CANADA. “If we chase perfection then we might just catch excellence.” These words from Toronto Pearson International Airport Vice President, Customer and Terminal Services Scott Collier sum up a step change in attitude to consumer and commercial affairs that began at the airport over five years ago.
It’s the story of an airport that rated among the lowest in its region for customer satisfaction in 2014 and that now ranks not only as number one in North America but also competes admirably on the basis of its service quality standards on the global stage.
It is a story of fresh thinking about retail, dining and services, which has seen Toronto Pearson go from an under-performing business to one that is consistently hitting record sales highs and robust spend growth.
It is a story about taking on one of the biggest challenges in any organisation: to change the culture from within. To shine a light on practices, policies and partnerships, not by forcing people to act differently but by getting those people – in this case 50,000 staff across a range of organisations – to be the leaders. The ‘I Am Toronto Pearson’ movement that has emerged from this empowerment of people is something, we believe, that other airports can and should aspire to.
There are also lessons to be learned from Pearson’s approach to Trinity partnerships, its willingness to embrace new thinking about and establish new templates for its dealings with airlines, government agencies, concessionaires and brands.
There’s a spirit of collaboration here and a pride among employees in working at the airport that is real and that is lived out daily.
More than five years on from the start of this journey, we are proud that the team at Toronto Pearson has invited us to tell this tale of transformation.
Please enjoy this latest edition of our Spotlight eZine series with our compliments.
