Tag Archives: service

Downward Spiral of Airlines

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Catch Me If You Can?

I am not an airline man and nor will I ever be!  I hate flying!  But the airline business on the other hand is a glorious business, or so it was a long time ago. But, really what happened to the days when the airline industry was all about service? Exceeding expectations?

I’ll tell you what happened. The other day I was flying on a commuter flight (reputable company which will remain unnamed), and I was told that most seats were booked-up but for an additional charge of $9.95 I could get more leg room by sitting in a different part of the plane, or for an additional $19.95 I could sit on the exit row by the wings, and oh and peanuts are $2.00.

So what really happened? You have all these once-upon-a-time companies with great employees and millions of dollars of creative marketing and public relations, yet everyone is missing the forest for the trees? Nobody has the guts, decency or fortitude to stand for what is right? So now that company A is charging $295, then airlines B and C will have to do the same thing so they can be competitive as well. AND, in order to fictitiously make this prices seem cheaper everything else is A la Carte…really? It started with the bag fees, then the blanket/pillow fees on longer flights, the F&B service, and now the auctioning of “prime” seats.

What a shame that a billion dollar industry forgot the basics, doing things right the first time!  If you cannot do it right the first time, when will you have the chance to do it over again? That’s correct – never!

So who really is at fault? Who is responsible?  WE the customers are. We now find it acceptable to wait on the tarmac 6 hours at a time, paying for every little item just so that we can feel good that the overall ticket price was only $99.00 for a cross country flight!

Where will this mentality of “penny pinching” lead this industry? To what end? Rest assured that this “penny wise pound foolish” standard operating procedure (SOP) will only lead to more and more re-organizations, bankruptcies, thousands of great employees losing their jobs. And, why?? Because their employers do not have the foresight to do what is right and their customers have become accustomed to accepting and, dare I say even demanding mediocrity!

Someone once told me: “Take care of the boss and you’ll never be wrong”. If the customers are indeed the “boss”, why not take care of them, provide the right service, the right experience, provide value for money and do it all with a smile!  Show me the airline that does that and I’ll show you the friendly skies indeed!

Here again, friends:  There are two things you can do!  Either you do it or you don’t!”

At Your Service,

Aurelian

Perception is Reality

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Today I wanted to share with you the concepts of “perception is reality” and “driving the market”.  Meaning, what people perceive does become their reality and driving the market as in the Kevin Costner movie, Field of Dreams, where he kept hearing/saying “if you build it they will come”. While you’re probably thinking I’m crazy in stating the markets can be driven, I’ll share with you a story from my past.

A little while ago, OK…a long time ago, I had the privilege of working at a very high-end and exclusive establishment with a fine dining restaurant that only open for dinner from Wednesday through Saturday.  A small place with only 70-80 covers, and while Fridays and Saturdays were doing OK, Wednesdays and Thursdays were a different story!  Quite embarrassing actually, fine dining place with 80 covers doing only 10-15 covers a night,and uncomfortable for the patrons being the only ones in the large room.

So what did we do? Close the restaurant for those days? No! Quite the opposite!  For a period of two months, every time someone called for reservations for a Wednesday or Thursday evening they were informed that the restaurant was full with no availability, With the only open spots two weeks away.  Little by little, we built this mystique that something special was going on Wednesdays and Thursdays evenings and that people had to call weeks in advance to be able to get a table. Now, as those evenings booked up, we did add special things such as live jazz band and such, and before you know it the little restaurant “that could” became a sold-out success on all evenings that it was open.

Perception is a reality and the market can be driven!

As I always say: there are two things you can do, either you do it or you don’t!

At Your Service,
Aurelian A.

Service is King

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Hi,

In follow-up to my previous post, I am reminded of what Mr. Selfridge (founder of famous department store in London, at the turn of the century, yes last century and still in business today) once said: The Customer is Always Right! Or, what one of the most famous hoteliers in the world Cesar Ritz once said: The Customer is King!  No wonder he was known as the King of Hoteliers and the Hotelier of Kings!

I am reminded of one story, where Cesar Ritz, at the beginning of his career, was in the midst of planning and executing a grand soiree for lots of dignitaries in his establishment.  A few short hours before the event, they lost all heat and being in the middle of winter, the room got awfully cold awfully fast!  What to do? In those days they did not have the comfort of email or phones for that matter, the event could not be cancelled.

So Cesar Ritz, had the staff build bonfires outside and placed lots of bricks in them to heat them up. Then, shortly before the event was to start, he had those heated bricks placed underneath all the tables in the venue. Furthermore, the first course being served that night was a Bouillabaisse…so he instructed the chefs to make it extra spicy.

So what happened?  The event was a huge success and no one was the wiser that there was no heat in the room!  Go figure!  Talk about perception becoming reality!

No wonder he became the King of Hoteliers and the Hotelier of Kings!

Like I say: there are two things you can do, either you do it or you don’t!

At Your Service,
Aurelian A.

The Common Sense of Service

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Hello There,

How often have you gone to a restaurant and had to park a block or two away because the restaurant staff took all the parking spots up front?  How often have you gone for dinner and had to wait and wait for the server to come to your table because the wait staff was too busy chatting among themselves? Or, how often were you at a gas station, patiently waiting while the gas attendant finished reading his book or newspaper before coming over to help fill your gas tank? Even at a department store? Same thing…

So many places of business forget these so very basic common courtesies and service approaches, yet they wonder why they have to spend thousands of dollars on advertising and promotions just to get you in the door.

Customers are picky and they deserve the best. If we don’t have the time to do it right the first time…do you really think you’ll get the chance to do it again? Doubtful, because 9 out 10 of those customers never return!

So take a moment and look at the “golden rule”. Instill in your staff the importance of “first impressions” and taking ownership for their actions and ownership of the business. If they only treat it as a place where they can collect a paycheck, then soon enough they won’t get a paycheck and you won’t be in business to be able to give them one.

As I always say: there are two things you can do, either you do it or you don’t!

At Your Service,
Aurelian A.