Onsite with Customer Support Manager: David Ladd

I serve the business and general aviation markets in the Midwest, Central and Southern regions of the United States. I work with individual operators all the way up corporate companies like AT&T and EXXON Mobile. Some of the platforms I touch include Pilatus, Cessna, Falcon, Gulfstream, Bombardier, Boeing and many more.

If somebody is having trouble getting to the right person, needs advice or even if it’s a general question, I make sure they reach that right person, get the correct answers and are taken care of quickly. It’s our goal to resolve 90% of the technical cases within 48 hours. The aspect of my role I enjoy the most is working with customers and ensuring they have everything they need to be satisfied. They need to know Honeywell is there to support them no matter what, and it’s important to me to reiterate that notion.  

Can you tell me about your background and what led you to aviation?

I am the third generation in my family to work in aviation. My dad and grandfather before me were professional pilots. I decided to fix airplanes, as opposed to becoming a pilot. I’ve been an aircraft mechanic for 20 years and an IA for 15 years. I started in Cessna in a service center in Wichita, then I went to Garmin and worked there for ten years. Throughout my career, I followed my passion for supporting products and people. I left Garmin to pursue the Honda Aircraft company. I helped build the network for the western half of the US and Mexico and supported customers there for two and a half years. I really wanted to get back to supporting avionics and people, which led me to my current role as a Customer Support Manager in the Customer and Product Support division at Honeywell Aerospace.  

What do you think is the most interesting or innovative development in aviation during your career?

The most innovative thing I have seen in my career is how far we have come as an industry from an aircraft avionics perspective. In 30 years, avionics have evolved from steam gauges to digital dashboards. If you can picture it, we have gone from old steam gauges and analog inputs with needles to Light Emitting Diodes (LED’S) in smaller packages with the lighter weight avionics and resolution that matches your television on maps. It’s incredible to see the change from the beginning of my career to now.

Please tell me about a time you went above and beyond for a customer.

First and foremost, it’s our job to serve the customer to the best of our ability. When I first started, I had a customer that wasn’t in the BGA but a commercial airline. They were having trouble finding someone who could help them effectively with a specific technical issue, so I told them we would fix it first and then get them to the right spot. I worked diligently with the customer and got their account in order. Within a short amount of time the entire customer experience was turned around.