Testing New Gogo Text & Talk Service at SXSW

By Marsha Collier

Duty Calls. When an email arrives inviting you to join the likes of Bell, Edison and Marconi, you definitely need to read it. I was lucky enough to be one of the first to use Gogo’s new Text &Talk service on Gogo One, the company’s “flying test lab.”  Not only would I have that honor, but I was to be part of the first in-air BBQ food truck with incredible Texas barbecue from Keith’s BBQ of Austin.

The Gogo twin jet is a Canadair Challenger 600 flying test lab, and features their latest Air To Ground system (ATG-4), along with our business aviation system, Iridium phone service, Inmarsat Swift Broadband satellite service and the Gogo Vision entertainment system. I had to poke around and see where the magic happens. Across form the lav was a closet, filled with the latest in technology.

We were given the tail number of the plane so we could log on to Flightaware.com to track our progress as we flew at 600 miles per hour, 30,000 feet above all the revelers at #SXSW in Austin.  Alternatively, I could log on to the Glympse app, which would have allowed me to send real-time location information and estimated time of arrival with anyone while up in the sky. After sending a Glympse of your location to your earth-bound friends, you can shut down your mobile device and your friend or family member will remain updated with your location through the duration of the flight.

My SXSW Experience - Real Talk: The Online Customer Service Shift Panel

Friends had suggested I go to SXSW many times, but I never really saw the value. Then in mid 2012, I hear from +Kip Wetzel (whom I admire for his work in taking the reins of the @ComcastCares account in 2011). He told me he had a plan for a panel and when he was through with his convincing pitch, I knew this was a disruptive topic for the customer service industry. My book on the subject came out in 2011; this panel could be groundbreaking. It was time the philosophy of reaching the customer where they want to be reached become the norm.

Kip craftily assembled a group of folks with the backgrounds to handle the topic: 

• +Carla Saavedra Kochalski "Manager of Social Media & Digital Content for Samsung Mobile USA's Customer Care Team" - but in reality a very talented young woman who truly "gets' the customer and can apply balance to social media custiomer service. She's been a driving force in enterprise-level social media strategy since 2010.
• +Bianca Buckridee "Social Media Operations Manager @ChaseSupport" American Banker Magazine said: "She has a thousand-watt smail that never seems to sitch off and a sunny personality that has surely servived her well on the front lines of customer service." She grasped the value of customer social media comments as early as 2009, and has been on a mission to perfect the outreach ever since.
• +Brooks Thomas "Southwest Air: Emerging Media. A journalist who's defined "emerging media for his brand. He personalizes the airline's blog with words like, "I know how your morning went down. Your synchronized yawn-and-stretch routine happened as it always does. You almost tripped on a Tonka truck on your way to the bathroom. You groggily stumbled down..." Customers can related to a brand through his words.

Three incredibly intuitive and smart people. It was my job to keep the peace and help steer the conversation. I didn't have to do much steering. To a packed room of 500, we not only got our points across, but engaged the audience ... below is the Powerpoint, and a portion of the panel on video. I hope to see everyone next year and see how the #custserv philosophy has advanced.


Our Powerpoint - thanks to +Bianca Buckridee ...

SXSW Real Talk: The Online Customer Service Shift

Real Talk: The Online Customer Service Shift - SXSW Twitter

Our panel: Bianca Buckridee (JP Morgan Chase), Brooks E Thomas (Southwest Air), Carla Saavedra (Samsung Mobile US) and I at addressed 500 social media, brands and customer service enthusiasts.

The crowd responded with a ton of Tweets including comments, quotes and links that carried actionable insights. Before I post the deck online, I thought I'd share this valuable collection

SXSW Panel "Real Talk: The Online Customer Service Shift" Tweetstream from Marsha Collier

The Ultimate Online Customer Service Guide: How to Connect with Your Customers to Sell More (Google Affiliate Ad)