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Who's On First? A Commentary on the Airline Industry. by Dave Shultz There was a time when air travel rivaled its luxury competitors. It didn't make any difference whether you took a ship, train or plane; you were in for a pleasant travel experience. Some things change and others remain the same. Air travel, unfortunately, isn't what it used to be. Even first class has lost some of its glamour in the trend towards cost cutting. I remember flying on American Airlines Flagship Service a couple of decades ago when you were treated like someone who had just spent a large sum of money to get to your destination with a little more style and comfort. First class today is still a quantum leap beyond coach but it can't be compared with days gone by. I'm sure someone with all the facts and figures could look at both economies and make endless comparisons between what your dollar used to by and what you get today and rationalize that we are better off than we used to be but he'll never convince me that the service is the same. I've looked at the air travel industry as a professional and very frequent flyer and believe the change isn't because the airlines are trying to save a few dollars. I truly believe the problems associated with air travel today can be placed directly at the feet of the airline employees. It's very rare for an employee to go even a few feet out of his or her way to help someone let alone go that extra mile. When we really start to analyze, I'm sure the air industry is no worse than any other service industry. Employees of most companies have exchanged empathy with indifference and pride with arrogance and air travel hasn't escaped the change. Any large airport today is filled with very angry people standing in very long lines waiting to talk to very uncaring airline employees that have heard every story so many times, they no longer respond to people as individuals that have had a bad experience and just want a little sympathy and help resolving a situation they didn’t create and have no control over. Stop in the concourse of any airport sometime and listen for a few minutes to the people passing by. You will find most of them are not happy about their travel experience and each one is loudly voicing their opinion of “XYZ” Airlines and how bad they are. The problem is, that every airline is well represented by the disgruntled masses. There is no clear winner in the airline customer service wars. They all have problems and at one time or another, you will become a victim of airline apathy. Don’t be fooled into thinking a First Class Ticket will buy you any more attention than the cheapest coach price. When a crisis arises, you are just another number they have to deal with and the only thing you can be sure of is they are already looking over your shoulder at the next problem standing impatiently in line behind you. I have seen countless times when only a small effort would have turned an unhappy customer into an appreciative one and yet seldom do I see that effort extended. I have more than a few personal experiences with those situations but when you start exchanging horror stories in airport waiting areas, you’ll always find people a lot worse off than you are. I was on a flight one time on an airline that was in negotiation with a union. Flights were either terribly delayed or cancelled altogether because of an obvious slowdown. Long lines of stranded passengers wove through masses of bodies camped out in the waiting areas. The lady in line in front of me was told her flight was cancelled and that she would have to wait till the next day to get another flight out. She explained her need to continue her travel as soon as possible to the ticket agent and indeed it sounded pretty valid to me. The ticket agent told her that she could wait till tomorrow or she was on her own. Her ticket would not be refunded. When the distraught customer asked the agent to tell her what airline or flight she could get that would depart sooner, she was told in very harsh terms that it was not job of “XYZ” Airlines to find her another flight. The agent said, “You can wait till tomorrow or you can go find another flight and buy another ticket. I don’t care.” Needless to say, I was shocked and can only assume the agent was deliberately trying to hurt customer relations because of the union disagreement. I know I will think very hard before every flying that airline again. There also seems to be no rhyme or reason to the compensation an airline will give you if you do become stranded. A cancelled flight forced me to spend the night in St. Louis one time and a group of sixteen of us were discussing what the airline offered us as we rode the shuttle to the hotel. Fifteen were offered a free room but only a full size bed in an economy room. Some were offered meal vouchers but the amount ranged from $4 to $12 per person. Some were given a phone allowance and some weren’t but what surprised me the most was the passenger that was not even offered a free room. It was a young black woman that was a college student at New Mexico State University coming home from a funeral. She was given nothing by the airlines except the time of the next flight out the following day. The rest of us didn’t get much but her treatment was unbelievable. I suggested she keep her receipts and contact the president of the airline company when she got home. I hope they were smart enough to respond quickly to her complaint. There is no excuse for that kind of treatment. I don’t have any quick fixes for what’s wrong with air travel today. Until the airline companies and their employees start concentrating on customer service, there isn’t going to be any fix, short or long term. I will continue to fly because I have no choice but I can’t help but long for the days when the customer was King. |
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