Anna Rodriguez works for Delta Airlines at LAX. She is an expert on operations there. I had the honor of spending a couple hours with Anna at LAX this week and watched her in action.
She has up to the second information on flights, delays, connections, airport construction, time for baggage to get to the carousel, and even how long it will be until the gate agent gets back to the desk. She knows almost everyone in the LAX Delta operations, and has spent hours developing a sophisticated and effective network of colleagues who help each other out and make magic happen for the airline and its passengers.
Anna has taken the time to learn how her coworkers are doing, how their kids are, who is great at what she does, and the ones who maybe aren’t so great. She is so familiar with how things really work, that she knows how long to wait before getting on the phone to follow up, who to remind twice if they didn’t get it the first time, and who can’t or won’t help.
Anna is amazing with the passengers too. She understands and anticipates their needs, even when they don’t know themselves. She can read a room or a situation in moments and knows the best course of action. I watched her evaluate a situation and step in, even when the person was uncomfortable asking for help. Then later, she stayed out of it and let it go. Both times, it was the right call. And she does it all with kindness, care, and a wonderful smile.
Everywhere we went, from the gates to the unfindable elevators, to luggage and transportation, people greeted her with waves, smiles and jokes. It felt good just to walk in the wake of all that affection.
I also learned who at LAX knows the most about how airports really work moment to moment, and how to navigate a system of computers, rules, and procedures with compassion, humor, and tremendous effectiveness.
It’s Anna Rodriguez and her colleagues who push passenger wheelchairs through the airport. They are technically employees of G2, the world’s largest security company. I would never have guessed this is who knew how Delta worked. And they are not even Delta employees. I bet the leadership at Delta would not either. But Anna is a treasure trove of information and insight, and one of the best brand ambassadors I have ever encountered.
Who are the Annas at your company? And what data will tell you that?
