Service issues and culture change

[galley princess]

Recently, due to the pursuance of another degree, I have been in the company of a lot of professionals. Doctors, lawyers, administrators etc. For my own reasons I have allowed them to believe that I have left the airline industry.

This has presented me with a rather unwelcome position of getting to hear their thoughts on US. Now I know that recent data has shown that public opinion of US is down there with cockroaches however, I have to say I have been taken aback by some of what I am hearing. It's depressing and furthermore it's just not fair. I am in effect answering for an abysmally run company.

They've done a paint job on the airplanes.

They've improved OTP.

Bravo.

However. When are they going to get around to the actual service issues, which are uniquely tied to those performing the service?

This is not a union thread. My question is this, is it not obvious that US needs a complete staff overhaul?

They need to buyout the senior people. In EVERY work group. Not because they're not good performers, but because there are too MANY of them. It is stifling creativity and creating a hopeless ghetto for those underneath them. How else are the junior people going to change their attitudes?

Every major concession that was imposed on the workgroups can be mitigated by seniority.

Paycut---they fly/work more hours. Junior F/As got LTO and therefore LESS hours.
Senior pilots successfully challenged the 60 year rule and now they fly to 65. Junior pilots are left on little planes or on reserve.

Now I know that the senior aren't happy about having to adapt, but at least their choices are within THEIR own control. There isn't any control for the junior people. Therefore they get bitter, and the bitterness spreads. The senior are exhausted because they fly too much and the junior just want to make a living.

None of this is even close to an environment where customer service can thrive. So we're left with a company that can simply NOT improve its customer service and therefore pursue optimal profitability.

You cannot threaten or coerce people into being happy employees. Miserable employees can be polite, but friendly and positive? Check out the thriving competition. Continental and Southwest. What do they have in common? Duh???????????????????

What am I missing here?

 

[Harry Callahan]

I wish you would post this in the US forum on Flyertalk.
www.flyertalk.com


I bet the replies would be interesting.

 

[Dog Wonder]

They need to buyout the senior people. In EVERY work group. Not because they're not good performers, but because there are too MANY of them. It is stifling creativity and creating a hopeless ghetto for those underneath them. How else are the junior people going to change their attitudes?

Duh???????????????????

What am I missing here?

The envy junior employees have for people who have paid their dues?

 

[fudgerunyard]

You seem to be contradicting yourself. On one hand you try to equate LCC senior agents with bitter/no-can do attitudes, yet on the other hand you insinuate LUV and CAL are shining stars of what could be??? Do they not have senior workforces as well?

If nothing else, you simply proved that a thoughtful, caring, open-minded management team makes for better employees, irrelevant of the seniority issues.

You'll catch more bees with honey than vinegar.

 

[NoMoreKoolAid]

What the f/a group needs is a 75K buyout with medical open to all seniority groups. That would fix a lot. Sorry AFA but yes all sen groups. They are terrified when it gets to 15 years under they will have the foot stool kicked out and pow...they are on the RSV they care to forget. Win win for PHX really. Up front cost are paid back in less than 18 months.
Will we get it? PHX is too stupid and short sighted to figure it out.

 

[olivia]

Unfortunately, they have created the worse possible environment for their workers...

A workplace filled with fear, threats and hostile management.

I've never seen anything like it.

You will notice not many cust svc reps or res reps post here anymore.

 

[robbedagain]

sadly, the environment was brought on by the entire upper level mgmt team. It could have been different if DP had never hired half the clowns from the OLD US such as Al Hemenway or even Camille. Also it is easier said than done to have a buy out offer for everyone like what SWA is doing. But I believe CO went thru it when they went CH11 2x in the 1980s. Dont forget to look at UA as well they dont seem too happy either

 

[Itestwell]

Recently, due to the pursuance of another degree, I have been in the company of a lot of professionals.

You are in the company of very many professionals at USAirways as well. Trust me.

This has presented me with a rather unwelcome position of getting to hear their thoughts on US. Now I know that recent data has shown that public opinion of US is down there with cockroaches however, I have to say I have been taken aback by some of what I am hearing. It's depressing and furthermore it's just not fair. I am in effect answering for an abysmally run company.

They've done a paint job on the airplanes.

They've improved OTP.

Bravo.

However. When are they going to get around to the actual service issues, which are uniquely tied to those performing the service?

This is not a union thread. My question is this, is it not obvious that US needs a complete staff overhaul?

They need to buyout the senior people. In EVERY work group. Not because they're not good performers, but because there are too MANY of them. It is stifling creativity and creating a hopeless ghetto for those underneath them. How else are the junior people going to change their attitudes?

Every major concession that was imposed on the workgroups can be mitigated by seniority.

Your post reeks of something called "ageism". In your pursuance of your degree, they may not have covered this term. Look it up.

We have just as many lazy junior people as we have senior people(which is what you're getting at, when you refer to "miserable" people below...). In fact, many of the very senior people are an absolute joy to work with, and I am junior. Remember, USAir mainline (East) is 50% smaller (or more) than it was in 1996. Not my fault; not the senior peoples fault.

You cannot threaten or coerce people into being happy employees. Miserable employees can be polite, but friendly and positive? Check out the thriving competition. Continental and Southwest. What do they have in common? Duh???????????????????

What am I missing here?

Not sure what you are missing, and not sure you are making sense. Again, other airlines have a much different situation than we do. As much as I'd like to move up, do not blame the senior people. Many here will agree that the majority of them give stellar service. The current situation we find ourselves in is nobody's fault, regardless of seniority.

 

[ChockJockey]

Our schizophrenic workforce is a godsend to Parker and friends. If we took all the time and intellectual energy we spend bashing each other in this East/West nonsense and focused it instead on pressuring management to make sane and respectable decisions with a single will (like functional airlines do), we wouldn't be here impotently bellyaching about all the crap we let them get away with.

So I say get nice and comfortable for a few more years of Tempe sticking it to its employees and passengers (as well as the faint echoes of our complaining playing on a continuous loop in the background), because until our pilots can come to some kind of agreement (lol) we're stuck effectively working as two different entities more concerned about roughing up each other than we are holding our management accountable...

 

[HottootrotNyc]

To the OP, if you're junior and that unhappy with the company then why don't you move on else where? I am sorry to say it but US Airways will never be the company it once was and it will never move beyond what it is today with the current management. That is a sad thing to say since Airways was once in my opinion a good company and a top major to choose to work for.

The senior people 10+ years and people who are beyond 50+ are going to retire from this company and have put in enough time and energy to do so. They make the money and have the schedule and life they are comfortable with. For those that are younger and more junior, I think you have two options when it comes to Airways. Either you except it for what it is and continue to look forward or when other airlines (if you want to remain in the industry) are hiring you find the company that fits you and your needs and move on.

I left Delta and had invested almost 10 years with the company but was completely unhappy. I was tossed around like a rag doll and abused, being non-union is NOT fun. So I decided to move on, I applied with Continental and SWA the only airlines I would move on to and applied to go back to school to. I got hired with CO and I am now completely happy, and will go back to school again when I have a line. I have no regrets leaving Delta and would never want to be back there.

It really comes down to facing facts and seeing the company for what it is. If more people just faced the truth, I think we would have a lot more happy people and less wishing for things that will probably never happen. Good Luck...

 

[robbedagain]

Good for you I wish you luck with the school too. I for one would love to go back. My dad had a week short of 33 yrs Delta but retired in Dec 2001 as station manager He and I dont see eye to eye because I have always felt they should be unionized and I think they will end up being union upon the completion of the buyout of NWA

 

[galley princess]

Well I guess I should have guessed that everyone would read my post negatively.

Where did I bash senior people in my post? In fact, I think some of the best performers ARE the senior people. However, I would argue that they never had to endure what the present junior people endure. Most of them spent six months max on reserve, or stayed there by choice because of where they lived. They certainly deserve the rewards of their seniority. I do know, however, that many of them never dreamed they'd be flying a zillion hours at the end of their career, and or even being at US into their 60's. They wanted to retire, but now can't.

This is simple demographics. It exists at every company but it seems to be acute at US. The root of the problem is that improvement of any kind for the individual employee is based on a growth in seniority. At a no growth airline that creates a chunk of stagnant unrewarded employees. The current atmosphere at US is toxic, hence my proposal that they need a staff overhaul. The logical way to do that is through a buyout. It would be a win-win for both the senior and the junior, and still preserve the seniority system. It is also unique to this time, since no other population sector has the bubble effect of the baby boomers.

There have been ideas out there of getting rid of seniority but I would say none of us would entertain them.

I am not junior or senior. I fall somewhere in the middle, so I don't really have the misery index that I see. If I did, I could quit tomorrow, thanks. I have actually been taking my own advice and pursued economic independence of US. My dog in this fight is my wish to see US continue to exist and thrive, as well as the fact that I still like my job. At some point I will want to retire and still have benefits at an existing airline.

For that to happen the customer service issue has to be solved. I am spending a great deal of time not around airline people and hearing their thoughts about the industry made me start thinking. These are the business travellers that used to be US' bread and butter, and their opinion matters to me. I am interested in cost conscious solutions to the perception problem at US.

I think a buyout is a cost conscious step in the right direction. It would provide an opportunity for management to re-align expectations and generate creativity as well as compliance. I guess it's easier to accuse me of ageism or misery, rather than propose ideas that solve the problem.

 

[CGAft]

For whats its worth or of its even relevant, I flew in T/A Envoy last night and obviousy the F/A's were Senior. They did a great job. The food was good and service was great. The Gate Agents did a great job as well. I found the newly reconfigured Enoy seats to be very close to LH Biz class (very clean A/C for a 20 year workhorse). Was it LH....no. As much as we wish we are or were we will never will be LH (just one comparison).

 

[vantheman63]

This has presented me with a rather unwelcome position of getting to hear their thoughts on US. Now I know that recent data has shown that public opinion of US is down there with cockroaches however, I have to say I have been taken aback by some of what I am hearing. It's depressing and furthermore it's just not fair. I am in effect answering for an abysmally run company.

As one of those "professionals," I can tell you, it would make a loyal and proud employee sad, sick and disgusted to hear what nearly all of us think of "The New US Airways."

The summation of all my thoughts, "I wouldn't fly US Airways with your butt!" LOL

And I have to say...I don't believe this is an employee issue....or a seniority issue....this is a management issue. The management has not put anyone in this company in a position to win and do well. The product is stripped, you have NO tools....and why would you take pride in what you do?

I remember flying HP...about a week after the "merger" aka "hostile takeover" was announced. Flying OAK-SJD. And I was talking to a crew member and explaining I was excited...and she looked at me and said, "you are? Why? We have NOTHING to work with here."

I thought that was an odd comment...but it turned out to be accurate.

I know I don't blame the great people that make up the airline...but I'll tell ya what, it truly is a sad and pathetic what has happened to the great name of US Airways.

 

[freedom]

Recently, due to the pursuance of another degree, I have been in the company of a lot of professionals. Doctors, lawyers, administrators etc. For my own reasons I have allowed them to believe that I have left the airline industry.

{so on and so forth }

What am I missing here?

I think any sort of buy outs are a bad idea :down: ... in this economic enviroment our company needs to conserve money , not spend more of it ... our most recent quarter we lost 150 million ...