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From 3-star survival mode to 4-star service excellence?
Here’s how my long-time client Andre Viljoen led Air Mauritius through a transformation of their entire operation. 👇
When I first connected with Andre, Air Mauritius was facing a classic business challenge –
They were stuck in “survival mode,” focused on financial metrics while competing against 4- and 5-star international carriers.
But then Andre had an EYE-OPENING service experience at the LUX* LeMorne resort in Mauritius.
(Imagine: Personal coffee blends with your name, reception at a coffee bar instead of a counter, and towels embroidered with guest names!)
Like Air Mauritius, LUX* was once a mid-tier, financially struggling organization. But when they made service a top priority, they turned their financial fortunes around as well.
After experiencing LUX’s service culture first-hand, Andre was convinced that his airline’s financial success would come from its service.
And he was right! In fact, I would say that Andre had realized a FUNDAMENTAL TRUTH about business success: Service comes FIRST. Financial returns follow.
Andre reached out to me. And together, we set out to revolutionize the customer experience at Air Mauritius with comprehensive education program, service process redesign, complete cultural transformation.
The results? In just two year, Air Mauritius elevated their Skytrax rating from 3-star to 4-star! Not only that, they earned the title of best airline in the Indian Ocean.
But these wins meant more than adding stars and collecting accolades. They signaled that Air Mauritius had fundamentally shifted from a survival mindset to a service-first culture – ready to compete with the world’s premier carriers.
#VideoPosts #CustomerService #ServiceCulture #ServiceImprovement
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Below is an Autogenerated Transcript
So, lots. I found that in general, you know, service wasn’t the highest priority. What was, was all about trying to survive financially. And, at the time, we just, just didn’t understand why we’re in business. You’re in business about service to customers, and the return on investment coming second. Because if you don’t get the first part right, the return doesn’t happen.
And whilst I, one of the first hotels that I went and spent a week at in Mauritius was the LUX* Group. And I walked in, this was LUX* Le Morne, and I was absolutely blown away by the service experience, the innovation, the attention to detail, the just, the warmth of it, the things they did differently. The hotels normally have a reception counter. You drive in and go to the reception. Here from the car park, they took you to their own coffee bar. They had a barista that made your own brand of coffee, created a package with your name on it. And the rest of the stay at the hotel, you walked around with your own coffee packets, or they had it in the restaurants for you. And your reception was the coffee bar. And from there to the hotel, when you walk in, the towels have your name embroidered on. And that it was just WOW!
And I stood there, and I said, “Well, what happened here?” And they said, “Oh, this is UP Your Service.” I said, “What’s that?” And they said, “There’s this guy in Singapore called Ron Kaufman.” One thing led to another, we got together over a period, and our problem was we were rated in terms of Skytrax, which is, as you know, one of the preeminent rating agencies in the world, at the time around a three star, competing against international carriers who were four star and five star. And I said, “How do we change this?” And that became the biggest journey for us. And we contacted you. You helped us put together an education program and then a development program on our service processes. And over time, within two years, we became a four star. Best airline to the Indian Ocean. And we were very, very happy with the progress.
