor reflection on the one who criticizes.

"This is still one of the most important points for me in leadership. Shower employees with compliments, and be very cautious with delivering criticism. Especially when you’re at a high level in an organization, criticism can be devastating to an employee. I prefer to praise employees for what they’re doing right, and it tends to lead to them doing more of the same. Not always, but it’s the way I choose to bet.”

Ninjas—or pirates?

Earlier in the week, word that I’ll be visiting with Branson set off a flurry of inquiries from friends: Ed, a frequent flyer, wanted me to thank Sir Richard for the Virgin Atlantic masseuse who fixed the crick in his neck. Lulu, a gifted potter, wants to know if Branson is a ceramics collector. Jenny, I kid you not, tells me via Facebook that she has a single daughter and is wondering if Richard has an available son.

Of all these, the only inquiries I pass on are from my 12-year-old son, who has written out a list of questions to ask. Gamely, as we tuck in to breakfast—a traditional English breakfast for Branson, complete with one of those grilled half-tomatoes; coffee and a fruit plate for me—he obliges:

Do you play video games? “Sometimes, but my kids are so much better than me that I’m quickly beaten.”

Ninjas or Pirates? “I’ve got to go with pirates.”

Have you heard of No Man’s Sky? (A much anticipated, at least among my son’s 6th grade classmates, video game)? “Yes.”

Do you prefer kittens or puppies? “I’m a bird lover, and because kittens grow up to be cats, I’ll have to go with puppies.”

Branson’s lieutenant, Raul Leal, the CEO of Virgin Hotels, joins us at this point. Leal’s timing is fortuitous; the last question from my well-traveled son is, “Ask Branson what his favorite hotel is in the world.” Branson answers instantly, and with an obvious twinkle in his eye: “Definitely the one we’re sitting in.” (Leal smiles, exhales, and leans back into the cushy banquette.)

Empowering employees improves results

“Empowerment is essential. I like to hire great employees at every level of the organization. Raul runs our Virgin hotels, and I mean runs them: he discovered and selected this building [the historic Old Dearborn Building, which Virgin Hotels now owns and manages as the first of what’s planned to be a nationwide hotel chain], oversaw the renovations, and got rid of all the pesky things we’ve always hated about other hotels, replacing them with guest-friendly touches, like the 'yes' phone”–when outfitting Virgin hotels, Virgin Hotels CEO Leal simplified the multi-button phones common in hotel guest rooms to feature only a single “Yes!” button that promised a positive answer to any guest inquiry–"and the ‘street prices minibar’ [rejecting the rapacious $4.50-Snickers-bar approach of other luxury hotels, Virgin’s minibars offer tasty snacks at tolerable prices. And they are presented in the most adorable little red fridge from SMEG, which is visible above in the photo of Branson.] He wouldn’t have time to do all this stuff if I were riding him on everything day to day.” Leal: “In fact, when Richard and I do spend time conferring together, it’s usually about people: getting the right ones and empowering them.”

(Which is not to say that Branson has lost his interest in the details of his brand. To the contrary, Branson is kind of an ultra-Virgin—extra virgin?--customer himself, stopping the interview at one point to grill Leal, the Virgin Hotels CEO, on whether the shampoo packaging in the guest rooms was both recyclable and recycled, and at another point to discuss the variations in design from one suite to another in the idiosyncratically elegant Chicago hotel.)

Employees need the right toolbox and a comfortable uniform

“Employees can’t give great customer service without a great toolbox. And when the elements of the ‘toolbox’ are personal, like their uniforms, we’re particularly careful to get feedback from the employees who’ll be affected before proceeding. For example: When we make a change in our uniforms, for example, we involve multiple employees and get their input. As well as mine. I’ll probably be suggesting the skirts get shorter and shorter–and shorter and shorter!–but not everybody agrees, and since I don’t have to wear the skirt, we get the input of those who will and we come up with something that everybody is comfortable with.

“When I had the idea that everybody [on Virgin Atlantic, Branson’s international airline] should wear red shoes, it was important that the red shoes—especially the red high heels—should fit. We spent a lot of time getting that right, because when you’re on your feet all day, you’re not going to give good service if you’re miserable.”

Micah: “What about your red high heels—how well did they fit?”

Branson: “Micah, you do come prepared for your interviews, don’t you! I bought them at a trans* shop the night before I did that stunt [Branson once lost a bet with a competing airline and joined their crew on board as a flight attendant, complete with red dress and high heels, and proceeded to gamely serve the passengers] and they fit me pretty well, thank you very much.”

Micah Solomon, recently named the "new guru of customer service excellence" by the Financial Post, is a customer service consultant, hospitality thought leader, keynote speaker, trainer, and bestselling author. Click for a free chapter from Micah's latest book or watch Micah's new customer service keynote speaker video.