Talk to most FBOs and ask them what their points of difference are, and the stock answer may be: Our customer service is second to none.
The answer I received from West Star Aviation was a little different. They didn’t say their fuel was cheaper or their customer service better; though this may certainly be the case. I don’t know. To be honest, I didn’t ask.
Instead, General Manager Dave Krogman first answered with: “We are an environmentally friendly company.” He then added that West Star’s sustainability program isn’t a “paper tiger.” And he’s right, it’s not a program that looks good on paper but does little to actually save the environment. It’s a program that has won statewide recognition in the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Environmental Leadership Program (ELP). It’s also one that has saved the company thousands of dollars while preventing the release of contaminants into the environment.
Another FBO made national news recently when it broke ground on a new facility at San Diego International Airport. When complete, Landmark Aviation’s new state-of-the-art FBO campus is expected to achieve LEED Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. This is the highest certification one can achieve in the USGBC’s rating system for designing and constructing the world’s greenest, most energy efficient, and high performing buildings. It’s a notable achievement, especially when one considers that construction may have cost less had they gone for a Silver or Gold LEED rating or even no rating at all.
The reality is that customer service comes in many forms, and serving the environment may well be just another form of it.
As Rosemarie Andolino noted in this month’s Industry Insider column: “Sometimes the right thing to do, is just the right thing to do.”
And she’s right. When it comes to sustainability, the considerations should be: People, Planet and Profit. And in that order. What’s best for the people? What’s best for the planet? And if it turns a profit too? All the better.
Now that’s taking customer service to a whole new level.
