Little Things Mean Alot-My Recent Experience Elsewhere

Art at ISP

Veteran
Aug 20, 2002
2,465
419
Dix Hills NY
I just returned from SEA, and had an experience which brought me back to US about 6 years ago--most of these things have no costs attached, but are a big reason the old US had such fiercely loyal customers like myself and many of my friends.

Upon entering the club for my trip home, having not been at this station for about 3 months, the club agent recognized me from a previous visit, and welcomed me back. She said again and again during the chat, "thank you for your business". I was number 4 for an upgrade (the list was 46!), and she said she'd bring me a new BP if and when it cleared. She was on a break when it cleared, but her colleague handed me the BP on my way out, and again told me that they really appreciate my business.

Arriving at the gate, I heard a bunch of people being paged, including myself, and when I got to the podium, I showed the agent the new BP I already had, and said the club had taken care of me-she thanked me for letting her know, and again''Thank you for your business Mr. Art".

The same lady did boarding from the little stand. As F class was called, she addressed EVERY passenger by name and thanked them for flying CO. When she got to me, she said, "Ahh, Mr Art....thanks AGAIN for your business and have a great flight".

Once in my seat, I noticed that they were loading bags under my window. Every bag with an elite access tag was pulled to the side and loaded last--so it would come off first on arrival.

I won't even get into a comparison of the product or service--I am sure my friends at US still do their best with what they have, but I will suffice to say my experience on this transcon was up to par for international service!

My point is that the above experience would have been typical for me on US about 5 or 6 years ago. Not a single part of what I told you has any financial cost at all, but it goes SO FAR to show appreciation and recognize loyalty. No wonder people remain fiercely loyal now to this other carrier.......and how far US has come--down....sadly.

I would imagine some of you do these things on your own, but what a shame it is that the company no longer supports such behavior. I blame management for this--they don't value you, and they certainly don't value us.

My BEST to you all.......
 
Before you even mentioned the airline, i knew who you were talking about. My recent transcon on CO from SEA to EWR was outstanding, as detailed in this trip report.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread....&highlight=

As for US, it's not that the management doesn't "support" the employees going the extra mile. They just simply don't foster the attitude or encourage it. But even deeper, they have shown that they just don't want to offer a true domestic premium product that is even on a level close to the competition.
 
You don't have to kiss a$$, just do it right. And that is what Tempe has lost focus on....I just can not understand why DP and company have not been called on the carpet by the BOD. A happy customer will spend money, it's that simple...and there does not appear to be too many happy customers.
 
You guys sure are easy to please. I suppose I'm in the minority on this board in that I would rather take a flight on US Airways than Continental.

At least US never told me "you used your ticket, so no refund or voucher" after volunteering my seat for weight restrictions. :down:
 
You don't have to kiss a$$, just do it right. And that is what Tempe has lost focus on....I just can not understand why DP and company have not been called on the carpet by the BOD. A happy customer will spend money, it's that simple...and there does not appear to be too many happy customers.

3Q numbers will be out soon. That will be a true indicator (as will 4Q) of how many elite customers have left.
 
3Q numbers will be out soon. That will be a true indicator (as will 4Q) of how many elite customers have left.
I dont know how clear it will be with all the added fees and changes in fuel costs. We will need someone to decipher the final numbers
whether profit or loss to tell the real story. Anyone know what date 3Q earnings will be public? Thanx Mama
 
To sum up Art's point.

If you kiss my arse a little you can empty my wallet alot.


Pay attention Tempe

If you keep flying US and paying them for travel they have do not feel any loss in revenue. Let go and fly on someone else. It's the best way instead of posts.
 
Everything you describe is 100% within the employees control not managements.
Management may have missed some opportunities, but no doubt even SW famous employee centric team could not have made much of a difference at all with this group.
It really is no ones fault just the way things are due to everyone’s collective history.

No management could erase USAIR’s 20-30 years of heartbreak and disillusionment.
 
Everything you describe is 100% within the employees control not managements.
Management may have missed some opportunities, but no doubt even SW famous employee centric team could not have made much of a difference at all with this group.
It really is no ones fault just the way things are due to everyone’s collective history.

No management could erase USAIR’s 20-30 years of heartbreak and disillusionment.

Actually they could...it's called CH7...just get rid of the employees and problem solved ;) Oh wait that's what happened to Air Florida.
 
Everything you describe is 100% within the employees control not managements.
Management may have missed some opportunities, but no doubt even SW famous employee centric team could not have made much of a difference at all with this group.
It really is no ones fault just the way things are due to everyone’s collective history.

No management could erase USAIR’s 20-30 years of heartbreak and disillusionment.

You are mistaken. Just to expand on Piney Bob's excellent rebuttal, take a look at the history of CO. The employee climate was very much like what the current US Airways climate is now. The workforce was disspirited and demoralized from the legacy of Frank Lorenzo and Robert Furguson.

It IS all about leadership at the top. Gordon Bethune came in and fostered a radical change in the corporate culture of the organization. He created a managment style that included a carefully crafted vision and then went about excecuting that vision across multiple levels of the organization so that everybody was working together toward the same goal.

With the right leadership team in place, even "this group" as you say, can be re-energized to deliver excellence in customer service on a consistent basis. THAT, my friend, is what everybody is thirsting for. In fact, I firmly believe that every employee at US Airways is hungering for inspiration from the top. Unfortunately, it is clear that that vision and inspiration will never come from the current leadership at US Airways...
 
Hello Moderator---if this is his recent experience ELSEWHERE then what is it doing here on this site????
This should be placed over on the CO message board so you can sing their praises there.

I fail to see why the FF who have chosen to no longer fly US feel the need to continue posting here. I believe that Piney posted that it's been since June or July since he has flown US...gentlemen, we thank you for once trying to save this airline but it's time to move on. There are other boards waiting for your words of wisdom...perhaps CO needs the aid of the Focus group?????
 
Hello Moderator---if this is his recent experience ELSEWHERE then what is it doing here on this site????
This should be placed over on the CO message board so you can sing their praises there.

I fail to see why the FF who have chosen to no longer fly US feel the need to continue posting here. I believe that Piney posted that it's been since June or July since he has flown US...gentlemen, we thank you for once trying to save this airline but it's time to move on. There are other boards waiting for your words of wisdom...perhaps CO needs the aid of the Focus group?????
I totally agree with you ...Im sure the thousands of CO flights a day are all like that. Gotta love the blanket statements.
 
I totally agree with you ...Im sure the thousands of CO flights a day are all like that. Gotta love the blanket statements.

It's hardly a blanket statement. Continental consistently wins awards in customer satisfaction categories.
Conde Naste just released their results yesterday and CO was the only legacy carrier to make the cut.

DOMESTIC ROUTES

1 Virgin America 75.0
2 JetBlue Airways 62.0
3 Midwest Airlines 60.5
4 Hawaiian Airlines 48.6
5 Sun Country Airlines 45.0
6 Frontier Airlines 44.7
7 Alaska Airlines 44.0
8 Continental Airlines 40.8
9 USA 3000 Airlines 40.4
0 ExpressJet 37.1
 
It's hardly a blanket statement. Continental consistently wins awards in customer satisfaction categories.
Conde Naste just released their results yesterday and CO was the only legacy carrier to make the cut.
YAY---Good for them...so let's send this thread over to their board so they can read about how fabulous they are !!!!!
 

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