General Aviation: Landmark Aviation: Three Histories — One Vision

How do you build a truly integrated, global aviation services company? One satisfied customer at a time.

Customer satisfaction is one of the most over used and under delivered terms in our industry’s collective vocabulary. Why? Because companies and their employees know deep down that once the product is delivered and you fly away, satisfied or not, they’re pretty much done with you. Sure you can complain, but in the end what good is it really going to do?

Well, Roger Wolfe, CEO of Landmark Aviation is, as he put it, "putting my money where my mouth is," when it comes to meeting the expectations of the company’s array of customers. He’s giving customers a chance to voice their satisfaction and dissatisfaction in a way that will hit Landmark’s 2,500-plus employees where they’ll feel it the most — in their wallets.

"Every employee from the flight line at an FBO or MRO center, to a janitor or the receptionist, is eligible for a quarterly incentive bonus," Wolfe explained. "That bonus is based off one key number — the customer satisfaction experience index." Other metrics, safety and financial performance, are included in the employee bonus program. The bonus is only granted, however, when the customer satisfaction metric is met.

"The customer satisfaction index is done by a third-party company. They independently survey once a quarter 25 percent of the population that has recently visited our facilities," he continued. "They ask 14 questions and customer answers create that satisfaction index. If a Landmark operation meets its index, the employees get their bonus. If they don’t, then nobody gets one. So every person at Landmark is focused on that customer service initiative."

Wolfe said that currently the passing grade for the bonus index is more than 95-percent positive responses. At the time of this writing, Wolfe said that the majority of Landmark’s 43 U.S. and Canadian facilities have successfully earned their quarterly bonuses. But to keep driving home the need for constant improvement, that 95-percent satisfaction index number will be ratcheted up this year.

"We started this approach about eight months ago at our heavy MRO sites and over time modified and grown the program as we’ve gotten more feedback from our customers. This has shown us what our customers are really interested in," Wolfe said. "We’ve modified the questions to give us both a customer satisfaction index and a competitive index — how we relate to our competition in whatever services they provide. Once we were satisfied we introduced it across all the sites across Landmark."

Success Is The Sum Of Its Parts

While it’s obvious that the immediate goal of Landmark’s customer service initiative is to satisfy its current customers, the program’s roots and long-term benefits go much deeper into reinforcing the company’s brand position.

"We are a one-year old company with over 150-years of experience," Wolfe said. "What’s important to us is that we have a new name, new logo and new brand we are developing — and we want to make sure that brand turns out to represent something we all are proud of. I’m very cautious about our reputation and the customer service experience that it brings to the organization."

Just how seriously do Wolfe and Landmark’s management team take their commitment to building the right brand identity? One example is the fact that when Piedmont Hawthorn, Garrett Aviation Services and Associated Air Center came together to create the new Landmark Aviation, the operations actually shut down most of their business to take several hours’ time to retrain their employees about who they are, where they were going and what that new Landmark brand really meant.

"That was a lot of time we invested in that process but we wanted to make sure everyone felt okay with a couple of concepts," Wolfe said. "The big one was changing the badge on their sleeve from what it was to Landmark. They needed to know that three great histories were coming together to form one great future. This was critical."

Obviously that initial investment combined with tying everyone’s quarterly bonus to the customer satisfaction index is beginning to pay off. Wolfe said that from its MROs to FBO fuel sales, Landmark’s business is up across the board. "We’ve seen growth especially on our airframe and engine sides — the TPE331 business is growing dramatically," he explained. "The FBO business is up about 20 percent from over a year ago. Our landings are up at all the areas and that’s strictly because of our customer centered focus on the business."

"Our biggest growth is around the airframe and VIP custom interior modifications at our Springfield facility. We are booked through 2007 and are booking into 2008 now. The industry has just gone wild," Wolfe said. "It’s a great time to be in the business. Our large completion center for Airbus Corporate Jets and Boeing Business Jets has contracts into 2008."

Landmark’s Totally Integrated Service Solution

If you haven’t caught on by now, Wolfe’s goal is to totally change the status quo when it comes to the kind of service that has become the norm in the aviation industry. Especially at the FBO level. "In terms of our FBO growth strategy, it’s very simple: we want to acquire a location and bring to [fruition] our total integration package," he said. "It’s not just acquiring an FBO and beating it out with other FBOs on the airfield just for selling gas. We bring along our engine work, the airframe work, and the ability to negotiate a master service agreement giving them [customers] discounts across the Landmark arena. Discounts and specials on the airframe and engine sides as well as any paint or retrofit programs we offer. That’s really the differentiator product wise we offer when we move onto an airfield."

Wolfe’s goal is to not only offer new services but also effectively change the service psychology at any airport where there’s a Landmark facility. "Like Scottsdale or White Plains, we bring our mobile service team to service the entire surrounding region. We have a truck and that truck is technically competent in engines and light airframe work — anything you need if you are in trouble," he said.

"That’s another reason we are so protective of our brand," Wolfe said. "It’s not just engines, not just airframes, not just fuel. We bring a new dimension to the airfields that we move onto — we are an integrated supplier."

And as an integrated supplier Landmark is preparing to bring its unique brand of service to customers in Europe. "The two organizations we are talking with now are prominent European companies that sought us out," Wolfe said.

"Customers at the locations we intend to be at in Europe are already our customers here on the East Coast," he continued. "It makes sense for them to recognize the same brand they get here on the Eastern Seaboard and stay within the family in Europe."

Wolfe also sees now as the perfect time to introduce Landmark’s brand of total customer support to the European market. "Things are pretty chopped up over there. You pay different fees in different countries and zones. It’s right [time] for someone to establish a brand that says, ’Hey, don’t worry about it. We will take care of it for you,’" he explained. "You just need to make one call and we take care of everything from airframe maintenance, to engines, to fuel deals. [Europe] is ripe for that."

"Another thing it’s ripe for is changing the mindset to say you only get paid for one thing and that’s what your customers think about you," Wolfe said. "That’s going to be brand new for that theater as well."

Engines In India

Breaking into the blossoming FBO business in Europe isn’t the only international opportunity that Landmark is currently involved with. Last spring the company announced a collaboration with Magnum UK to provide TPE331 engine maintenance and conversions in a brand new center Magnum is building in Nodia, New Dehli, India.

"We are having a great experience with 331s in terms of winning jobs and Magnum Aviation approached us out of India," Wolfe said. "Magnum is responsible for about 120 engines and asked us to help set up a shop. We are convinced that Magnum is going to make the right kind of investments and be committed to training. It is sending people here to train and also understand what we represent and what our brand means."

Wolfe said that Magnum’s commitment to "taking what we do here and duplicating it there" was key to Landmark’s decision to proceed with this program. "I don’t want to outgrow our customer care initiative. It takes a while to integrate new businesses and make sure they really understand what the Landmark brand stands for."

Delivering The Total Ownership Experience

Landmark’s success in delivering on the promised customer satisfaction experience hasn’t gone unnoticed by aircraft manufacturers. Why would they be interested in what Landmark’s MRO and FBO facilities are doing? Well, a big part of introducing a new aircraft into the U.S. market, especially for a foreign manufacturer, is having an established network of service centers in place. What better solution to that than team up with a company that already has 43 established locations throughout North America?

Case in point Embraer and Grob Aerospace have recently appointed Landmark Aviation as their authorized service provider. Embraer for the new Legacy 600 and Grob for its new spn light jet.

"These manufacturers would like to increase their presence in the U.S. market and in order to help them do what they want to be able to differentiate their product offerings as opposed to just creating one or two factory-sponsored stores," Wolfe said. "They look at the depth and breadth of what we bring to the table in terms of sites and it’s a natural element for the comfort and security of their product and its operators."

As Wolfe explained it, it’s all about the "total experience" Landmark can bring to aircraft owners. "If we can give them [the OEM] an advantage that gives that aircraft owner a much more positive experience with that aircraft we all win," he said. "It’s not just about maintenance. It’s about where he flies and where he goes when he lands. So we are looking at it a little differently than some people do. We want to look at providing the owner’s total experience with the aircraft."

"Now the larger [U.S. based] OEMs — this hasn’t gone unnoticed by them. We are also now assessing this type of service with them," Wolf added. "They have seen that we can be more than just a service center for them. With our 43 locations, there’s someone close by that can take care of you. If you want a fuel discount, fine. If you want to wave ramp fees, fine. If you need a rental car, fine. They are all the kinds of things you get with Landmark."

"That’s exactly what our strategy is. We don’t just sell fuel or service engines," he said. "If you have an aircraft we want to take care of it ’womb to tomb’ — from management to the chartering of it — we want you to totally feel at ease. When you use Landmark you know the kind of service you are going to get."

Nice Work…If You Can Get It

Landmark’s reputation is attracting more than just customers and prospective business partners — it’s also attracting a literal overflow of job applicants. Which means that instead of experiencing the shortage of qualified technicians that is facing the majority of other shops, they enjoy the pick of the proverbial litter when it comes to technical talent.

Of course, none of this comes as a surprise to Wolfe. He has created an atmosphere where people are well taken care of and are openly rewarded for doing the best job they can. "Our benefits program is great," he said. "We have a fantastic 401k program where you are vested from the first day of eligibility. Most employers require you to work for one to three years. We also launched our online e-University training program." Some courses apply to professional accreditation programs. "So if employees want continuing education, development and training, they don’t have to go outside and schedule it. It makes it a lot easier for them."

If all that seems a bit of a stretch for an aircraft services company to make, it’s because Wolfe and his management team realize that whether you are dealing with selling 100 gallons of Jet A or a major completion on a BBJ, this is a service business. "To provide good customer service, it’s all about happy employees and happy customers," Wolfe said.