Posts Tagged ‘new ways to fly’
What Do You Want?
In spite of what my sister says, I’m not a terribly girly girl. Even so, every great now and then, I’ll go do a complete Girl Day. I’ll get my hair and nails done, maybe a massage, whatever. I walk in the door and pretend I’m Elizabeth Taylor. (The reference dates me, I know. But I just don’t think there’s any glamor like old Hollywood glamor.) I have very clear expectations about what I want from those rare days: a comfy chair, a raspberry cosmo, pleasant fragrances and quiet. Selling anything involves a tremendous amount of talking; so, when I’m unwinding, I covet silence. If I don’t get what I expect (like the time I ended up with magenta hair – not a good look), I expect an adjustment to my bill or I may just not go back to that salon.
When I go out to eat, I expect good service, good food, a pleasant environment and a predictable price. If my expectations are not met, I may reduce the tip, I may complain (though probably not), or, again, I may just not go back.
When I fly commercially, I should be able to expect someone to greet me at the ticket counter, smooth movement through security, orderly enplaning and deplaning, reasonably priced refreshments or the ability to supply my own, on-time departures and arrivals, and a pleasant environment. What I get is: self check-in at a kiosk, security hassles with my coat, shoes, and laptop case, 45 minutes hanging around at the gate, overpriced food and beverages, enplaning and deplaning hassles (you know all those people who just stand in the aisle for no apparent reason), tension on the aircraft with screaming children or obnoxious passengers, etc. That’s really kind of sad, isn’t it? I expect to be annoyed and tired by the time I reach my destination. If I don’t like my experience on any given airline, I’m pretty much out of luck, though, right? They’re all basically the same, offering very little positive customer service, 80% on-time reliability, and no recourse for those made miserable by disruptive passengers (unless the carrier wants to be lambasted on Twitter or online news outlets).
So, here’s my question to you: what do you want? We’re not talking operational issues here, just customer experience. If you could design an airline from tip to grip, what would you do? What would your expectations be and how would you meet them?
Think on that and let me know. I’ll be waiting right here, sipping a cosmo.
