American Airlines customer service manager says: “We can only take 50% of the blame for the problem. I mean…how do we know for sure that it was our fault that you don’t have reservations on the flight? You could have put a hold on the reservation and then let it expire. We just can’t know for sure.”

I reply: “Maybe because my 5 year old daughter is booked on the same flight, but now by herself? In what world is it ok to send your 5 year old on a plane ride to Disneyland by herself?”

After pondering this conversation and experience I wonder, should it matter? Why should any customer ever have to answer to an argument from a customer service manager about the % of blame they are willing to take in a problem like this? The real question is not who is to blame, but how can a solution be found?

American Airlines would serve it’s shareholders, employees, and customers much better if it took a play from the Southwest Airlines playbook and created a customer service culture that avoids laying blame and instead strives to find the solution. A solution that sends the customer off to promote the company’s great customer service and not off to write a blog post about how poor the customer service was. That is what leads to long-term profitability in tough economic and industry environments. It also generates Net Promoter Scores that crush the industry average.

Is the customer service culture within your company one that focuses on who’s fault it was? Or one that focuses on finding a solution that creates happy, loyal, and long-term customers?