Interaction opportunities abound when traveling by air. It's also a great chance to review how the airlines interact with their customers. I had the luxury of participating in both on my most recent flight to California.

As we were ready to pull away from the gate for takeoff, the pilot announced that someone noticed fluid on the wing of the plane and there would be a short delay while it was investigated. A few moments later he came back on to tell us they had not yet determined the problem and it would be a little longer. He added that, to keep us informed, he would come back on every 15 minutes to provide updated information or advise us that nothing had changed.

Here is where it starts to get interesting. Sitting next to me was Kathy Nolfo, a wonderful sales professional with Concur Technologies. She had an app of theirs called Tripit. It consolidated all itinerary information and provided updates whenever anything changed. She opened it and started getting updates on the flight status with revised departure times.

As we talked about her business, she kept me posted each time the departure was delayed a bit further. After some time, the pilot came through the cabin to tell us that nothing had changed and they had no updates. It was nice of him to do this but it was significantly longer than the promised "every 15 minute" update. When Kathy asked about the delay in getting back to us, he quickly dismissed her by saying she was wrong in her estimation of the lapsed time and moved on.

A few minutes later, Kathy got information through her app that this fight was, in fact, being cancelled. It provided the new departure time and gate details. A few minutes after that, the pilot addressed us through the intercom announcing to all passengers that we would be deplaning and giving the new departure gate and time. Of course this was the same information Kathy and I has at least 15 minutes earlier.

Any lessons here?

I want to compliment the airline for spotting the fluid, investigating the problem and keeping us safe. I would also point out that the two hour delay provided some excellent opportunities to strengthen the airline's relationship with its passengers.

A bit of creativity might have made the wait more tolerable. Moreover, some missteps actually lowered the airline's image regarding customer care. First, the pilot reached out with concern but failed to meet the expectations he established (updates every 15 minutes). Second, rather than acknowledging that and apologizing, he rudely corrected and dismissed the passenger that pointed it out. Finally, and perhaps most important, accurate and available information was delayed in its journey from source to pilot to passengers.

How often does your rumor mill get out in front of the truth? How do delays in getting out information impact the image of your organization or the opinion employees have of management? When this happens you may, in the best case, look inept or negligent. In the worst case you may look devious or inconsiderate.

Providing timely and accurate information to those you serve will always show concern for them and for your relationship with them. This can apply to everything from product recalls to the service tech's arrival time to preparation time on a meal. Just remember that your image depends on meeting any expectations you establish.

The pilot put an excellent spin on the event by pointing out how well the airline performed in "doing the right thing" regarding the leak and keeping us safe. Somehow, I just didn't feel any better about the airline's real concern for me as a customer.

Thanks to Kathy for a great conversation, accurate information, and a blog worthy interaction. 

Over the years we have heard numerous motivational references to expectations.  "You get what you expect."  "Always expect the best."  There is a lot of wisdom in these thoughts.  But I have received so many questions and concerns related to unmet expectations in the workplace that I coined a new phrase:  "Great expectations lead to great disappointments."

Such cynicism is totally contrary to my character and requires a bit of explanation.  In truth, the problem is not “great expectations” but unreasonable expectations and even more often, expectations that have not been clearly communicated.

This phenomenon is not isolated to business.  I believe that in all relationships, those with siblings, parents, children, spouses, employees and supervisors, the most frequent cause of resentment and anger is a failure to meet expectations.  They didn’t do what we expected them to do.  Investigation usually uncovers that these unmet expectations were not clearly communicated.  And rarely, if ever, was there discussion concerning the reasonableness of the expectations.

How often have you become aware that you have disappointed someone only to discover that their expectation differed from what you anticipated -- or worse, was something you knew nothing about?  On the other hand, how often have you taken for granted that someone understood what you expected (even though you never took the time to explain) and become upset when the expectation wasn’t met?

The surprising thing about expectations is that they can often be negotiated.  When we learn to openly communicate our expectations with willingness to compromise, there is usually an acceptable middle ground.  Negotiating expectations can have a very powerful, positive impact on relationships and is likely to result in a much higher rate of success in work and at home.

Here are some tips to help you avoid having great expectations turn into great disappointments.

1.  Always seek clarity regarding what others expect of you.

2.  Be open concerning how reasonable the expectations from others feel to you.

3.  Never underestimate your ability to negotiate expectations. 

4.  Share openly and directly what you expect of others and be willing to negotiate those as well.

5.  Expectations that are challenging will lead to increased effort and improvement.

6.  Expectations that are unreasonably high lead to frustration and negativity. 

Remember, expectations travel on a two-way street.  Don't get broadsided.