Self-Murdering Airlines – Dinosaur's Industrial Suicide


When your front line people (agents, attendants, etc.) are forced to adopt the role of a ‘heavy’ it spells disaster for your business’s future. 


More and more it seems that the big (dinosaur) carriers are creating an adversarial relationship with their passengers. 


MEMO: Hey UNITED AIRLINES!!


(For now), I’m your CUSTOMER - not your ENEMY!


Let me start off by sharing that I ought to be treated like an airline’s best friend. I travel a lot. And when I say a lot, I mean it. For example, in the past 25 days I’ve been on the following flights.


1. Vancouver to Edmonton
2. Edmonton to Vancouver
3. Vancouver to Seattle
4. Seattle to San Francisco
5. San Francisco to Vancouver
6. Vancouver to Toronto
7. Toronto to Vancouver
8. Vancouver to Seattle
9. Seattle to Houston
10. Houston to Ft. Lauderdale
11. Ft. Lauderdale to Houston
12. Houston to Calgary
13. Calgary to Vancouver
14. Vancouver to Seattle
15. Seattle to Washington
16. Washington to San Juan
17. San Juan to Chicago
18. Chicago to Vancouver

At this point, I have no allegiance to a particular airline; in fact I belong to pretty much every Frequent Flyer program ever created. I shop for fares based on price and convenience first – then brand second. The fact that I don’t have a particular loyalty might indicate that I’d be worth creating a great relationship with, right? I am exactly the type of customer I’d expect airlines to woo. You might expect that airlines would do their best to secure my continued business.
But does that happen? Not by any stretch. 


Why is it I feel like the whole flying experience these days is an adversarial experience? 
Airplane travel used to be a glamorous and classy experience. Nowadays, the process is burdened with inconvenience, ridiculous rituals, line-after-line and officious scrutiny. 
I’ve taken a half dozen United flights this month, for example. So I can offer these following experiences as evidence of how I feel like I’m on hostile territory when I’m ‘Flying the Friendly Skies’:


• Getting an early boarding pass printed online is now a minefield of pre-filled ordering screens with one purpose: to milk customers for more money for things like trip insurance, extra leg room in their ‘Economy Plus’ section, meal options and baggage ($23 for one bag on a one way trip, but a whopping $2 cheaper than if you pay at check in!) The screens are evidently designed to be confusing and I’m sure many travelers suddenly find themselves paying much more for a trip than they originally planned without any clue as to why.

• It is stressful dealing with the check in staff, who are rigorous when it comes to weighing baggage and ensuring that you are not trying to carry anything more than your one bag – that must fit into the designated space – and your one personal item.


• Gate agents denying requests for exit aisles where there is a bit more space so writing on a laptop (as I’m doing while I write this) with a curt, “there is an extra charge for that”. I ask if I’m a valued customer and therefore worth going the extra mile for? “I cannot. It is airline. Not me.” United makes their gate agents and flight attendants police the ‘Economy Plus’ section – even when flights are nearly empty. “If we let people move, then the (poor sods) that actually paid for the extra space feel stupid because they paid the extra money.” 


• The most crucial ambassadors of the airline – the flight attendants – have the affect of jaded gladiators. “I’ll have to check that bag – all our overhead bins are full.” Gee, you think people being asked to pay for checked bags has something to do with that? 

• On this flight, I tried to buy one of their ‘snack boxes’. They were mentioned by the purser at the start of the flight. I picked the ‘Eat for Good’ option, which sounded like the best choice. “I’m sorry we don’t have that one available.” Really? You tell us to select a box from your United Hemispheres magazine, then we can’t even buy the choice once we’ve made it? Is it any wonder their business model isn’t working out so well? Simple things like this make a huge difference to the customer (in this case, ME!) Small details win loyal customers – or turn people’s opinions negative. 


• I’ve been dealing with anachronistic entertainment systems on every United airplane I’ve been on this month. Either the system is not working, or I’m seeing the same tired entertainment offered on EVERY flight. How many times do you think I’m interested in seeing the same episode of 30 Rock? This especially rubs me the wrong way when the passenger disembarking from the Jet Blue flight is commenting about how great it was to watch the World Cup game USA vs. Algeria LIVE on his plane. Yet another game I’ve missed, darn it!


• Departing on this flight, because I had some flexibility with time – and I was sorry to be missing the World Cup game that was starting at the same time, I volunteered to accept a bump since they had overbooked the flight. I did this an hour and a half before the flight was to depart. When they (inevitably) asked for volunteers, I was the first person to bring up my boarding pass. I appreciate the flight voucher, the option to watch the World Cup Game – and was in no hurry at all. After myself, a couple others volunteered. Just before the flight, I was told they didn’t  need me as a volunteer – they were taking four other volunteers who had come up AFTER I had volunteered. 


I was a little put off as the flight had been completely boarded by this point and I was not likely to have any overhead compartment space for my carry on. Imagine my surprise when I get to my seat and find a whole row of three seats that are empty. The agent who had denied me the option to volunteer to be bumped walked the aisle of the plane counting passengers. When he got to my seat, he asked if anyone was seated next to me. “Ahhh. No.” At this point, he could have boarded the group two extra people, but chose not to. 

Home again!


The Sad State of United


Really? United, can’t you do any better than this? 
Bypass the common convention of allowing the first volunteer the courtesy of being granted the bump? 
Check. 


Miscount the number of passengers on the plane? 
Check. 


Fail to rectify the situation when mistake is discovered? 
Check. 


Piss off a great customer? 
Checkmate. 


And yet, even while all the dinosaur, ‘established’ airlines are struggling to survive, new airlines with different corporate cultures are succeeding – Virgin, Jet Blue, Westjet, Southwest. Each of these airlines  has an inherently unique and vibrant corporate culture. They create devoted customers who are loyal and constantly evangelizing about their experiences. They offer modern communication systems – planes with WORKING entertainment systems. They make air travel FUN in some ways the companies like United Airlines never do.


Airline travel should be a positive Adventure – not a trial for a survivalist. 

Small Details Elevate Experiences to the Extraordinary Realm

Often, the little things make all the difference.

This is a story about a stone. 

Oddly after everything we went through, it is one of the main things that stuck out in my mind. Take note: there is an important lesson to be learned here ... and it centers around a simple stone. 

We'll get to it a bit later. First, I want to set the context by telling you about my trip. 

It was a boy's weekend to celebrate my friend Dan's birthday. We headed out of town to spend time seeking Adventure - and we found what we were looking for. 

We began by stacking up Dan's van with all the gear we could possibly need - inline skates, longboard skateboards, helmets, skis, snowshoes and other assorted manly-items. 

Toys? Check. 

On our way up to the Pemberton area, we took the opportunity to check out Nairn Falls since we were passing by. For a completely undeveloped attraction, I was deeply impressed. These falls are unique and powerful. We scampered around rocks and generally gallivanted around the area. 

If you ever drive past, jump out and do the 4 kilometers to the falls and back. It is well worth it.

Glorious stones everywhere, but not the one I mentioned at the start of this post. That came later.

Our idea was to find a remote hot spring and use that as our destination/reward after a little hike. There were a number of potential hot springs within an hour's drive of Pemberton. However, our intelligence gathering was not helpful. Information was contradictory and sometimes bizarre. 

"Oh yeah, people live there year around. You'll have no trouble reaching the springs."

"No, the road has been washed out by a landslide and access is closed." !!??

"I thought those springs had been declared a biohazard." 

We decided to try our luck as the afternoon was getting later and we wanted to bag at least one decent hot spring before the end of the day. 70 kilometers later and 40 kilometers down a rough fireroad, our progress was abruptly halted. 

We'd seen one other vehicle coming the other way, a four wheel drive truck that had tried to find the hot springs, but ended up getting stuck. The couple told us we'd have the place to ourselves - IF we were prepared for a huge hike. 

Perfect. 

Shortly after, we found the end of the (drivable) road. 

We parked the van and began hiking around 5:30PM - not the ideal time to head out into the wilderness to find a remote, obscure, undeveloped hot spring. But, dang it, it was a birthday weekend and we were not going to be denied - even if we had no clue where we were going.

It was raining lightly when we saw three sets of headlights coming the other way. With no possible car access, they must be snowmobiles. Yup. 

We waved at them to stop. I think they were shocked to find Dan and I slogging along in the opposite direction - away from civilization. We wanted to know if we were headed in the right direction. After a series of circumspect answers they revealed that they knew of the place we were seeking, Keyhole Hot Springs.  Jackpot.

They let us know we might find it, but told us it was FAR too long a distance to cover on that day. Just the kind of challenge we like - and now we had enough direction to stay the course. 

Onward!!

We followed the trail, which ran alongside the Lillooet River intermittently. The snow was wet and inconsistent and energy-draining, but beautiful. Darkness was approaching. Dan told me he had a little flashlight, so we carried on. 


The scenery was sublime and we were pretty sure VERY few other people had been in the area since winter had set in.

Our snowmobiling saviors had warned us about the scramble down to the hot springs. "It drops 600 feet in about 50 feet." Though the path was not marked, we sniffed it out and as darkness began to take hold, we navigated downwards until we were on the riverbank. It had taken us 2.5 hours to cover the 12km. 


We had made it. We were happy (non)campers. The only trick left was sniffing out the actual hot springs. 

Discovering a remote hot spring is like finding a hidden treasure. Keyhole Hot Springs is nestled into the side of a very steep stone embankment; several hand made stone tubs cascade down to shore of the Lillooet river. 


Stunning. 


I couldn't wait to strip down and soak!

Believe it or not, this is STILL not the stone that made such a big difference to me on this trip. We'll get to that shortly. 

There is something about earning a soak in a hot springs after a brutal and uncertain trip. Though cameras tend to steam up in the rising mist - and the darkness doesn't help either - the satisfaction shows through. 

We just had to make our escape up the cliff-like embankment to the road BEFORE it was pitch black. The trail was far too rough and wild to navigate in the dark. 

Two hours and twenty minutes later we were within one kilometer of our vehicle when we saw two headlights coming the other way. It was 11:30PM, raining and dark. What on earth?

It was two of our snowmobiling pals. They had been tossing and turning in their sleeping bags worrying about us. Thinking we might have bitten off more than we were prepared to chew, they had decided to venture out and rescue us!

They were shocked to find out we had actually made it to the hot springs and managed to have a little soak before marching right back. We had covered almost 24 kilometers in the snow. 

Thinking it would be downright uncivilized to refuse their hospitality, we sheepishly accepted a ride back the final half a click to Dan's van. 

Ironically, the side by side, standing two-up snowmobile ride felt like the most dangerous part of the whole trip - especially as they skidded and sparked across the occasional patches of dirt and rock!

These still are not the stones that impressed me, however.

It was the first 'rescue' for both Dan and I. Somehow it is heartening to know that people DO care about each other. We thanked our snowmobiling friends and saw them back to their tent, which had a full-on iron, wood-burning stove inside of it!

We made it back to Whistler by around 2AM.

For the latter part of April, the conditions were amazing. There was a good bit of new snow that kept things interesting. Dan and I just played all day long. 

We also had the opportunity to do something rare and unusual. It was ski-demo day on top of Whistler. Since skis are a relatively high-ticket item, buying them is serious business. Woes to the person who buys a ski that is not quite right. There is no going back. You've just spent your 800 bucks; good luck returning used skis.

Sales staff at even the best sporting good stores are unlikely to have direct experience with even a small fraction of the skis in their inventory. Ski technology has been changing and there are more designs than ever before - each one unique and different.  How do you pick a pair? Price? Color? Brand?

It is frustrating to try and pick a suitable ski without actually trying them out. You can test drive a car before dropping a wad of cash on new wheels. Why not skis?

Enter the wonderful institution of Demo Days!

There were perhaps 15 different manufacturers set up at the top of the Whistler gondola. All we had to do was flash ID and leave a credit card to try out the latest, greatest mountain hardware. Dan and I jumped right and got a set of wide reverse camber boards. 

After a few runs, we'd swap to another brand and model. By lunchtime, we had tried four different sets of skis. It was informative and fun. This is the way everyone should be able to pick out skis.

But to me, there was something even more interesting on display at the top of Whistler that day. Each ski manufacturer had a chance to interact with a large number of potential clients. Some made the most of the opportunity. Others did not. 

Some companies had technicians manning their tents whose mission was simply to get bindings adjusted for each client. The customer interaction was polite, but perfunctory. 

The Rossignol guys were competent and fast. But they were focused on the mechanics of their operation, which did not include any relationship building or follow up. Opportunity lost. 

Armada & Prior, smaller ski companies with unique products, both seemed a bit undermanned for the event. It was a whirlwind just getting skis and returning them. I had no sense of what the companies stood for, or the distinctions between their various products. Pity, especially for a small company. 

I took a chance on the last set of skis I tried out. A Swiss-made boutique company called Heidi Skis was one of the last tents still letting skis go out. When others had begun breaking down their tents - eager to get back down the mountain, Heidi Skis was still letting people demo their products.

Their technician was very accommodating. In fact, they were the only company that adjusted the skis directly to my boots while I was wearing them. They wanted to know what kind of skiing I did so they could recommend a suitable model. Already, they had formed a relationship with me by showing interest in what I wanted. 

Their skis, I'm happy to support, were a pleasure to use.

But, the best part was yet to come. 

When I returned the Heidi Skis boards, I was asked about my impressions of the ski. And they listened to me: one of their potential customers. 

How often do companies get feedback from people outside their organization about what people think of their products? This kind of feedback is vital.

But my Heidi Skis experience got better.

Though they are a small company with limited personnel, they had their sales manager on site. He approached me to give me some information about their company. Also, he let me know they had a special deal on the skis I had tried and how I could take advantage of their season-end pricing. No other company had given me any information about their products at all.

This was odd considering they were fishing in target rich waters. Their customers were literally swarming, but they were not forming relationships or SELLING their products at all.

The sales manager then distinguished Heidi Skis further; he handed me a small Toblerone chocolate bar (from Switzerland, like them, he explained) and a small leather pouch containing THE STONE. In the pouch was a small wet stone for sharpening knives. This was totally unexpected and separated them from every other company I'd interacted with up to that point.

Do you think they made a positive impression? You bet.

How much did it cost Heidi Skis to provide this service to me? Maybe a quarter for the chocolate and a buck or two for the stone. 


Worth it? 


Absolutely. Heidi Skis went from a company I'd never even heard of, to one I will use as a reference for extraordinary service repeatedly. 


That small stone made a huge impact.


The video below shows me chasing Dan down the very amusing skiercross course on Blackcomb. 

A Massive Disconnect – Why Toronto’s Pearson International Airport is on My Blacklist

At the root of the matter: organizations should educate, incentivize and inspire their front line staff …. Or suffer the consequences.

It is unlikely that I will have warm fuzzy feelings flying into Toronto’s airport (and by extension the City of Toronto) again in the near future.



The rub is that the root cause for my feelings came from interactions with people who probably have no idea of the impact their actions have – or how far reaching they are.


They ought to know better, but they don’t. Probably, they’ve never received even cursory training in public relations – despite their front row positions.


Sorry, Toronto.


The world is not always fair.


Before I get into my experiences at Pearson International, let me give you some context.


It is ironic that the people who matter most working inside a given company are paid the least. I’m talking about the employees who are responsible for the face to face communication on behalf of their organizations.


These are the bank tellers, wait staff, attendants and agents who act as the front line, the crucial public façade that actually interacts with the public. And for most of these organizations, these people are underappreciated, improperly trained and completely unaware of their heavyweight effect on the public’s perception of their company or organization.


It is not like this for every company – just most of them. There are exceptions, of course. Southwest Airlines for example, is a company where nearly every employee has recognized and embraced the company’s cheery, efficient and experience-driven customer service approach.


Enterprise, the car rental service is also a standout when it comes to service – employees often have a stake, ownership in the business. This generates another level of care and diligence.

 So should Pearson be doing something different? The answer is an emphatic YES!

YYZ (the three letter code for Toronto’s airport) could learn something from Southwest Airlines. They could also learn something from Enterprise Car Rental; employees have a stake in the business and despite their (often) second tier locations at airports, I have experienced great customer service in the past. They go above and beyond what is expected.

In the Toronto airport, I experienced in rapid succession three glaring instances where staff at the airport left much to be desired. I met three surly and combative people in the space of 15 minutes.

Here’s my story:

I came to Toronto to train a group of administrative workers in one of Ontario’s Ministries. The Ministry wanted me to improve the communication skills by putting their people through Corporate Explorer Training’s Cross Boundary Communication Module.

This necessitated a flight to YYZ and a subsequent departure.

Among other things, the particular training program I was delivering in Milton, Ontario is designed to emphasize the importance of building relationships inside and outside the work environment - and in particular the front line communication the Ministry might have with the general public. How we feel about our government is often a reflection of our experiences with the people who represent that government. And I’m not talking about politicians.

The people who handle your face-to-face business at offices maintained by your local government are the ones who PERSONIFY that organization. If you have a great experience renewing your driver’s license, you are likely to share that with others. If you have a nightmare of an experience dealing with this type of bureaucracy, you are SURE to share the experience with others.

Thus we judge our overall impression of a large organization or government by the interactions we have with their front line emissaries. These good folks are often at entry level positions without much prestige or control over the circumstances of their jobs.

When we have bad experiences dealing with an entity, like an airport, it colors our impression of that entity.

When I arrived at the airport, I needed to check in a bag. I’d completed check in online, so my seat was set; I just needed to drop my bag and get a boarding pass printed. The self-check in kiosk would not print a boarding pass for me. It asked me to join a line and talk to an agent. Fine.

After waiting through a line and watching multiple people drop off bags in front of me, it was my turn. The male agent asked me for my boarding pass. I explained that the kiosk had told me to talk to an agent and that it would not print my boarding pass.

At this point, the man actually, chastised me telling me I was in the wrong place and that I needed a boarding pass in hand to qualify for his service. He stood to the side in a gesture of dismissal and lifted his gaze to summon the person at the head of the line behind me.

Feeling both confused and slightly irritated at the brusque dismissal, I explained that the airlines own kiosk had referred me to talk with an agent. Wasn’t he an agent? He was providing passengers with service at an agent’s counter, after all.

Mr. Happy, the agent, impatiently told me I WOULD NOT be getting any service from him – apparently this included any hint that might have pointed me in the right direction where I COULD get service. Having been civil and friendly with this guy, I did not understand his attitude, reluctance to help – or, in fact, give me any useful information at all.

I travel a lot. I’ve been around the block. I know airports and their byzantine ways.

This guy was committed to dismissing the hapless passenger in front of him (me) as quickly as possible – despite the fact I had just been following instructions provided by a kiosk from his airline.

Rather than let the situation escalate, after a few fruitless rounds of back and forthing, I left. Eventually, I found another line where ‘service issues’ were handled. I got my boarding pass printed and successfully checked my bag for the flight by a cheerless agent.

I made a mental black mark in my head next to the file in my brain where I store airline information. This airline, too, was now tarnished by the illogical and unfriendly experience I just had. I could care less about the nice logo, the crisp uniforms, etc. If the person wearing the airline uniform does not provide good service, the entire airline’s goodwill is in jeopardy.

People remember personal interactions. Sorry Air Canada.

Since I was early, my next mission was to eat my Subway sandwich. I had to do this since the accompanying chocolate milk was likely to be seized as dangerous contraband in the security check stage of the airport dance. We live in strange days.

Between the security line and the check in area was one of the large seating areas that airports have where people sit while waiting for flights. This was a pretty large and empty area where about a half dozen restaurants surrounded the tables, benches and chairs.

I found a suitably empty spot, opened a newspaper and began to eat.

Then I met Winston.

Winston is employed to keep the seating area cleaned and the leftover trays and detritus bused. I had taken perhaps one bite of my sandwich when he made his presence known. He did this by informing me that I was NOT permitted to sit down in this empty area.

Confused, I asked him if he was serious.

“You wouldn’t bring Burger King to McDonalds would you?” he said.

Thinking back two days to our dinner with friends where we went to a spicy Korean restaurant with a takeout pizza in hand for our non-spicy food eating daughter, I replied, “actually, I would.”

Winston was not impressed. As I didn’t immediately jump up and flee, he sought out reinforcements from the guy behind the counter at the gourmet pizza place nearby. The man Winston talked to was having an animated discussion with him. I saw him looking at me to attract my attention giving me the sign to relax and remain seated.

I felt marginally better.

But Winston was not having any of it. Apparently, his reinforcements gambit might have backfired, but he was not to be dissuaded.

Again, he approached my table. I observed in a friendly way that his first name, Winston, was the same as my middle name. He was not impressed. “It don’t matter. You still have to leave.” He was resolute and seemed to be committed to standing directly over me until I made moves to depart.

Now, I should take a moment to explain that I am a big fan of what I’ll call common sense. If there is a rule in place, in some cases it makes sense to be flexible and allow transgression.

There was NO ONE in the area I was eating. The airport eating area was NOT busy. I was not disturbing anyone. There were no other seating areas anywhere to be seen.

Not wanting to be confrontational, and recognizing that Winston was likely an ill-trained employee in a low level job whose interpretation of his role included being hostile and unfriendly to interlopers, I left.

I ate the rest of my sandwich standing up balancing my chocolate milk on a railing in front of a photography collage.

Thanks for the visual distraction YYZ. It didn’t counteract the unwelcoming behavior Winston has shown me, but it served to distract me for a few minutes.

Security was next. Here, I’ve been through the whole ridiculous drill so many times, I figured it would be a breeze.

To keep things short, I’ll say that I usually travel with an empty water bottle. This allows me to fill it once I’m through security so I’ve actually got water of my own for the next 7 hours of travel.

We’ve all seen contraband Evian and sunscreen being seized from hapless travelers so I won’t question how taking a teenager’s spring break sunscreen is keeping us all safe.

My shoes were off. My jacket was in a tray – along with my cell phone, watch, change, etc. My laptop was in a separate tray. Everything should be smooth. The personal metal detector was a breeze – I got by with merely a stern look.

But my backpack was flagged. “Is this backpack yours?”

Ummmmmm. “Yes.”

My water bottle had a miniscule amount of unfinished water – literally drops of water – in the bottom. Security wanted to seize it. Now I am talking about an empty bottle with enough water in it to ALMOST wet your mouth, but no more.

Once more the attitude displayed by the security detail was that they were dealing with a dangerous individual who needed to be taught a lesson.

On my way to the gate, I shook my head. In 15 minutes I’d experienced three back to back instances where front line staff working at the airport had gone out of their way to impose bad customer service on a passenger who was simply trying to get home.

Thanks Toronto!

People recall bad service even more vividly than good service. I am sure I’m not the only person who had to run the gauntlet of surly service at YYZ.

I’m aware that the three separate individuals I encountered were all employees who worked for different employers. That doesn’t matter to me. It all went down at the airport, so I associate it with the airport.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

Organizations with first class leadership instill in their staff an awareness that THEIR ACTIONS MATTER! Great organizations are fronted by employees who care and provide first class customer service.

The airline agent could have helped me and pointed me in the right direction.

Winston could have simply let me eat in peace.

Security could have let me pass with a smile and 5ml of water in the bottom of my bottle.

With some proactive training, employees can provide great service – but they have to know that what they do is IMPORTANT. Their roles, though perhaps not highly-paid, are arguably the most important roles when it comes to how the public perceives their employer’s organization.

Do you hear me Big Guys!? Get your people the training that will turn YOUR company into a top flight company.

It matters.

In this questionable business climate, you can’t afford negative impressions.

Fix this disconnect. Your people, especially the ones at the bottom of the org chart, are your most valuable asset. Invest in them and the public will embrace you.

Berzerkers, Braveheart & the Olympics - Vancouver 2010