Four Tips to Retain Good FBO Employees

Employee recognition and retention: What gets rewarded gets repeated

By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Principals, Aviation Business Strategies Group

In our last blog, we mentioned that one of the top concerns for FBOs in our Mid-Year Fuel Sales Survey was finding and keeping qualified employees. Needless to say, it's a lot easier to retain a good employee than to go out and find a replacement.

Keeping your valued employees means you have less churn and provides the ability to deliver a more consistent customer service experience. 

Retention of good, qualified employees should rank as a top goal for FBO managers and supervisors along with retention of customers. You should work just as hard to accomplish both.

Here are four tips on retaining good employees:

1. Develop a good internal culture. Make your FBO a rewarding and fun place to work. Internal culture starts at the top. Lead by example.

2. Listen to your employees. Make sure your employees have a voice in your organization. Be appreciative of their input. Invite them to help create your mission, vision and customer promise statements. Employees who feel their voice is being heard will “buy into” the process and help create and maintain a healthy company culture.

3. Treat your employees as stakeholders. A stakeholder is anyone who has a stake in the company in terms of determining success or failure. Besides employees, other stakeholders include customers, vendors and suppliers.

4. Reward the routine. Let’s face it. Many of the tasks performed by FBO employees are repeated numerous times day in and day out. That’s why it is important to let employees know they are doing a good job, even for the most mundane routine task.

On this last point, we’d like to expound a little. By reward we are not talking about money. Research indicates that what most employees seek is being appreciated for a job well done. So let them know. Pat them on the back. Shake their hand. Let them know you appreciate their contribution as a true stakeholder. For example:

”That’s a great job of cleaning the lavatory. Way to go.”

”Super job of marshalling that aircraft. You used crisp and precise hand gestures. Keep it up.”

”You handled that last customer complaint beautifully by taking ownership of that oversight and making it right. Nice job.”

In their book Managing Knock Your Socks Off Service, Chip R. Bell and Ron Zemke state that what gets rewarded gets repeated. If you want your employees to grow with you, yes, they need to be compensated fairly. But what’s more powerful is your recognition, not just for their time on the job, but for their accomplishments as well.

How true. Showing employees you appreciate their contribution completes the retention cycle and helps cement a more permanent stakeholder relationship with the FBO.

What do you do to retain employees?  Let us hear from you by making a comment below.

About the bloggers:

John Enticknap has more than 35 years of aviation fueling and FBO services industry experience. Ron Jackson is co-founder of Aviation Business Strategies Group and president of The Jackson Group, a PR agency specializing in FBO marketing and customer service training. Visit the biography page or absggroup.com for more background.

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The Top 10 FBO Challenges for 2015

By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Principals, Aviation Business Strategies Group

In our last two blog posts, we reported the results and findings from our Mid-Year FBO Fuel Sales Survey. For this blog post, we look at the answers from a write-in question we asked in our survey:

What has been your biggest challenge so far in 2015? 

With a nod to David Letterman’s Late Night Show Top 10 List, we’ve compiled our own list based on our survey results and named it the Top 10 Challenges FBOs are Facing in 2015, and offer a little sage advice.

No. 10: Contract Fueling. Not surprisingly, this topic made the top ten list. This subject has been discussed and debated many times in various forums including the NATA FBO Success Seminar. Our tip to FBOs struggling with this topic is to stay in your comfort zone with your margins, establish your own FBO contract sales price and offer this to your contract customers. Do your homework and track your contract sales. Did you sell more with a great discount?

No. 9: Managing your fuel inventory. Don’t get caught short. Develop daily dashboard reports to keep track of what’s in your tank. Check fuel prices on Thursdays to spot trends and to order fuel for Monday delivery if the prices are going up on Tuesday.

No. 8: Filling empty hangars. This is a constant challenge for many FBOs. Be proactive in identifying potential hangar prospects within a 50-mile radius. Use your flight tracking program to attain aircraft registration info. Put an attractive incentive package together, pick up the phone and call for an appointment. Also, visit neighboring airports and make cold calls. Know the costs of your hangar facilities.

No. 7: Fluctuating Fuel Prices. Welcome to the new normal. Our advice is make sure you keep track of the various price of loads that are in your tank. Be consistent with the margin you want to achieve relative to selling off your old inventory and adding new.  Platts-based fuel pricing data changes on Tuesdays for most FBO fuel contracts.

No. 6: Runway closures. This is obviously a problem that’s out of your control. Use down time to maintain ground equipment, train staff and freshen up the lounge area.

No. 5: Weather. This is another problem that’s out of our control. However, interestingly, it’s the number five concern among those surveyed.

No. 4: High AvGas Pricing & Availability. We saw this comment many times, especially among smaller FBO operations in the Central time zone. Here is an anonymous comment submitted in the survey that sums up the situation:

 “Uncertain supply issues that continue to plague delivery and pricing of AvGas. Rising prices which are counter to the price of oil and gasoline price at the pump are trends that are harming the industry as a whole, making it difficult, if not impossible to forecast sales and the future of the industry.”

No. 3: Growth and attracting more business to the airport.  Although our survey showed very positive signs of growth among FBOs in larger markets, smaller FBOs pumping under 40,000 gallons of Jet A per month are mostly reporting no growth. Historically, the larger markets improve first, followed by the secondary markets. As reported in our most recent blog post, there are positive industry recovery signs in both flight hours being flown and in the United States manufacturing sectors.

No. 2: Finding and keeping qualified employees. This problem is not unique to the FBO industry. Working hand-in-hand with the local Chambers of Commerce and grass roots efforts at job fairs are critical. But perhaps more importantly is giving a potential employee a realistic look at the offered job. This may include on-the-job demonstrations, before hiring, from seasoned employees of the actual job being offered. While determining aptitude is important, assessing attitude is essential.  Therefore, involve your team in the process.

No. 1: Marketing and inconsistent/low traffic counts. Attracting and waiting for new transient customers is one thing. Keeping the business you have is another. Make sure you are doing everything you can to keep your current customers. That’s worth more than spending marketing dollars to replace a disgruntled customer. It starts with a consistent customer service experience. Invest wisely by making sure your employees have good customer service skills and then lead them by example.  Always ask your current customers if they would recommend you. If they hesitate, then fix the internal problem first.

What is the biggest challenge you face in the FBO business?  We’d like to hear from you. Please write your comment below.

About the bloggers:

John Enticknap has more than 35 years of aviation fueling and FBO services industry experience. Ron Jackson is co-founder of Aviation Business Strategies Group and president of The Jackson Group, a PR agency specializing in FBO marketing and customer service training. Visit the biography page or absggroup.com for more background.

Subscribe:

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FBO Tip of the Week: Take Time for a Midyear Checkup

By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Principals, Aviation Business Strategies Group

Now that we're halfway through 2015, it's time to take stock of how your FBO has performed this far and review your goals and objectives for the year.

This midyear review is an excellent opportunity to take a look at all aspects of your business and review the metrics that give you a relative benchmark of performance. 

Fuel Sales: Utilizing your dashboard and YTD budget reports, compare fuel sales for each of the first six months against the results of the first six months for 2014 and your budget forecast. Are you trending up or down or maybe staying about the same? Are you going to hit your sales targets?

Fuel Pricing: Review your posted retail pricing for each month, and complete a market survey, both on the field and in the region.

Fuel Discounts: Figure the average of what you actually sold a gallon of fuel for, taking into account all discounts including contract fuel pricing, etc. You also may want to break out these costs by category to include base customers, transient customers, contract fuel, commercial into-plane and government/DOD.

Review all your expenses: Remember to include wages/salaries, utilities, building maintenance, insurance, supplies, rent/lease, loan payments, etc. Are they in line with your YTD budget?

Recalculate what each gallon of fuel costs to pump into an aircraft.

Figure Your Fuel Margin: Compare these margins YTD with the results of 2014.

MROs: Figure your hourly productivity rate for your shop and each technician for the first six months of this year.  Compare these findings against the results of 2014. How are you trending?

Review Your Airport Lease: Now is a good time to think about negotiating a lease extension.

Review Capital Improvements: Are you on target to start or finish your capital improvement projects?

Review Safety Procedures: Now is a good time to conduct an internal audit of your safety procedures.

Insurance Review: Call your insurance agent, and get together to review your insurance story. A good insurance story can save you money.

Review Your Credit Card Transactions: Are your CSRs asking customers for the preferred card?  The one that has the lowest interest/processing rates?

Review Your Base Tenant Leases: Have the leases renewed at the same rate or is there opportunity to negotiate better terms?

Review Your Customer Service Training: Take time to observe how your employees communicate and deal with your customers.  Are your customers willing to recommend you without hesitation?

Now, tell us how you are doing. We'd like to hear from you to get a sense of how the industry is doing. Have you had more transient traffic these first six months compared to the same period in 2014? Do you have an opinion of whether there is an increase of in-flight hours compared to last year? Are fuels sales better, worse or about the same?

About the bloggers:

John Enticknap has more than 35 years of aviation fueling and FBO services industry experience. Ron Jackson is co-founder of Aviation Business Strategies Group and president of The Jackson Group, a PR agency specializing in FBO marketing and customer service training. Visit the biography page or absggroup.com for more background.

FBO Tip of the Week: Example of Contagious Company Culture: You've Got to Love Southwest Airlines, Part 3 of 3

By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Principals, Aviation Business Strategies Group

In this final blog post about developing a contagious company culture, we'd like to share a short case study of a celebrated aviation services company that has put it all together and shines above the rest: Southwest Airlines.

True, they're not in the FBO business, but for the sake of this blog post, let's call them kissin' cousins.

• Company: Southwest Airlines
• Commenced Operations: 1971
• Years in business: 44
• Years of Profitability: 41 plus and counting
• Market Positioning: Low-cost fares
• Market Positioning Symbol: Peanuts
• Founder/Figurehead: Herb Kelleher

Many have attributed the contagious company culture instilled at Southwest Airlines to Kelleher, a rather colorful business figure who once accepted the challenge of Kurt Herwald, then the president of the FBO/MRO Stevens Aviation, to an arm wrestling match for the right to use a marketing phrase: Just Plane Smart.

"A company is stronger if it's bound by love rather than fear,” Kelleher has said while describing the internal culture at Southwest Airlines.

Perhaps coincidentally, Southwest started its operations at Love Field (DAL), Dallas, Texas, and still marries the heart symbol/graphic with its brand name.

Not so coincidental is Southwest's consistent profitability and its reputation for extreme customer loyalty. The two harmoniously go together, like peas and carrots. And at the heart of its customer loyalty is an internal culture that thrives on purpose.

In past blog posts we've talked about developing a company vision statement that is forward looking and describes what a company wants to become. Southwest's vision statement is: "Our vision is to become the world's most loved, most flown and most profitable airline."

But Southwest also created a purpose statement that essentially states why a company exists: "We exist to connect people to what's important in their lives through friendly, reliable and low-cost air travel."

Both the vision and purpose statements are meant to inform and inspire the primary employee stakeholder group. And to drive home the basic tenets of the purpose statement, Southwest developed a series of short videos. Although you can find them on YouTube, they are primarily targeted for viewing by employees.

They're slices of life and highlight the efforts of employees who go the extra mile because the internal culture inspires and gives them permission to do so without hesitation. Click here to view the video about the company’s vision and purpose statements.

In summary, a contagious company culture is one that is contingent upon a management style that nurtures instead of controls. It acknowledges and celebrates its employees’ strengths and encourages good employee behavior while recognizing their contributions.

As we teach in our Don't Forget the Cheese! FBO customer service training program, what employees seek most from an employer is not a monetary reward, but simple recognition of a job well done.

What has your FBO done to create an outstanding company culture? Let us know in the comments.

About the bloggers:

John Enticknap has more than 35 years of aviation fueling and FBO services industry experience. Ron Jackson is co-founder of Aviation Business Strategies Group and president of The Jackson Group, a PR agency specializing in FBO marketing and customer service training. Visit the biography page or absggroup.com for more background.

FBO Tip of the Week: Team Chemistry-A Key Component of Contagious Company Culture, Part 2 of 3

By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson
Aviation Business Strategies Group

In Part 1 of this series, we said a spirited and contagious company culture is essential in delivering a great customer service experience because it sets the tone and feeds the passion of the operation.

A key component of this type of culture is team chemistry. Good, athletic teams with winning cultures will often point to their internal chemistry as a factor for their success.

But where does good team chemistry come from? How does it take hold and why does it flourish in some companies and not in others?

Certainly, having the right combination of team members plays a big part. But perhaps more importantly is having the right management team in place that's been trained or knows intuitively how and when to nudge the ship in the right direction. It’s important to lead by example, set the tone, act and react consistently, and recognize and reinforce good behavior.

FBO management that has a team-oriented mindset will effectively infuse a healthy culture into the organization where it becomes infectious and adopted by the stakeholder employees.

Many companies try to impose repair for their internal culture problems by attempting to manipulate the behavior of their employees. Quick-fix gimmicks like providing monetary rewards or merchandise incentives may alter a behavior pattern in the short term, but the effects are often short lived and it doesn't take long for the same old habits to find their way back into the culture.

The remedy? Change the cultural mindset; cure the problem.

Changing the cultural mindset is a conscious decision and, yes, it can be done. In other words, the manager or management team first has to be able to recognize when there is an internal cultural problem. As mentioned in Part 1 of this series, an independently administered SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis will help determine what's working and what's not.

Then the management team has to be willing to adopt a cathartic or energizing process that involves all the employee stakeholders. When employees feel their opinions count, an adjustment in mindset takes place. They become more open to change.

Remember, it's not the chemistry of each individual team member that counts. What matters most is the team chemistry that thrives collectively and is managed wisely.

In our next blog post, we'll provide an example of an aviation company where team chemistry flows freely and is highly contagious.

About the bloggers:

John Enticknap has more than 35 years of aviation fueling and FBO services industry experience. Ron Jackson is co-founder of Aviation Business Strategies Group and president of The Jackson Group, a PR agency specializing in FBO marketing and customer service training. Visit the biography page or absggroup.com for more background.

FBO Operations Tip of the Week: Differentiate Your FBO on Customer Service, Not on Price

By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Principals of Aviation Business Strategies Group

- Facilitators of NATA’s FBO Success Seminar and Authors of the forthcoming book: FBO Survival: 10 Tips to Keep Your Operations Lean, Mean & Profitable

Note: Join John and Ron at NBAA Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference. Full details.

Many FBOs have gone out of business by lowering their prices during prolonged periods of time. Yes, FBOs need to be price-competitive, but they must maintain healthy margins and find other ways to compete through differentiation.

One of the best ways we find to differentiate one FBO from another is to offer an outstanding and memorable customer service experience. This is a fundamental shift in the FBO industry away from a price-sensitive business model to one based on providing exceptional customer service.

More and more FBOs are taking customer service training very seriously. Just as FBOs don’t tolerate mishaps on the ramp, they are becoming more conscious of eliminating miscues with the way they deliver customer service.

Research indicates that loyal customers don’t stop doing business with a company solely because of price, but rather because of a poor customer service experience. However, most will return if you recognize and fix the problem.

One of the ways to improve the customer service experience is to standardize training and look for ways to motivate employees in a way where they take ownership of problems when they arise. An example of a standardized training system is the Don't Forget the Cheese! customer service training program written specifically for the FBO industry.

About the bloggers:

John Enticknap
John Enticknap has more than 35 years of aviation fueling and FBO services industry experience and has served as president/CEO of Mercury Air Centers, a network of FBOs he grew from four facilities to 21 locations. He has international FBO experience including opening the Royal Aviation Terminal in Kuwait. John has held executive management positions with DynAir Fueling and CSX Becket Aviation and holds a Bachelor of Science in industrial management from Northeastern University. He teaches the acclaimed FBO Success Seminar for the National Aviation Transportation Association (NATA) and is an NATA certified safety auditor. John is the co-author of the forthcoming book FBO Survival! Keeping Your Operation Lean, Mean & Profitable. He also writes an industry blog titled FBO Connection for Penton‘s B&CA Digest. He is an active ATP and CFI rated pilot with more than 8,100 flight hours; certified in both fixed and rotary wing aircraft. jenticknap@bellsouth.net, Ph: 404-867-5518, www.absggroup.com

Ron Jackson
Ron Jackson is co-founder of Aviation Business Strategies Group and president of The Jackson Group, a PR agency specializing in FBO marketing and customer service training. He has held management positions with Cessna Aircraft, Fairchild Aircraft and Bozell Advertising. Ron developed the strategic marketing communication plan and programs for Mercury Air Centers and consults with numerous FBOs in areas of marketing, promotions and customer service training. He is the author of Don’t Forget the Cheese! The Ultimate FBO Customer Service Experience. and co-author of the forthcoming book FBO Survival! Keeping Your Operation Lean, Mean & Profitable. He is a journalist and co-developed NATA’s acclaimed FBO Success Seminar Series. Ron writes an industry blog for Penton’s B&CA Digest titled: The FBO Connection.  Ron@thejacksongroup.biz,  Ph: 972-979-6566, www.absggroup.com

There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things

FBO Operations Tip of the Week: Cross Train and Involve all Employees in the Customer Experience

By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Principals of Aviation Business Strategies Group

- Facilitators of NATA’s FBO Success Seminar and Authors of the forthcoming book: FBO Survival: 10 Tips to Keep Your Operations Lean, Mean & Profitable

For most FBOs, employees must learn to multitask. In evaluating FBOs that are consistently successful, we find employees do many different job functions that result in not only a more efficient operation but it actually helps employee morale and adds to the customer service experience. As we like to say, a happy employee, a happy customer.

The result can be a very contagious working environment that gets noticed by the customer. Plus, cross training makes all employees more valuable and better motivated.

Here are some ideas:

• Train your CSRs to meet and greet arriving aircraft. You’re probably already paying the workers’ compensation rate for ‘ramp’ on the CSRs. 

• Train your CSRs and building maintenance staff to be wing walkers. Tip: Having two wing walkers, especially in hangar movements, can decrease your accident incident rate and could help lower your insurance premium. 

• Get your accounting staff outside to learn about fueling and tank farm quality control. They might even learn about fuel quality control and inventory procedures. 

• When was the last time the executive staff worked the ramp or talked to arriving pilots and passengers? 

• Encourage ramp staff and the executive staff to walk the ramp for FOD and look at the FBO facility from the arriving pilot’s point of view. 

• Consider having your A&P technicians meet, greet and take part in the customer’s maintenance project experience. Once the inspection is completed, the A&P should be part of the discussion with the owner on what is to be fixed. This seems obvious but is rarely done. 

• In your flight school, when was that last time your chief instructor called and talked to the students before a check ride? Find out how the student likes flying and the overall learning experience.

About the bloggers:

John Enticknap
John Enticknap has more than 35 years of aviation fueling and FBO services industry experience and has served as president/CEO of Mercury Air Centers, a network of FBOs he grew from four facilities to 21 locations. He has international FBO experience including opening the Royal Aviation Terminal in Kuwait. John has held executive management positions with DynAir Fueling and CSX Becket Aviation and holds a Bachelor of Science in industrial management from Northeastern University. He teaches the acclaimed FBO Success Seminar for the National Aviation Transportation Association (NATA) and is an NATA certified safety auditor. John is the co-author of the forthcoming book FBO Survival! Keeping Your Operation Lean, Mean & Profitable. He also writes an industry blog titled FBO Connection for Penton‘s B&CA Digest. He is an active ATP and CFI rated pilot with more than 8,100 flight hours; certified in both fixed and rotary wing aircraft. jenticknap@bellsouth.net, Ph: 404-867-5518, www.absggroup.com

Ron Jackson
Ron Jackson is co-founder of Aviation Business Strategies Group and president of The Jackson Group, a PR agency specializing in FBO marketing and customer service training. He has held management positions with Cessna Aircraft, Fairchild Aircraft and Bozell Advertising. Ron developed the strategic marketing communication plan and programs for Mercury Air Centers and consults with numerous FBOs in areas of marketing, promotions and customer service training. He is the author of Don’t Forget the Cheese! The Ultimate FBO Customer Service Experience. and co-author of the forthcoming book FBO Survival! Keeping Your Operation Lean, Mean & Profitable. He is a certified journalist and co-developed NATA’s acclaimed FBO Success Seminar Series. Ron writes an industry blog for Penton’s B&CA Digest titled: The FBO Connection.  Ron@thejacksongroup.biz,  Ph: 972-979-6566, www.absggroup.com

There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things

FBO Operations Tip of the Week: Maximize Your Profit Position

By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Principals of Aviation Business Strategies Group

- Facilitators of NATA’s FBO Success Seminar and Authors of the forthcoming book: FBO Survival: 10 Tips to Keep Your Operations Lean, Mean & Profitable

As FBO operators and managers, one of the most important tasks to keep in mind is maximizing your profit position.

In order to accomplish this, we rely on a standardized fuel pricing method. We think it is fair to say most FBOs use either cost-plus pricing or mark-up pricing. Cost-plus means you want to make a certain “plus” above your cost. For example, your cost today is approximately $2.25 per gallon and you want to make $1.50 per gallon. Therefore, simple math puts the selling price at $3.75 resulting in a profit of 40 percent  on sales. 

For a mark-up pricing example where you want to make $1.35 per gallon, your selling price would be $3.60 per gallon, or just short of a 60 percent mark-up on cost.

Both of these methods are common in the manufacturing business arena. The variance in these two methods lies in the difference between margin and mark-up. This can be a lengthy discussion, but suffice it to say, a thorough understanding of your costs of operation to include labor, facilities, other income, overhead, etc., affects what margin you use to show a profit. This, in turn, allows you to calculate what mark-up percentage you must use to get to the intended profit level.

We discuss these fuel pricing methods in greater detail at our NATA FBO Success Seminar, which is scheduled for March 9-10 at the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas. 

About the bloggers:

John Enticknap
John Enticknap has more than 35 years of aviation fueling and FBO services industry experience and has served as president/CEO of Mercury Air Centers, a network of FBOs he grew from four facilities to 21 locations. He has international FBO experience including opening the Royal Aviation Terminal in Kuwait. John has held executive management positions with DynAir Fueling and CSX Becket Aviation and holds a Bachelor of Science in industrial management from Northeastern University. He teaches the acclaimed FBO Success Seminar for the National Aviation Transportation Association (NATA) and is an NATA certified safety auditor. John is the co-author of the forthcoming book FBO Survival! Keeping Your Operation Lean, Mean & Profitable. He also writes an industry blog titled FBO Connection for Penton‘s B&CA Digest. He is an active ATP and CFI rated pilot with more than 8,100 flight hours; certified in both fixed and rotary wing aircraft. jenticknap@bellsouth.net, Ph: 404-867-5518, www.absggroup.com

Ron Jackson
Ron Jackson is co-founder of Aviation Business Strategies Group and president of The Jackson Group, a PR agency specializing in FBO marketing and customer service training. He has held management positions with Cessna Aircraft, Fairchild Aircraft and Bozell Advertising. Ron developed the strategic marketing communication plan and programs for Mercury Air Centers and consults with numerous FBOs in areas of marketing, promotions and customer service training. He is the author of Don’t Forget the Cheese! The Ultimate FBO Customer Service Experience. and co-author of the forthcoming book FBO Survival! Keeping Your Operation Lean, Mean & Profitable. He is a certified journalist and co-developed NATA’s acclaimed FBO Success Seminar Series. Ron writes an industry blog for Penton’s B&CA Digest titled: The FBO Connection.  Ron@thejacksongroup.biz,  Ph: 972-979-6566, www.absggroup.com

There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things

FBO Operations Tip of the Week: With Fuel Prices Falling, Guard Your Optimism

By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Principals of Aviation Business Strategies Group

- Facilitators of NATA’s FBO Success Seminar and Authors of the forthcoming book: FBO Survival: 10 Tips to Keep Your Operations Lean, Mean & Profitable

 
As the price of auto gas falls almost daily, we wonder how the corresponding drop in Jet A fuel might affect the FBO business.

Just four weeks ago, OPEC indicated they would stabilize a barrel of oil at $60. Currently, a barrel of oil is hovering around $54. Comparatively, at the beginning of 2014, index pricing for Jet A was around $3 per gallon. In December we saw roughly $1.60 per gallon resulting in a $1.40 swing. 

This begs the question: Will aircraft operators take advantage of lower fuel prices and start flying more resulting in more gallons being pumped at FBO locations?  

Based on our research and other industry discovery work, the answer is no, at least not in the short term. 

For the most part, flight departments, with FBOs following suit, have adapted over the past few years to what we call the new normal. While operators have right-sized their aircraft fleet and supporting flight crew personnel, FBOs have resized and streamlined their operations to meet the corresponding demand.

That’s not to say the industry will not benefit in the long term by lower fuel prices. Certainly, if lower fuel prices persist and the result is a more robust economy, aircraft operators will make the necessary adjustments by adding capacity and flight scheduling flexibility.  

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Just as it took months, even years, to get where we are now, the effects of an economic recovery on businesses operating aircraft will be slow to take place.

In the next few weeks, we will conduct our Annual FBO Industry Survey, which examines both past years’ performance as well as a look at current trends and predictions for 2015. In addition, we will probe FBO owners and operators to get a feel for their confidence in the economy going forward. 

In the meantime, lower fuel prices will give us at least a temporary reason to be optimistic. However, we can expect a continued sluggish market into the first quarter of 2015 with perpetual swings in fuel pricing and no appreciable increase in flight hours.

About the bloggers:

John Enticknap
John Enticknap has more than 35 years of aviation fueling and FBO services industry experience and has served as president/CEO of Mercury Air Centers, a network of FBOs he grew from four facilities to 21 locations. He has international FBO experience including opening the Royal Aviation Terminal in Kuwait. John has held executive management positions with DynAir Fueling and CSX Becket Aviation and holds a Bachelor of Science in industrial management from Northeastern University. He teaches the acclaimed FBO Success Seminar for the National Aviation Transportation Association (NATA) and is an NATA certified safety auditor. John is the co-author of the forthcoming book FBO Survival! Keeping Your Operation Lean, Mean & Profitable. He also writes an industry blog titled FBO Connection for Penton‘s B&CA Digest. He is an active ATP and CFI rated pilot with more than 8,100 flight hours; certified in both fixed and rotary wing aircraft. jenticknap@bellsouth.net, Ph: 404-867-5518, www.absggroup.com

Ron Jackson
Ron Jackson is co-founder of Aviation Business Strategies Group and president of The Jackson Group, a PR agency specializing in FBO marketing and customer service training. He has held management positions with Cessna Aircraft, Fairchild Aircraft and Bozell Advertising. Ron developed the strategic marketing communication plan and programs for Mercury Air Centers and consults with numerous FBOs in areas of marketing, promotions and customer service training. He is the author of Don’t Forget the Cheese! The Ultimate FBO Customer Service Experience. and co-author of the forthcoming book FBO Survival! Keeping Your Operation Lean, Mean & Profitable. He is a certified journalist and co-developed NATA’s acclaimed FBO Success Seminar Series. Ron writes an industry blog for Penton’s B&CA Digest titled: The FBO Connection.  Ron@thejacksongroup.biz,  Ph: 972-979-6566, www.absggroup.com

There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things

FBO Connection Featured in B&CA Digest

By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Principals of Aviation Business Strategies Group

- Facilitators of NATA’s FBO Success Seminar and Authors of the forthcoming book: FBO Survival: 10 Tips to Keep Your Operations Lean, Mean & Profitable

 
We would like to welcome B&CA Digest readers to our blog, FBO Connection. Since our first blog post in 2011, the FBO Connection has been a source for discussion, ideas and general conversation on the FBO industry where you’ll find regular contributions from seasoned FBO professionals sprinkled with bits of wisdom and peppered occasionally with some hot topics. We like to call it “Sage Advice for the FBO Community.”

The content of the FBO Connection varies with each post and is written as a source of information for not only owners, operators, managers and supervisors but also for practically any FBO employee. In fact, we’ve received feedback from FBO operators who say they print our blogs and post them in the FBO for all employees to read. “It’s like taking a course in how to run a more successful FBO operation,” one regular reader commented.

With each blog post, we’ll peel back the onion to reveal what we consider to be seasoned FBO insider knowledge. Many topics fall out of our proprietary 10 Steps to Building a Profitable FBO, which forms the basis for our NATA FBO Success Seminar.

Included will be winning strategies and tactics you can put to use immediately and, over time, in the operation of your FBO. Subjects range from leases, minimum standards, reducing your cost of business and operating more efficiently to managing your fuel pricing/margins, finding “free money” hidden in your operation and competing on customer service, not price.

As we prepare for 2015, we’ll be busy blogging about upcoming events that affect the FBO industry. Here is a rundown on some of our forthcoming activities and educational opportunities:

• Jan. 15: Our Annual FBO Industry Survey and Forecast. Each January we conduct a survey of more than 500 U.S.-based FBOs to determine the overall health and direction of the FBO industry. With this information, we write a report and issue a news release stating our findings while providing a forecast for the coming year.
• Feb. 3: NBAA Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference, San Jose, Calif. Join us at 5:15 p.m. in the Conference Hall as we conduct the Pre-Conference Exhibitor Meeting. Here we’ll discuss how to get the most out of your booth presence at the S&D conference and why “adding a little cheese” can enhance your exhibit investment.
• March 9-10: NATA FBO Success Seminar, Las Vegas. Each year this seminar gets bigger and better as we cover in detail the essential elements in building a more successful FBO operation. For a complete overview of the topics we discuss, click here.

We look forward to reaching out to you through this blog and connecting on everyday issues that affect the bottom line of your FBO operation. If we happen to hit on a subject you’d like to comment on, or if you want us to address a certain issue, please let us know by sending an email to John Enticknap at jenticknap@bellsouth.net or Ron Jackson at rjacksongroup@earthlink.net.

One thing is for certain, we’ll add a little spice to your FBO life and maybe some sage advice along the way.

About the bloggers:

John Enticknap
John Enticknap has more than 35 years of aviation fueling and FBO services industry experience and has served as president/CEO of Mercury Air Centers, a network of FBOs he grew from four facilities to 21 locations. He has international FBO experience including opening the Royal Aviation Terminal in Kuwait. John has held executive management positions with DynAir Fueling and CSX Becket Aviation and holds a Bachelor of Science in industrial management from Northeastern University. He teaches the acclaimed FBO Success Seminar for the National Aviation Transportation Association (NATA) and is an NATA certified safety auditor. John is the co-author of the forthcoming book FBO Survival! Keeping Your Operation Lean, Mean & Profitable. He also writes an industry blog titled FBO Connection for Penton‘s B&CA Digest. He is an active ATP and CFI rated pilot with more than 8,100 flight hours; certified in both fixed and rotary wing aircraft. jenticknap@bellsouth.net, Ph: 404-867-5518, www.absggroup.com

Ron Jackson
Ron Jackson is co-founder of Aviation Business Strategies Group and president of The Jackson Group, a PR agency specializing in FBO marketing and customer service training. He has held management positions with Cessna Aircraft, Fairchild Aircraft and Bozell Advertising. Ron developed the strategic marketing communication plan and programs for Mercury Air Centers and consults with numerous FBOs in areas of marketing, promotions and customer service training. He is the author of Don’t Forget the Cheese! The Ultimate FBO Customer Service Experience. and co-author of the forthcoming book FBO Survival! Keeping Your Operation Lean, Mean & Profitable. He is a certified journalist and co-developed NATA’s acclaimed FBO Success Seminar Series. Ron writes an industry blog for Penton’s B&CA Digest titled: The FBO Connection.  Ron@thejacksongroup.biz,  Ph: 972-979-6566, www.absggroup.com

There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things

FBO Best Practices Series #9: Charge for the Free Stuff

By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Aviation Business Strategies Group - ABSGgroup.com 

- Authors of the forthcoming book: FBO Survival. 10 Tips to Keep Your Operations Lean, Mean & Profitable.

Welcome to our blog series on FBO Best Practices. With each blog post in this series, we’ll discuss “Best Practices” in running an efficient and effective FBO operation.

Best Practice #9: Charge for the free stuff. This is a simple reminder that every customer must contribute to your revenue stream, even the reluctant customer who doesn’t buy fuel.

The FBO business model that we’ve enjoyed for the past 50 plus years is dying a slow but inevitable death. If your FBO is still trying to exist on the margin charged on fuel sales, this is your wake up call.

In the “salad days” of our business, a healthy fuel gross margin of $2 per gallon or more would cover an FBO’s monthly expenses including the airport lease, insurance, facility upkeep and renovations, expansion, utilities, employee wages/compensation, fees and taxes, not to mention all the free stuff flight crews have come to expect.

But a $2 margin, normally factored into a posted price, is no longer realistic. No customer buys fuel at the posted price. It has been eroded over time by:

• Change in fuel buying habits by aircraft operators.
  - Pre-negotiated fuel purchasing.
  - Calling ahead for best discounts available.
  - Changing plans to get the best overall fuel purchase cost.
• No fuel required by operators.
• - Purchase of more fuel efficient aircraft.
  - Utilizing fuel tankering models.
  - Pre-established fuel points.
  - Better ATC routing for weather & flight planning to minimize costs.

• Fuel brokers negotiating lower fuel prices.
• Rising regulatory costs.
• Higher flowage fees charged by the airport.
• Increases in operating and insurance costs including liability, workman’s comp, health insurance, war risk, etc.

Note: An average sized FBO can have insurance costs as high as a $1,000 a day.

A Morphing Business Model

At the recent NBAA Conference held in Orlando, Florida on October 21-23, our company, Aviation Business Strategies Group (ABSG), was asked to facilitate one of our NATA FBO Success Seminar educational sessions titled: Get Ready for a New FBO Business Model.

A standing-room only crowd of aircraft operators and FBOs packed the session and took part in a lively follow-on discussion on how FBOs need to change the way they charge for services in order to continue providing first class facilities and great customer service.

The premise we presented is simple. As in the European FBO business model where services are unbundled, every aircraft operator that taxis onto your ramp must contribute to your revenue stream whether or not they purchase fuel.

Many FBOs have taken initial steps in this direction by imposing a ramp fee and/or a facilities fee. In general, these fees are normally waived if operators purchase a qualifying load of fuel.

However, many ancillary services are still being given away regardless of the selling price of a gallon of fuel. Aircraft operators expect baggage to be loaded and unloaded by the FBO. They expect trash service and galley service with ice and coffee. They may even expect free GPU and lavatory services as well as free towing, parking, tie downs and aircraft placement for departure. They also expect concierge services including taxi, limo and rental car logistics.

Then there are the clean restrooms, free coffee, popcorn and snack bar. Many FBO facilities offer a variety of crew lounges, rest areas, quiet rooms, computers, printers, Wi-Fi, copy, fax, flight planning, crew cars, and the list goes on.

As mentioned, gone are the $2 gross fuel margin days and selling fuel at the posted price. With all the customer and fuel broker pressures to discount fuel, gross fuel margins can get as low as $1.25 to $1.40 per gallon with some FBOs dropping to less than a $1 per gallon discount on contract fueling.

What aircraft operators don’t realize is when margins get this low, something has to give. Facilities fall into disrepair, customer service declines, dissatisfaction and disputes follow. No one wins in this scenario.

The New FBO Business Model

Since no FBO wants to be the first to start charging for unbundled services, what we at ABSG propose is a three-tier system.

Tier One: Full Service Pricing
Pay the full service posted price and get all the services thrown in.

Tier Two: Basic Fuel Service with À La Carte Pricing
Pay a discount off posted or a contract fuel price. Then pay for all the ancillary services requested. If no ancillary services, then also pay a facilities fee.

Tier Three: No Fuel Purchase
Pay a ramp fee, facilities fee and à la carte pricing for ancillary services requested.

At our NATA FBO Success Seminar, we discuss these issues in depth as well as a comprehensive examination of FBO operations, marketing, training and best practices. The next NATA FBO Success Seminar is schedule for March 9-10, at the Sands Expo Center in Las Vegas.

Tell us what you think—we appreciate your comments and thoughts. Also Like us by clicking the link below.

Send us an email to Ron@thejacksongroup.biz or jenticknap@bellsouth.net and visit us online at www.ABSGgroup.com.

About the bloggers:

John Enticknap
John Enticknap has more than 35 years of aviation fueling and FBO services industry experience and has served as president/CEO of Mercury Air Centers, a network of FBOs he grew from four facilities to 21 locations. He has international FBO experience including opening the Royal Aviation Terminal in Kuwait. John has held executive management positions with DynAir Fueling and CSX Becket Aviation and holds a Bachelor of Science in industrial management from Northeastern University. He teaches the acclaimed FBO Success Seminar for the National Aviation Transportation Association (NATA) and is an NATA certified safety auditor. John is the co-author of the forthcoming book FBO Survival! Keeping Your Operation Lean, Mean & Profitable. He also writes an industry blog titled FBO Connection for Penton‘s AC-U-KWIK Alerts. He is an active ATP and CFI rated pilot with more than 8,100 flight hours; certified in both fixed and rotary wing aircraft. jenticknap@bellsouth.net, Ph: 404-867-5518 www.absggroup.com

Ron Jackson
Ron Jackson is co-founder of Aviation Business Strategies Group and president of The Jackson Group, a PR agency specializing in FBO marketing and customer service training. He has held management positions with Cessna Aircraft, Fairchild Aircraft and Bozell Advertising. Ron developed the strategic marketing communication plan and programs for Mercury Air Centers and consults with numerous FBOs in areas of marketing, promotions and customer service training. He is the author of Don’t Forget the Cheese! The Ultimate FBO Customer Service Experience. and co-author of the forthcoming book FBO Survival! Keeping Your Operation Lean, Mean & Profitable. He is a certified journalist and co-developed NATA’s acclaimed FBO Success Seminar Series. Ron writes an industry blog for Penton’s AC-U-KWIK Alerts titled: The FBO Connection.  Ron@thejacksongroup.biz  Ph: 972-979-6566 www.absggroup.com

There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things

FBO Best Practices Series #8: Take Time to Develop Your Business Plan

By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Aviation Business Strategies Group - ABSGgroup.com 

- Authors of the forthcoming book: FBO Survival. 10 Tips to Keep Your Operations Lean, Mean & Profitable.

Welcome to our blog series on FBO Best Practices. With each blog post in this series, we’ll discuss “Best Practices” in running an efficient and effective FBO operation.

Best Practice #8: Planning, budgeting and sales forecasting. It’s not exciting; it’s not fun; but it’s essential to running a successful FBO operation.

Peter Drucker wrote, “The manager’s job is to keep his nose to the grindstone while lifting his eyes to the hills.”

We’re all guilty of focusing on the day-to-day grind and forget to look ahead and think, “what if?” Especially when the current business climate seems to be sucking us dry. Sometimes we need a little reality check.

Too often we seem to be obsessed with short-term results in our pursuit of business profit and management goals. If you have bankers, they want to see your monthly and quarterly results to make sure you can support your loan document covenants. 

If you’re a public company, you have one eye on the stock market and the other on short-term forecasts. Then you have to listen to critical analysts. “Got to have positive monthly results,” they say.

Now is the time of the year most FBO operators are thinking about what’s going to happen next year. They dream of a 50 percent increase in retail fuel sales, a full maintenance shop, and the end to contract fueling. Now that’s a good dream! Right?

Reality Check

Not so fast. The order of the day is to do a realistic sales forecast that forms the basis for a rational budget. Too many businesses start the planning process based on how much money they are going to spend on budgeted line items. They basically warm over last year’s costs, adjusting here and there.

However, a solid sales forecast drives a solid budget. Base the sales forecast on company history, at least the past two years. Factor in the national and local economy, projected business aircraft flight hours, projected fuel costs, aviation and health insurance. 

The fiscal budget is the short-term plan. Now, look to the hills and update the long-term plan. You might start with an examination of your airport lease agreement: Years left, rent increases, lease extension options, terms of extensions, requirement for major capital improvements. It just might be time to negotiate a lease extension.

Other items to review:  Business expansion plans, new hangar funding, add to charter fleet, new tug and fuel truck, renovating the terminate building.

Problem is, all of these items compete for cash and capital resources. The trick is to provide a balance between producing current positive results and investing in the future.

This can lead to a confusing management exercise where FBOs find themselves switching between visionary goals, intense investment, “performance-oriented” goal setting and/or retrenchment. The larger firms can even find themselves changing management teams.  Instead of keeping their nose to the grindstone, there is too much looking up.

Also, FBO owners must keep in mind that short-term strategies involving cost cuts may be short sighted and will not achieve short-term results or even meet long-term goals. Such as a 10 percent reduction in experienced labor, which can be self-defeating. We’ve even seen FBOs cut hangar rents below costs to attract new customers on the premise and promise of more fuel sales, which never come. 

Our Recommendation

Here is a list of action items we recommend:

• Complete a realistic budget for the coming 12-month period.
• Do reviews of the actual financial results and compare against your budget.
• Develop and use metrics that can be used to measure your business.
• Use dashboard reports to look at your business on a daily basis.

For longer-term planning, ask yourself these questions:

• How do we add value to our services and existing customers?
• Who are our target customers and what is our value proposition to them?
• What additional capabilities can we add to our business that adds value for our target customers?

These are fundamental initiatives for current performance and future investment that should serve as a guide for the near future planning. The results should be more sustainable and the company should not have to sacrifice the future for short-term gain.

At our NATA FBO Success Seminar, we discuss these issues in depth as well as a comprehensive examination of FBO operations, marketing, training and best practices.

Tell us what you think—we appreciate your comments and thoughts. Also Like us by clicking the link below.

Send us an email to Ron@thejacksongroup.biz or jenticknap@bellsouth.net and visit us online at www.ABSGgroup.com.

About the bloggers:

John Enticknap
John Enticknap has more than 35 years of aviation fueling and FBO services industry experience and has served as president/CEO of Mercury Air Centers, a network of FBOs he grew from four facilities to 21 locations. He has international FBO experience including opening the Royal Aviation Terminal in Kuwait. John has held executive management positions with DynAir Fueling and CSX Becket Aviation and holds a Bachelor of Science in industrial management from Northeastern University. He teaches the acclaimed FBO Success Seminar for the National Aviation Transportation Association (NATA) and is an NATA certified safety auditor. John is the co-author of the forthcoming book FBO Survival! Keeping Your Operation Lean, Mean & Profitable. He also writes an industry blog titled FBO Connection for Penton‘s AC-U-KWIK Alerts. He is an active ATP and CFI rated pilot with more than 8,100 flight hours; certified in both fixed and rotary wing aircraft. jenticknap@bellsouth.net, Ph: 404-867-5518 www.absggroup.com

Ron Jackson
Ron Jackson is co-founder of Aviation Business Strategies Group and president of The Jackson Group, a PR agency specializing in FBO marketing and customer service training. He has held management positions with Cessna Aircraft, Fairchild Aircraft and Bozell Advertising. Ron developed the strategic marketing communication plan and programs for Mercury Air Centers and consults with numerous FBOs in areas of marketing, promotions and customer service training. He is the author of Don’t Forget the Cheese! The Ultimate FBO Customer Service Experience. and co-author of the forthcoming book FBO Survival! Keeping Your Operation Lean, Mean & Profitable. He is a certified journalist and co-developed NATA’s acclaimed FBO Success Seminar Series. Ron writes an industry blog for Penton’s AC-U-KWIK Alerts titled: The FBO Connection.  Ron@thejacksongroup.biz  Ph: 972-979-6566 www.absggroup.com

There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things

FBO Best Practices Series #7: Find the Free Money

By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Aviation Business Strategies Group - ABSGgroup.com

Welcome to our blog series on FBO Best Practices. With each blog post in this series, we’ll discuss “Best Practices” in running an efficient and effective FBO operation.

Best Practice #7: Find the free money! From fuel hedging to lowering your credit card interest rates, there’s free money in any FBO operation just waiting to be found.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could turn over the couch in the customer lounge and find thousands of dollars dropping to the floor instead of nickels?

With more than 35 years of experience in managing and operating FBOs, we’ve learned where to look to find literally thousands of dollars of hidden money that can add significantly to your bottom line.

In fact, we’ve found so much money for our FBO clients that this has become a very popular session we teach at the acclaimed NATA FBO Success Seminar.

Here are the top four places we tell our clients to look:

1. Fuel Purchasing.
2. Credit Card Interest Rates.
3. Insurance Premiums.
4. Fuel Agreements.

Let’s break each of these down.

Fuel Purchasing

Stockbrokers will tell you to never try to time the market. However, when purchasing Jet A fuel, timing and pricing information is critical.

One of the techniques we teach at our NATA seminars is fuel hedging. Without going into a lot of detail, this is basically a process of knowing how aviation fuel is priced in your region and when to make the fuel purchase.

You should start with your last fuel contract negotiation in which you established your index pricing formula. Moving forward, it is important to keep track of the weekly changes in the Platts pricing indexes. This information should be available from your fuel provider upon request. However, obtaining the Platts data on your own requires a subscription, which can be rather expensive.

In lieu of a Platts subscription, you may also keep track of the price of a barrel of oil through USA Today’s Money/Business section or go to IATA-Jet Fuel Price Monitor, which is a free website.

With this type of information, you can purchase your fuel when the pricing changes to your advantage.

Credit Card Interest Rates

We’re sure you’re aware that transactional interest rates for branded credit cards can range all over the place. However, if you are a savvy FBO operator, you’ve done your homework and have trained your CSR staff to ask the customer to pay for their fuel with the card that favors your FBO by offering the lowest rate for your particular fuel transaction.

In some cases, it could be the card issued by your branded fuel provider. The processing interest rate for these cards can be as low as zero percent. With numerous purchases of 100 gallons or more during a 12 month period, this practice alone could save the FBO a significant amount.

However, if the customer does not have the card issued by your banded fuel provider, have the CSR ask for the next most favorable card in terms of the processing rate charged to your FBO.

For cards that have high processing rates, call the card issuing company and ask that the rate be lowered when processing a transaction at your FBO. As a backup, be sure to have some metrics in hand regarding the amount of fuel volume/transactional volume that flows through your credit card system. This information can be used as leverage.

Insurance Premiums

We find that many FBO operators don’t realize they can take steps to help decrease monthly insurance premiums. With numerous FBOs paying as much as $1,000 a day in premiums, any savings on this line item can be significant.

For starters, we coach our clients to write a good insurance story, especially if the FBO is using an insurance company that doesn’t quite understand the FBO industry. A good insurance story should include some of these items:

1. Discussing your training programs.
2. Your lack of accidents and incidents.
3. Establishing and discussing your Safety Policy and Objectives.

It’s also a good idea to establish and maintain a strong working relationship with your aviation insurance broker.

Fuel Agreements

One of our most popular services we offer is helping FBOs negotiate a favorable fuel agreement. Whether it’s with their current fuel supplier or going out for bids, there are many provisions in every fuel agreement that are negotiable and can save the operator both in the short term as well as over the life of the agreement.

Here is just one example. Review and discuss with your potential supplier where your primary and secondary fuel supply terminals will be located geographically in relation to your FBO. The location will affect your transportation cost, which is a negotiable cost. Also, don’t just accept one transportation firm’s fee. There is competition with various carriers for fees, surcharges and timing of deliveries.

Free money may not be easy to find, but it’s there if you are willing to look. Be the savvy FBO operator and know your options.

Tell us what you think—we appreciate your comments and thoughts. Also Like us by clicking the link below.

Send us an email to Ron@thejacksongroup.biz or jenticknap@bellsouth.net and visit us online at www.ABSGgroup.com.

About the bloggers:

John Enticknap
John Enticknap has more than 35 years of aviation fueling and FBO services industry experience and has served as president/CEO of Mercury Air Centers, a network of FBOs he grew from four facilities to 21 locations. He has international FBO experience including opening the Royal Aviation Terminal in Kuwait. John has held executive management positions with DynAir Fueling and CSX Becket Aviation and holds a Bachelor of Science in industrial management from Northeastern University. He teaches the acclaimed FBO Success Seminar for the National Aviation Transportation Association (NATA) and is an NATA certified safety auditor. John is the co-author of the forthcoming book FBO Survival! Keeping Your Operation Lean, Mean & Profitable. He also writes an industry blog titled FBO Connection for Penton‘s AC-U-KWIK Alerts. He is an active ATP and CFI rated pilot with more than 8,100 flight hours; certified in both fixed and rotary wing aircraft. jenticknap@bellsouth.net, Ph: 404-867-5518 www.absggroup.com

Ron Jackson
Ron Jackson is co-founder of Aviation Business Strategies Group and president of The Jackson Group, a PR agency specializing in FBO marketing and customer service training. He has held management positions with Cessna Aircraft, Fairchild Aircraft and Bozell Advertising. Ron developed the strategic marketing communication plan and programs for Mercury Air Centers and consults with numerous FBOs in areas of marketing, promotions and customer service training. He is the author of Don’t Forget the Cheese! The Ultimate FBO Customer Service Experience. and co-author of the forthcoming book FBO Survival! Keeping Your Operation Lean, Mean & Profitable. He is a certified journalist and co-developed NATA’s acclaimed FBO Success Seminar Series. Ron writes an industry blog for Penton’s AC-U-KWIK Alerts titled: The FBO Connection.  Ron@thejacksongroup.biz  Ph: 972-979-6566 www.absggroup.com

There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things

FBO Best Practices Series #6: Make the Customer Your Fan

By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Aviation Business Strategies Group - ABSGgroup.com

Welcome to our blog series on FBO Best Practices. With each blog post in this series, we’ll discuss “Best Practices” in running an efficient and effective FBO operation.

Best Practice #6: Make the customer your fan by building a team environment designed to differentiate your service from the competition.

We all know what it’s like to be a fan. We have certain things we like and we support our choices by voting with our enthusiasm and our dollars. Maybe it’s the brand of car we drive, a favorite restaurant we frequent or a new movie we went to see.  It also could be a favorite sports team we back.

But the true test of being a fan is if we recommend something to someone else. It’s like putting our reputation on the line.

And so it is with providing excellent FBO services. Loyal customers are very much like a fan. If they like your service, they’ll  keep flying back and vote with their wallet.

So what’s the secret sauce? How can FBOs make customers their fans?

We can sum up the answer this way: Provide a noticeably high-level of service that beats the pants off the competition.

Although consistency is important, the key is to differentiate your brand of service from the FBO next door, across the field or at the nearest competing airport.

The Wow Factor

In past blog posts, we’ve talked about competing on customer service and not on price. That’s just common business sense. We also know FBOs can’t compete or differentiate based on a brand of fuel because fuel is fuel, Jet A is Jet A and Avgas is Avgas. It’s all the same!

The differentiating factor is your secret sauce, the way you deliver the fuel, the maintenance, the parts, the catering, the charter, the flight instruction and even the bill.

And the secret to the sauce are the ingredients: the individual employees coming together, working as a team and providing a noticeably higher level of service. It’s what we call the wow factor.

Customers notice how the entire FBO operation works collectively. They’re either impressed or they’re not. They’re either put into a comfort zone or they’re watching you like a hawk.

Your FBO can have the best, most personable CSR in the country, but if the line service technician and wing walker don’t tow the customer’s $50 million baby just right, all is for naught.

Building a cohesive FBO team can take the human relations skills of being a good coach. The really successful athletic teams all point to a common denominator of having a good environment in which to excel. A good coach will create this environment. A good FBO manager will do the same.

Vince Lombardi, arguably the most respected and revered NFL coach of all time, created a successful environment where his players thrived as a team.

Here is one of his quotes: "Teamwork is what the Green Bay Packers were all about. They didn't do it for individual glory. They did it because they loved one another.”

Good Customer Service Principles

In developing our acclaimed aviation-specific customer service training program, Don’t Forget the Cheese!, we recognized that it’s impossible to separate the requirement for customer service training from the need to build a good employee teamwork environment. One can’t exist without the other.

That’s why we based our integrated teamwork training on discovering the power of ”we.” It’s an interdependent approach to a realization that working together is a lot easier, and a lot more fun, than working individually.

When you combine these two important elements together, memorable customer service training in a dynamic teamwork environment, you truly can create the wow factor.

Here are some basic customer service/team building principles we teach. We hope they inspire you to create your own secret sauce:

1. Add something extra … make someone’s day.
2. Choose your own attitude; be an empathetic listener.
3. Adopt a ‘we’ attitude; play team ball.
4. Be consistent; set high standards.
5. Be flexible; own your mistakes. Be the person who delivers great customer service.

Tell us what you think—we appreciate your comments and thoughts. Also Like us by clicking the link below.

Send us an email to Ron@thejacksongroup.biz or jenticknap@bellsouth.net and visit us online at www.ABSGgroup.com.

About the bloggers:

John Enticknap
John Enticknap has more than 35 years of aviation fueling and FBO services industry experience and has served as president/CEO of Mercury Air Centers, a network of FBOs he grew from four facilities to 21 locations. He has international FBO experience including opening the Royal Aviation Terminal in Kuwait. John has held executive management positions with DynAir Fueling and CSX Becket Aviation and holds a Bachelor of Science in industrial management from Northeastern University. He teaches the acclaimed FBO Success Seminar for the National Aviation Transportation Association (NATA) and is an NATA certified safety auditor. John is the co-author of the forthcoming book FBO Survival! Keeping Your Operation Lean, Mean & Profitable. He also writes an industry blog titled FBO Connection for Penton‘s AC-U-KWIK Alerts. He is an active ATP and CFI rated pilot with more than 8,100 flight hours; certified in both fixed and rotary wing aircraft. jenticknap@bellsouth.net, Ph: 404-867-5518 www.absggroup.com

Ron Jackson
Ron Jackson is co-founder of Aviation Business Strategies Group and president of The Jackson Group, a PR agency specializing in FBO marketing and customer service training. He has held management positions with Cessna Aircraft, Fairchild Aircraft and Bozell Advertising. Ron developed the strategic marketing communication plan and programs for Mercury Air Centers and consults with numerous FBOs in areas of marketing, promotions and customer service training. He is the author of Don’t Forget the Cheese! The Ultimate FBO Customer Service Experience. and co-author of the forthcoming book FBO Survival! Keeping Your Operation Lean, Mean & Profitable. He is a certified journalist and co-developed NATA’s acclaimed FBO Success Seminar Series. Ron writes an industry blog for Penton’s AC-U-KWIK Alerts titled: The FBO Connection.  Ron@thejacksongroup.biz  Ph: 972-979-6566 www.absggroup.com

There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things

FBO Best Practices Series #5: Leverage Your Lease

By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Aviation Business Strategies Group - ABSGgroup.com

Welcome to our blog series on FBO Best Practices. With each blog post in this series, we’ll discuss “Best Practices” in running an efficient and effective FBO operation.

Best Practice #5: Your lease is your leverage and the cornerstone of your enterprise. Don’t wait until your lease is ready to expire to develop favorable terms.

We’re often asked at our NATA FBO Success Seminars, “When is a good time to negotiate a new lease with the airport?” Having worked with many FBOs in restructuring their leases, we can say unequivocally the answer is simple: anytime.

This might sound contrary to what you’ve been told or believe, but here are the facts:

• A long-term lease is one of the best ways to add value to your FBO business.
• When you make any substantial investment in your business, negotiate a lease extension.
• Your lease determines how, what, when and where you can provide services at the airport. It needs maximum flexibility for your FBO to succeed.
• A lease with 10 years or fewer remaining is a major detriment to the value of your business.

Let’s look at an example where an FBO suffers from decreased value due to a short lease term.

In the current mergers and acquisition (M&A) market, a good FBO property will sell for approximately 10 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA). The industry uses EBITDA to evaluate FBO worth because it’s a measurement of a company's operating profitability. Because EBITDA excludes depreciation and amortization, EBITDA margin can provide an investor with a cleaner view of a company's core profitability.

Related: Breaking Down the 10 Critical Elements of an FBO Airport Lease

>> Part 1
>> Part 2 
>> Part 3
>> Part 4

Let’s assume an FBO is valued at $1 million EBIDTA. Applying the 10 times earnings multiple formula, the business might be worth $10 million on a sale. However, if the FBO has only 10 years remaining on a lease, the buyer will make nothing on his investment while assuming all the risk. Therefore, this deal will not get done!

So what does the buyer offer? Perhaps half of EBITDA or $5 million!

In a scenario where the lease has only five years left, the buyer may offer $2.5 million. However, the buyer may insist, as part of the lease assignment, the airport approve a lease extension. In this case, if the FBO owner obtains the lease extension prior to the sale and he enjoys the financial benefit!

FBO owners know too well that, as part of a lease negotiation for a new lease or a lease extension, capital investments are required. Because airport authorities/sponsors are seeking to build or expand their municipal airports, they understand a reasonably    long-term lease is required in order to amortize the FBO’s investment.

These lease issues were discussed a few years ago on a national level. Airport mangers know that without realistic lease terms, money is not available to the FBO at reasonable lending terms to build quality hangars and terminals.

Flexible Terms

Another important point we mentioned earlier involves flexible terms in the lease. When FBOs need to build facilities, they’re going to need capital. In most cases, FBOs will likely go to their local bank.

However, most bankers don’t understand the FBO business model. Imagine the banker’s surprise when he finds out the FBO doesn’t own any land!

Therefore, your lease is your collateral. You need a lease with at least 20 years remaining if you want to have a payback period of 20 years. However, the bank will need security as you get to the end of the payment period so a 25 to 30 year lease term is necessary.

Let’s say you get a lease for 20 years plus two five-year options to extend. The option language must be flexible so the banker understands you can extend the lease as long as you are paying your rent and in compliance with terms of the document.

An FBO also needs language in the lease to provide for the mortgage on the building to be built. The bank needs to approve this language as well as the airport. However, this can be difficult.

There are airport managements that don’t want to allow any mortgages. There may be banks that do not want to lend funds on leased land. All these issues can make for complicated lease negotiations. Therefore, an FBO must start early and allow plenty of time to complete a negotiation. This can take years.

Minimum Standards

In negotiating an FBO lease extension, minimum standards rules and regulations must be included. Minimum standards protect an FBO’s investment in their enterprise from unfair and discriminatory competition. Minimum standards lay out what services must be provided, what services are to be provided, and the size of the facility that must be built. Thus, minimum standards provide a level playing field for any competitor seeking to operate at the airport as they must also abide by the same rules and investment.

Tell us what you think—we appreciate your comments and thoughts. Also Like us by clicking the link below.

Send us an email to Ron@thejacksongroup.biz or jenticknap@bellsouth.net and visit us online at www.ABSGgroup.com.

About the bloggers:

John Enticknap
John Enticknap has more than 35 years of aviation fueling and FBO services industry experience and has served as president/CEO of Mercury Air Centers, a network of FBOs he grew from four facilities to 21 locations. He has international FBO experience including opening the Royal Aviation Terminal in Kuwait. John has held executive management positions with DynAir Fueling and CSX Becket Aviation and holds a Bachelor of Science in industrial management from Northeastern University. He teaches the acclaimed FBO Success Seminar for the National Aviation Transportation Association (NATA) and is an NATA certified safety auditor. John is the co-author of the forthcoming book FBO Survival! Keeping Your Operation Lean, Mean & Profitable. He also writes an industry blog titled FBO Connection for Penton‘s AC-U-KWIK Alerts. He is an active ATP and CFI rated pilot with more than 8,100 flight hours; certified in both fixed and rotary wing aircraft. jenticknap@bellsouth.net, Ph: 404-867-5518 www.absggroup.com

Ron Jackson
Ron Jackson is co-founder of Aviation Business Strategies Group and president of The Jackson Group, a PR agency specializing in FBO marketing and customer service training. He has held management positions with Cessna Aircraft, Fairchild Aircraft and Bozell Advertising. Ron developed the strategic marketing communication plan and programs for Mercury Air Centers and consults with numerous FBOs in areas of marketing, promotions and customer service training. He is the author of Don’t Forget the Cheese! The Ultimate FBO Customer Service Experience. and co-author of the forthcoming book FBO Survival! Keeping Your Operation Lean, Mean & Profitable. He is a certified journalist and co-developed NATA’s acclaimed FBO Success Seminar Series. Ron writes an industry blog for Penton’s AC-U-KWIK Alerts titled: The FBO Connection.  Ron@thejacksongroup.biz  Ph: 972-979-6566 www.absggroup.com

There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things

FBO Best Practices Series #4: Keep Customers by Empowering Your Employees

By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Aviation Business Strategies Group - ABSGgroup.com

Welcome to our blog series on FBO Best Practices. With each blog post in this series, we’ll discuss “Best Practices” in running an efficient and effective FBO operation.

Best Practice #4: Empower your employees at the point of transaction in order to diffuse conflict and build long-term profitable customer relationships.

Factoid: Up to 95 percent of dissatisfied customers will return if you handle disputes in a timely and satisfactory manner.

In the FBO business, customers can become dissatisfied over seemingly the slightest of incidences or mishaps. Sometimes they may become irate and perhaps threaten to never come back. That’s because aircraft crews have a lot at stake in making sure their passengers are satisfied with every detail of their trip.

You may have heard of the expression, “You're as good as your last flight!” That’s the mantra of a business aircraft flight crew. And that’s why it’s important for FBO employees to stay in touch and in tune with the flight crew in order to anticipate their needs.

For the FBO owner, operator and manager, the key to keeping the customer happy is to empower employees at the point of transaction or the point of contact. This will help diffuse conflict and go a long way in building long-term profitable customer relationships.

So what do we mean by empowering? Simply put, the FBO operator or manager is giving permission to the employee to act on their behalf in solving disputes when they happen. However, some guidelines have to be established and customer service training of the employee is critical.

Example: A line service technician inadvertently over-fuels an aircraft. Instead of immediately informing the crew of the action, the employee panics, becomes frightened and ponders the mistake for more than 30 minutes before telling a supervisor.

By the time the supervisor is informed and the course of action is discussed, an hour has elapsed and the supervisor is trying to contact the crew who happened to have left for lunch 15 minutes earlier. Before leaving for lunch, the crew informs the customer service representative at the front desk that they want the aircraft positioned for embarking upon returning.

As they say, bad news doesn’t get any better with age.

When the crew was eventually informed they were not happy. Had the employee been empowered to own the mistake and trained to deliver the news to the crew immediately, corrective action could have taken place much sooner and a mutual solution found.

Instead, the inaction set off a chain reaction of rather unpleasant events including a departure delay and irritated passengers. And thanks to social media, the entire Western Hemisphere was informed in a matter of minutes.

In a situation like this, an empowered and properly trained employee would have had an opportunity to confront the crew and perhaps establish a relationship in a meaningful way. By owning the mistake, the employee can demonstrate problem-solving skills and even endear the dissatisfied customer by showing honesty, sincerity, integrity concern and resolve.

“Captain Smith, I have something I need to tell you,” the employee might begin, engaging the customer face-to-face making direct eye contact. “I inadvertently over-fueled your aircraft and I wanted to tell you right away so we can resolve this mishap without delay.”

“I can’t believe this happened,” Capt. Smith replied, raising his voice in disgust. “What did you have in mind? I can’t afford any delays. My passengers will be arriving right after lunch and we need to stay on schedule.”

“I know this is not what you expected,” the employee responds. “Our goal is to have you ready for departure when your passengers arrive. What I can do is …”

Based on the policy of the FBO, the employee can offer to offload some fuel or provide a deep discount for the gallons over fueled. By knowing what to offer the customer in this eventuality, the employee is able to problem solve and come to a solution very quickly without having to consult a supervisor, manager or owner.

The result is more than likely a repaired relationship and a restored level of trust between the employee and the customer. The employee showed concern, had an immediate plan of action, and resolved the incident without delay.

There are many ways to resolve these kinds of issues and a well-planned customer service training program, such as the acclaimed “Don’t Forget the Cheese! aviation training system,” is recommended to help FBOs empower their employees and build long-term profitable customer relationships.

Tell us what you think—we appreciate your comments and thoughts. Also Like us by clicking the link below.

Send us an email to Ron@thejacksongroup.biz or jenticknap@bellsouth.net and visit us online at www.ABSGgroup.com.

About the bloggers:

John Enticknap
John Enticknap has more than 35 years of aviation fueling and FBO services industry experience and has served as president/CEO of Mercury Air Centers, a network of FBOs he grew from four facilities to 21 locations. He has international FBO experience including opening the Royal Aviation Terminal in Kuwait. John has held executive management positions with DynAir Fueling and CSX Becket Aviation and holds a Bachelor of Science in industrial management from Northeastern University. He teaches the acclaimed FBO Success Seminar for the National Aviation Transportation Association (NATA) and is an NATA certified safety auditor. John is the co-author of the forthcoming book FBO Survival! Keeping Your Operation Lean, Mean & Profitable. He also writes an industry blog titled FBO Connection for Penton‘s AC-U-KWIK Alerts. He is an active ATP and CFI rated pilot with more than 8,100 flight hours; certified in both fixed and rotary wing aircraft. jenticknap@bellsouth.net, Ph: 404-867-5518 www.absggroup.com

Ron Jackson
Ron Jackson is co-founder of Aviation Business Strategies Group and president of The Jackson Group, a PR agency specializing in FBO marketing and customer service training. He has held management positions with Cessna Aircraft, Fairchild Aircraft and Bozell Advertising. Ron developed the strategic marketing communication plan and programs for Mercury Air Centers and consults with numerous FBOs in areas of marketing, promotions and customer service training. He is the author of Don’t Forget the Cheese! The Ultimate FBO Customer Service Experience. and co-author of the forthcoming book FBO Survival! Keeping Your Operation Lean, Mean & Profitable. He is a certified journalist and co-developed NATA’s acclaimed FBO Success Seminar Series. Ron writes an industry blog for Penton’s AC-U-KWIK Alerts titled: The FBO Connection.  Ron@thejacksongroup.biz  Ph: 972-979-6566 www.absggroup.com

There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things

FBO Best Practices Series #3: Use a Savvy Fuel Pricing Strategy: Think Win-Win

By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Aviation Business Strategies Group - ABSGgroup.com

Welcome to our blog series on FBO Best Practices. With each blog post in this series, we’ll discuss “Best Practices” in running an efficient and effective FBO operation.

Best Practice #3: Although discounts off the posted price have become a standard industry practice, FBOs must use a savvy fuel pricing strategy and think win-win.

At our recently completed NATA FBO Success Seminar in Las Vegas, we again had very lively discussions concerning dealing with contract fuel suppliers as well as learning more about practical pricing theory. The bottom line: discounts on retail/contract pricing of fuel are here to stay as well as tight/competitive pricing in the maintenance shop.

So how do we manage these most important issues to maximize our return and profitability?

Let’s start by looking at a hypothetical business example we’ll call FBO XYZ. This FBO just paid $32,000 plus for a load of Jet A and their tanks and trucks are full.

The maintenance shop has 10 mechanics trained and ready to go. Payroll, wages and benefits for 25 employees, is due in five days to the tune of $23,750. However, the ramp activity has slowed way down and the maintenance shop is almost empty, therefore, cash is tight.

The posted price for Jet A at FBO XYZ is $6.37 per gallon. However, a little research reveals the average posted price for the regional area is $5.37 per gallon. In addition, the posted labor rate for maintenance at XYZ is $98.00 per hour, slightly higher than the regional average.

Although FBO XYZ may have the largest margins in the area, they just might manage themselves out of business unless they take a realistic approach to their pricing strategy. After all, customers do have alternate choices for picking up a load of fuel in the area and there is even more latitude in shopping maintenance needs.

Over the years, XYZ has stuck to their same traditional ways of doing business and has avoided dealing with contract fuel suppliers as much as possible. In addition, they’ve over bought on fuel and are experiencing a slower-than-normal maintenance market. Overbuying and sales dips are common problems in retail businesses both large and small.

Yes, an FBO is a retail business. XYZ sells a commodity, fuel, just like a retail store might sell shoes. Big box retail stores have spot discounts from time-to-time in order to move inventory. Therefore, FBO XYZ might consider taking a page out of Nordstrom’s or Macy’s playbook.

Sometimes FBOs think that by discounting/marking down the fuel price or refusing to do business with contract fuel suppliers they will automatically lose money. We are here to tell you the fastest way to go out of business is to hold on to old market pricing ways.

Discounts off the posted fuel price have become a standard industry practice. Look no further than the major FBO chains. They use contract fuel suppliers and deal directly with end users with discount programs. Yes, discounts are here to stay, but FBOs must use a savvy fuel pricing strategy and think win-win.

If you’ve been to one of our FBO Success Seminars or read our blog posts regularly you know we advocate pricing fuel and services based on knowledge. FBOs should know exactly how much it costs to pump a gallon of fuel while maintenance pricing is based on efficiency and carefully evaluating productive man hours.

With this knowledge, the best practice is to price fuel and services based on a win-win strategy where both the FBO and the customer feel they’ve received good value. This includes understanding the competitive landscape in which the FBO operates. Do your homework. There are several websites you can visit to gauge the average price of fuel in the area. To determine average aircraft maintenance rates, pick up the phone and call maintenance shops in the area and be sure to include the high-end auto dealerships where your customers have their cars serviced.

In essence, be competitive. However, do not discount to the point where you are competing solely on price. This only attracts the industry bottom feeders that are not loyal, complain, take up all your time and will flit to the next FBO offering the lower price.

Our research indicates the best way to differentiate an FBO brand is by developing an exceptional customer service experience. After all, fuel is fuel. But delivering a unique customer service experience, coupled with a sense of receiving a good value, become great motivators for a customer to return.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind:

• Create and base discounts around company goals
• Explain sales and discounts to customers
• Overbuying is the No.1 cause of excessive discounts

• Keep three to five days fuel inventory, no more
• Adjust labor sales to average labor hours available
• Only think about adding labor when overtime is more than 15 percent consistently

• Be flexible and timely with your discount structure
• Don’t give everybody your best markdown; deal on a case-by-case basis

One of the best ways to initiate a discount strategy is to target your potential customer base with a direct communication: phone, email or snail mail. Be selective on which potential customer receives an offer. Maybe it’s a customer you haven’t seen in awhile or you’ve tracked specific tail numbers to a nearby FBO competitor.

Once on the ramp, show them your best customer service experience. It’s truly win-win.

Tell us what you think—we appreciate your comments and thoughts. Also Like us by clicking the link below.

Send us an email to Ron@thejacksongroup.biz or jenticknap@bellsouth.net and visit us online at www.ABSGgroup.com.

About the bloggers:

John Enticknap
John Enticknap has more than 35 years of aviation fueling and FBO services industry experience and has served as president/CEO of Mercury Air Centers, a network of FBOs he grew from four facilities to 21 locations. He has international FBO experience including opening the Royal Aviation Terminal in Kuwait. John has held executive management positions with DynAir Fueling and CSX Becket Aviation and holds a Bachelor of Science in industrial management from Northeastern University. He teaches the acclaimed FBO Success Seminar for the National Aviation Transportation Association (NATA) and is an NATA certified safety auditor. John is the co-author of the forthcoming book FBO Survival! Keeping Your Operation Lean, Mean & Profitable. He also writes an industry blog titled FBO Connection for Penton‘s AC-U-KWIK Alerts. He is an active ATP and CFI rated pilot with more than 8,100 flight hours; certified in both fixed and rotary wing aircraft. jenticknap@bellsouth.net, Ph: 404-867-5518 www.absggroup.com

Ron Jackson
Ron Jackson is co-founder of Aviation Business Strategies Group and president of The Jackson Group, a PR agency specializing in FBO marketing and customer service training. He has held management positions with Cessna Aircraft, Fairchild Aircraft and Bozell Advertising. Ron developed the strategic marketing communication plan and programs for Mercury Air Centers and consults with numerous FBOs in areas of marketing, promotions and customer service training. He is the author of Don’t Forget the Cheese! The Ultimate FBO Customer Service Experience. and co-author of the forthcoming book FBO Survival! Keeping Your Operation Lean, Mean & Profitable. He is a certified journalist and co-developed NATA’s acclaimed FBO Success Seminar Series. Ron writes an industry blog for Penton’s AC-U-KWIK Alerts titled: The FBO Connection.  Ron@thejacksongroup.biz  Ph: 972-979-6566 www.absggroup.com

There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things

FBO Best Practices Series #2: Make a Good First Impression

By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Aviation Business Strategies Group - ABSGgroup.com

Welcome to our blog series on FBO Best Practices. With each blog post in this series, we’ll discuss “Best Practices” in running an efficient and effective FBO operation.

Best Practice #2: You have but one opportunity to make a good first impression. Operate your FBO from a customer’s perspective.

Let’s face it. Customers choose FBOs that project a positive image and a feeling of trust, two very important elements in delivering a great customer service experience.

Like going to a Broadway play, your FBO is on stage every day for all your customers to see. When the curtain goes up, what do they get? Is it an illusion of smoke and mirrors, or a well-rehearsed movement of employees reading from the same script?

As stakeholders in this production, everyone from the top down and bottom up must view their facility from a customer’s perspective. We call this a customer-centric view. They need to take pride in ownership of the way the facility looks and, perhaps more importantly, the way it feels.

Seeing the way your FBO should look is easy. Go out onto the ramp and look back at your facility the way a customer would see your FBO for the first time taxiing in for service. Is all the equipment lined up and in good repair including the lav cart, APU, safety cones and chocks? Or are things looking a little disjointed, dingy, old with cracking paint, and safety cones that look like ones used in road construction.

The way the facility feels is a little more difficult to ascertain. We’re talking about the persona that your FBO projects ... character, personality and qualities. Do your line service technicians use crisp hand movements when ushering in an aircraft? Do employees present themselves in a professional manner? Is there a sense of teamwork and pride in a job well done?

Will customers feel at ease by what they see and experience? Or will they second guess their choice and wonder if even the bathrooms are clean.

Borrowing a page from our acclaimed Don’t Forget the Cheese!© customer service training program, emotions play a big role in deciding whether a customer will return and whether they recommend your facility.

Aircraft owners and operators are emotional about the care and feeding of one of the most valuable company assets: the business aircraft. With new aircraft costing upwards of $60 million, trust is a huge issue  and ranks high in importance on the emotional scale.

When a first-time customer visits your FBO, they will watch your line service employees like a hawk. They watch the way safety cones are placed at the tips of their aircraft, the way tow bars are utilized, the number of wing walkers used, and the safe and professional manner in which hangar movements are made. A returning loyal customer will be a little more at ease as trust continues to build.

Indeed, making that first impression is critical in growing your transient customer base. We all know that pilots have an expression that says, “You’re as good as your last flight.” Likewise, FBOs should hold themselves to a similar standard by saying, “We’re as good as our last fueling.”

Tell us what you think—we appreciate your comments and thoughts. Also Like us by clicking the link below.

Send us an email to Ron@thejacksongroup.biz or jenticknap@bellsouth.net and visit us online at www.ABSGgroup.com.

About the bloggers:

John Enticknap
John Enticknap has more than 35 years of aviation fueling and FBO services industry experience and has served as president/CEO of Mercury Air Centers, a network of FBOs he grew from four facilities to 21 locations. He has international FBO experience including opening the Royal Aviation Terminal in Kuwait. John has held executive management positions with DynAir Fueling and CSX Becket Aviation and holds a Bachelor of Science in industrial management from Northeastern University. He teaches the acclaimed FBO Success Seminar for the National Aviation Transportation Association (NATA) and is an NATA certified safety auditor. John is the co-author of the forthcoming book FBO Survival! Keeping Your Operation Lean, Mean & Profitable. He also writes an industry blog titled FBO Connection for Penton‘s AC-U-KWIK Alerts. He is an active ATP and CFI rated pilot with more than 8,100 flight hours; certified in both fixed and rotary wing aircraft. jenticknap@bellsouth.net, Ph: 404-867-5518 www.absggroup.com

Ron Jackson
Ron Jackson is co-founder of Aviation Business Strategies Group and president of The Jackson Group, a PR agency specializing in FBO marketing and customer service training. He has held management positions with Cessna Aircraft, Fairchild Aircraft and Bozell Advertising. Ron developed the strategic marketing communication plan and programs for Mercury Air Centers and consults with numerous FBOs in areas of marketing, promotions and customer service training. He is the author of Don’t Forget the Cheese! The Ultimate FBO Customer Service Experience. and co-author of the forthcoming book FBO Survival! Keeping Your Operation Lean, Mean & Profitable. He is a journalist and co-developed NATA’s acclaimed FBO Success Seminar Series. Ron writes an industry blog for Penton’s AC-U-KWIK Alerts titled: The FBO Connection.  Ron@thejacksongroup.biz  Ph: 972-979-6566 www.absggroup.com

There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things