It sounds like the worst kind of complacent pap to say that every bad experience for a customer is an opportunity for a brand, but a quote in the Chicago Tribune this week from American Airlines managing director of customer experience Mark Mitchell suggests that’s exactly the case.

Cited in an article examining the role of the ‘professional apologizers’ – aka specialist customer service staff – employed by the airlines, Mark said:

“We know how our customers score us on a routine flight, and we also know how they score us when we handle a delay situation very poorly or very well. When we handle a delay situation well, they score us about 14 to 16 points higher than they do for just a regular old on-time flight.”

Does your brand leave your customers feeling like Mr Grumpy or Mr Happy?

Staff at Southwest Airlines, meanwhile, aim to contact every passenger affected by delays or other problems within 24 hours of their experience to apologise, offer a brief explanation and a small gift - usually a discount voucher for a future flight. The result is that Southwest had the lowest consumer complaint rate of the 19 airlines ranked by the US Department of Transportation in 2009.

There are at least two differing schools of thought as to why the successful recovery of a poor experience can do wonders for brand perception. The first (and somewhat depressing) view is that consumers have come to expect certain industries to perform badly and provide poor service - a perception for which Ryanair is surely the poster child. A brand that makes an effort to repair some of the damage done, therefore, accrues bonus points above and beyond the norm.

The alternative, more encouraging possibility is that consumers understand that no brand can be perfect one hundred percent of the time, and respect those brands which acknowledge that fact and act appropriately.

Interestingly, the latter view agrees with the findings of some qualitative research we conducted recently among brand loyalists of another service provider. When talking to those most loyal to the brand, we found that they were capable of transforming even a strongly negative experience into a reason to support and believe in that brand. Thus a wrongly charged fee subsequently refunded became an  example of excellent customer relations, while stories of oustanding service from competitor brands were ignored or dismissed as ’salesman’s tactics’.

It’s often difficult for marketers to persuade senior management that the best thing a brand can do when it gets something wrong is metaphorically to throw up its hands and admit it. No organisation likes to open up a vulnerable area to attack. The alternative, however, may be to log in one  morning to find your brand immersed in a stream of vitriol from unhappy customers – particularly in this age of social media and blogging.

So the next time you find yourself in a situation when the ordure has just headed skywards, take a deep breath, tell the truth and say you’re sorry. As your mother always told you, it’s the right thing to do…

You can always rely on Michael O’Leary to play the pantomime villain.

True to form as Britain’s skies opened for business, Ryanair’s Chief Executive told passengers his airline would not meet hotel and subsistence expenses incurred while stuck abroad. Ryanair would reimburse travellers the original price of their air fare and no more, he said.

Ryanair’s deal is pretty clear – and the brand has been very appealing. A cheap, no frills service that gets you to your destination and if you want a bit more in the way of service, you will have to pay a bit more.

But is Michael’s declared refusal to abide by European legislation on looking after stranded passengers a step too far? Giving a no-frills service: fine. But, if you run an airline in Europe, you probably have to put up with European aviation laws.

Ryanair is already reaping some pretty venomous criticism from the stalls.

‘You can’t say, as O’Leary has, “the laws weren’t designed for these circumstances”.  Everyone understands that you’re just saying “the law is there to ensure that money goes into Michael O’Leary’s pockets, not out of them” – Telegraph April 22nd 2010.

“This is shocking behaviour and rubs salt into the wounds of those who have been stranded overseas” - Norman Baker, Liberal Democrat transport spokesman.

When does cheap become mean? Michael may be one brand owner who should get closer to his customers but might find the experience a bit uncomfortable in the near future.