Why don’t airlines call us customers?

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Language shapes reality – there’s no way around it. It is evident in the general absence of profanity in children (at least in front of their parents), forgoing certain expressions except among friends (or, for some people, completely) and the selection of particular phrases for impact. Words have meaning, and thus they have power. So, it makes sense for a major company or industry to develop its lexicon around the turns of phrase that will work to its advantage: if words are inherently powerful, then a company should try to harness that power to pump up its revenue and profits.

With all this linguistic engineering, from hotels to coffee shops, airlines still haven’t gotten on board. Rather than even acknowledge the exchange of payment with an appellation like “customer” – and without having to use a word that implies a high level of service like “guest” – the airline industry clings to the relationship-agnostic “passenger” to identify the person who provides payment in exchange for the use of a tiny seat for a specified number of miles to a particular destination. And among the insiders, it often gets shredded down to “pax,” an expression used in public, not just behind the galley’s closed curtain.

Given that the realities of air travel – heavily influenced by market, regulatory and infrastructure constraints – are unlikely to change anytime soon, could an end run via language provide at least a little relief for employees and pax passengers customers?The Power of “Guest”
Perhaps the most famous story of choosing words for a reason is that of Starbucks, which eschewed “customer” in favor of “guest.” It signals the company’s commitment to treating well the people who keep it in business and deliver for its shareholders. Not only is this word, “guest,” a tool for managing internal perspectives, you hear it every time someone steps away from the cash register, when the barista calls for the “next guest.”

The use of “guest,” of course, is reminiscent of the hotel business, which usually has a higher standard than other consumer-focused businesses for customer service. Especially as you move up-market, hotel service levels are the gold standard for every other sector, with guests expected to be greeted by name and the smallest perceived shortcoming remedied immediately.

When I was a hotel software consultant, on one of my first projects, I remember getting a “when in Rome” lecture from my boss while we were in the hallway at the Renaissance Orlando Resort: “Say hello to any guest who’s within six steps.” When I asked why, he explained that that was the hotel standard, and since we were there on business with the hotel, we had to show the same courtesy to guests that hotel employees would.

Oh, and we had to smile – not a natural gesture for me, I confess.

We did this because the property’s employees did this, and I’m sure they had their share of bad days, personal stresses, sleepless nights and compensation complaints. The hotel staff found a way to overcome all that could get in the way and still delivered an outstanding guest experience.

So, “guest” has taken on a life of its own, with powerful implications, thanks to the hospitality industry, that have spread to other corners of the business (and consumer) world. The word indicates to the person writing a check or whipping out a credit card that there is an exchange of payment for services, and that the organization on the receiving end of the payment is more than happy to provide the services – in a manner that is made as enjoyable for the guest as possible.

What the Airlines Have Been Missing
The erosion of amenities and increasing of fees have made an already unpleasant experience worse. Yet, the airlines are doing something we’ve found in hotels for years, from internet access to gym use to spa and resort amenities. It’s starting to feel like there’s a double standard … what’s the deal?

Well, simply, the hotel business has done a better job of making the consumer feel like he’s in charge. Think back to the whole “power of language” discussion above. Would you rather be guest or a passenger? It doesn’t take long to determine which feels better.

The changes in hotel amenities and fees have not gone unnoticed – and they certainly have not passed without criticism. Yet, they haven’t sparked the outrage triggered by similar developments in the airline sector. Some of this, doubtless, is the result of an advantage that hotels have. They aren’t bound by the same regulatory restrictions as airlines, allowing them to deliver a slightly more comfortable and efficient experience (think of how bad it would be to have to go through the equivalent of an airport just to get to your hotel room!). Also, you can leave your hotel room whenever you want, while you’re stuck on a plane until you’re told you can get off.

On the other hand, there are areas where airlines have the space to improve and could. Customer (passenger?) service training for anyone coming close to the consumer should be mandatory, extensive and a major part of how employee performance is evaluated. It must be made a priority, with consequences for falling short (as there are in any other profession). Even when a customer is resisting the rules (e.g., not putting up the tray table right away), there are many ways to respond. The first approach doesn’t have to be curt.

Airlines definitely start out behind the eight ball, but it doesn’t mean they are out of options. There are plenty of small steps that can be taken to make the flying experience a little better … for the customer. And, this starts with how employees think and speak.


Take Control of the Language First
If I were still in the business of collecting a large fee (most of which went to my employer, not me) for giving advice – and were hired by a major airline – I would start by suggesting a simple word swap. Stop calling us passengers, and start calling us customers … or guests. I might even recommend throwing in words such as “valued” and “appreciated” a bit more. It sets the tone for all subsequent interaction.

This is a small step, but that’s often where transformation starts. To carry the concept forward, the airline would then have to realign its services with this concept. Tone of voice, addressing the guest by name and making him feel welcome would implement the linguistic change, keeping it from becoming an empty gesture.

Does it work?

Well, I remember being called “Mr. Johansmeyer” (somehow pronounced correctly, to my surprise) at the Ritz-Carlton Naples back in June 2008. It’s stayed with me. Also, when I was doing my weekly runs from Boston to Omaha in 2002, the gate agent, who had become accustomed to seeing me on Friday afternoons, would greet me with a smile and the sentiment, “Going home, Tom?” It made my flight home even better. If it can reach a perpetually annoyed business traveler (which is what I was in 2002), then I’m sure it would resonate with just about anybody.

By moving from passenger to guest, and delivering on the service obligation implied by the latter, the airlines could make considerable progress toward remedying their reputations with their customers. Before long, small measures accumulate, and real change takes hold. It may sound trivial, but this is a foothold that airlines (and airline employees) could use immediately.

Treat us like customers, and the rest will begin to fall into place.

[photos by joiseyshowaa via Flickr, swanksalot via Flickr, Tom Johansmeyer, Tom Johansmeyer]

Airlines: Take the poor off the plane

by Tom Johansmeyer on

My recent post on passenger rudeness and airline employee customer service generated a considerable amount of discussion. What really struck me was the number of readers who cited the overlapping factors of deregulation, lower fares and increasingly crowded flights. Basically, because flights are cheaper, more people can afford them, and service levels can’t be sustained in light of both increased passenger traffic and ostensibly lower revenue per available seat mile.

So, it seems to me the solution to fear and loathing in the skies is to boot the poor – to make air travel unaffordable. In doing so, you reclaim the regulated-industry experience that everyone seemed to enjoy, whether or not regulation itself is actually necessary.

What I’ve learned from many readers – and airline industry employees – is that we need to return to the days of getting dressed up to fly, dignified behavior and a higher cost for better service. Translation: we need the “right” people in seats … even in coach. And that means setting up financial barriers to entry. If we restrict travel to the elite, the experience, I seem to be hearing, would be far better.Make no mistake about it: every complaint about the impact of low fares on the industry, especially when compared to the days of airline regulation, is a tacit admission that a specific group of people should be excluded from air travel based on disposable income. Of course, any price does this, as you need to have the funds available to purchase an item that’s for sale, but the notion that air travel is too cheap implies that, like an upscale restaurant, it should be inherently exclusive.

With higher fares, limiting air travel only to those who could afford it, fewer people would experience different parts of the country or the world. Some currently flying would have to turn to cars or buses instead. It’s easy to see how these travel experiences, without access to flights, could turn ugly quickly. The flights themselves, however, would be far better, comprised only of passengers with the means to purchase higher-priced tickets.

I, frankly, have no stance on whether air travel should exclude large portions of the proletariat. Rather, I support pricing that is driven by an efficient market (which also means that I’m not a fan of regulation). Yet, I do see the implications of what some would consider to be “appropriate” fares – rather than the cheap stuff we encounter out in the market now – as turning the airlines into a transportation equivalent to a private club.

Is this what people intend through their lamentations about flight pricing?

So, we can solve the customer service problem, it seems, by taking the poor – and perhaps the lower middle class – out of the equation. Those left will have to pay a bit more, but at least they’ll be surrounded by “desirable” travelers. The rest of us? Well, we’ll have plenty of leg room at home, I suspect.

[photo by stevendepolo via Flickr]

Big Island Hawaii: Four Seasons Hualalai hotel review

by Katie Hammel on
As a budget traveler, I’ve always been averse to spending much more than $150 per night on a hotel room. I’ve always figured, “it’s just a room” and that aside from a comfortable bed in a quiet, clean building, I didn’t really need more much. I never thought I would consider spending $500 for a single night in a hotel. But all that changed when I stayed at the Four Seasons Hualalai on Hawaii’s Big Island.

Located at the southern end of the Kohala Coast, right next to the Kona Village resort and just 15 minutes or so from the Kona airport, the Four Seasons Hualalai is so much more than a hotel. What you are paying for here isn’t just the room, it’s also the service, which goes so far above and beyond the standards at any other hotel I’ve ever stayed at, it’s easy to see why it was rated the top beach resort in the US by Travel and Leisure. Staff here aren’t just “available” when you come to them, they seem to anticipate your every desire, coming out of nowhere just when you need them, but remaining completely invisible when you wish to be left alone. Of course, the rooms and grounds are still pretty nice on their own.

The most basic rooms start at $595 per night and feature king beds and views to the ocean across the 18th hole of the golf course. Partial and prime ocean views are $750 and $895 and oceanfront rooms start at $1035 per night. It’s not cheap, but the hotel does offer the occasional deal, such as “stay four nights and get the fifth free” or “receive a $1000 resort credit for every six nights.” And here’s the best part: if a promotion goes into effect for the nights of your stay after you booked at the regular rate, the Four Seasons will honor the promotion for you as well, without you even having to ask.

From the moment you arrive at the Four Seasons, you know this stay will be special. As you pull up to the lobby, staff greet you by name (thanks to a message from the front gate guard who took your name upon arrival) and offer you a refreshing mai tai and cold towel while you check in. Then staff loads up your bags and whisks you to your room in one of the resort’s ubiquitous golf carts. Waiting in the room, you’ll find a glass of iced tea and a welcome tea cake.

Rooms feature comfortable beds decked out in soft, fluffy down bedding, flat screen tvs (many of which swivel so you can get the perfect view no matter where you are in the room) with DVD players, iPod docks, CD players, terry bathrobes, tea/coffee makers, L’Occitane bath products, aromatherapy turn down, and bottled water refreshed daily. Ground floor rooms also have private outdoor lava rock showers, and all rooms have either private lanais or balconies with screen doors so you can fall asleep to the sounds of the ocean.

But it’s the small touches that really make the room special. Each room is serviced twice a day – once for cleaning and once for turn down service. You will never see the cleaning staff pushing a heavy cart around. To increase morale and to keep the walkways of the resort free of unsightly carts, the cleaning staff services each room with only the supplies they can carry in a small tote bag. Did you notice the upright vacuum unobtrusively hidden under a vinyl cover in the back of the closet? Yes, there is one in every room for this very reason.

Each room has a mini-fridge for snacks, and staff will kindly keep your ice-bucket full of fresh ice. Wine and water glasses are provide, as is a corkscrew, which I found to be a wonderful touch, as it seems my husband and I are always scrambling to find one when we want to enjoy a bottle of wine in our room. There’s even a toaster hidden in the closet as well – and not because the Four Seasons expects you to make your own toast. To ensure that guests receive only piping hot toast, browned to their preferences, the room service staff will toast your bread as they set up breakfast. It’s a little touch that I never would have thought of, but now seems to make perfect sense.

There are four pools to choose from – the secluded, quiet adults-only pool (which is self-service), the snorkel fish pond (made partly of natural lava rock and stocked with thousands of fish and several manta rays), the quiet pool (also adults only and featuring a special mechanism to help lower disabled guests into the water) and the infinity-edge family pool, which has a nearby kiddie pool (complete with complimentary swim diapers, ice cream cart, and kid-sized lounge chairs) and looks out onto the beach. I spent most of my time at the family pool, where I was able to order food from the Beach Tree restaurant’s lunch menu and get a wi-fi signal.

Service at the pools is just as impressive as it is around the resort. As you walk towards the pool area, a staff member seems to appear at your side, holding a stack of towels and waiting for you to choose a lounge chair or cabana, where they will then spread out your towels for you. According to Ciro Tacinelli, the director of marketing, the standard of service at the pools is to check in with each guest once per hour. It seemed every time I thought I might want a cool drink, someone would arrive and ask me if I needed anything. Snacks are served at the pools twice per day and ice-water and sunscreen are available for guests. Should you decide to get out of the sun for a while, staff will hold your seat for up to two hours.

The ocean in front of the resort, though lined with a beautiful sandy beach where sea turtles often bask in the sun, is a bit rough for swimming and water sports. However guests are free to use the equipment at next-door Kona Village, where they can boogie board or learn to stand-up paddle board.

The guests at the Four Seasons seemed to be a mix of families and couples. Other than lounging by the pool or snorkeling in the ocean, there’s a spa, golf course, fitness center with climbing wall and tennis courts, cultural center, and a kids clubhouse to keep guests entertained. The kids clubhouse had games and activities for all ages – from a small playground for the little ones to computers, Wii games, and a pool table for older kids. Kids and adults all seemed to love watching the manta ray feedings held in the lava rock pool weekdays at 1pm. Many of the kids even got the chance to touch and feed the rays on their own.

There are three restaurants and two lounges onsite at the hotel, all of which operate on a credit system where charges can be directly applied to your room (though you can also pay with cash or plastic). The Pahui’a restaurant serves three meals a day, including a lavish $34 breakfast that includes spreads of fruit, cheese, muffins, cereals, granola, juices, oatmeal and salads, plus an omelet station and rotating specials. The day I had breakfast, there was a miso soup station, waffles, french toast, and a perfectly cooked eggs Benedict. Other options are available a la carte as well.

At each of the restaurants, the hotel takes care to use locally produced, organic, sustainable products whenever possible. Some of the fish served is raised onsite and oysters are mined from the waters just off the golf course. There’s an onsite herb garden and several varieties of fruits and vegetables are grown on the grounds and used in the restaurants. The hotel also composts much of its organic waste and waters the grass of the golf course with water from underneath the lava rocks.

Aside from the impeccable, attentive, anticipate-your-every-need service, what I loved the most about the Four Seasons Hualalai was that despite being fairly large (there are 234 rooms plus additional private houses onsite), it felt like a boutique hotel. The rooms are located in two-story buildings scattered around the area, separated by lush landscaping and rocky lava outcroppings. There were plenty of other guests there during my stay, but the space was never crowded. With four pools plus beach chairs, I never saw more than maybe a dozen people in each area. The restaurants were busy but not full, and in the fitness center, it was easy to find an empty machine to use.

And the staff certainly didn’t make me feel like I was one of hundreds of other guests. I was called by name and never had to wait for assistance. As I watched others in the lobby, at the pool, and in the hotel’s restaurants, I noticed the high level of service wasn’t limited to just myself. In fact, at breakfast one day, after a tiny bird landed ever so briefly on the table of a couple who had gone up to the buffet, I noticed the staff immediately swoop in and reset the table, just in case the bird had stepped on the silverware.

So, after a stay at the Four Seasons Hualalai, am I a budget traveler no more? Probably not. I still appreciate a bargain and really just can’t afford to spend over $500 per night on a hotel. If you can….well then you probably don’t need my convincing to stay at the fabulous Four Seasons. But if the price is one you can afford for just a few nights, maybe for a special occasion like a honeymoon or birthday vacation, I highly recommend starting or ending your trip at here. From the beautiful grounds and inviting rooms to the fantastic customer service, the Four Seasons Hualalai is a perfect paradise on the Big Island.

This trip was paid for by the Kohala Coast Resort Association, but the views expressed are entirely my own.

United plans for new image overhaul

by Katie Hammel on

After coming in last among large airlines in customer satisfaction surveys for two out of the last three years, United Airlines has been overhauling its operations in an effort to increase on-time performance and win back customers. Now the airline is working on the physical appearance of its planes and crew.

Every single one of the airplanes in United’s fleet will be getting a make-over. The grey with black and red stripes interiors (knows within the company as the “tequila sunrise” scheme) will be replaced with blue leather. The 1980’s-era overhead bins will be updated as well. The airline also announced that fashion designer Cynthia Rowley will be creating more stylish, updated crew uniforms.

With a reputation for poor customer service, delays, cancellations, broken guitars, safety violations, and lost luggage, can United really overhaul its image with a few aesthetic updates? Probably not, but airline officials hopes they can continue to address the issues that have led to its poor satisfaction survey rankings and eventually turn things around. Apparently, they just want the airline to look good while they do it.

Greyhound customer service delivers after bus heads wrong way for more than 70 miles

by Jamie Rhein on

When the five people who ranged from an R& B singer moving to NYC to seek her fortune– to a young man trying to get to Hartford, Connecticut and his sick grandmother as quickly as possible, sidled up to the Greyhound ticket counter in Port Authority bus terminal in Manhattan, they weren’t itching for a fight. What they wanted was some compensation for their Greyhound induced travel woes.

See, the bus they had taken from Cleveland had arrived two hours late. It’s not unusual for a bus to be late. Traffic, weather and a bus breakdown can occur. Their bus’s lateness was due to driver error. The driver, after a scheduled rest stop, had headed the bus back towards Cleveland for more than 70 miles.

What made this snafu feel worse is that they would have arrived earlier than the scheduled arrival time if it wasn’t for the driver’s mistake. If you’ve ever been on a road trip that has been lengthened by the wrong way, perhaps you’ll recall that jumpy nervous twitch that ensues–the kind of feeling where any moment you could LOSE YOUR MIND.

As written in the previous post, Gadling knows these details because Gadling was there. Here’s the rest of the story. What happens when a passenger does complain? Airlines take notice.

First, as these five people found out from the helpful ticket agent, the place to head to file a complaint is the Greyhound customer service office near the ticket office in Port Authority.

In this non-descriptive office without so much as a plant to pep up the ambiance, was one lone man. Let’s call him John. John, who looked up from his desk several feet from the counter where he was typing at a computer, pleasantly informed this band of travelers who had vowed to complain together while still en-route that the person in charge–let’s call her Rachel, had stepped out for a moment but would be right back.

Indeed, John was not fibbing. Rachel appeared in minutes. Yours truly, this Gadling blogger, taking on the initial spokesperson role, explained our situation to Rachel who lent a sympathetic, concerned ear, looked us directly in the eyes, and passed out complaint forms. As she explained, she’d have to get back to us about any monetary compensation after she reviewed the story. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe us, but there’s protocol.

This is what she was able to do in the meantime:

Hurry off with one of the passengers to help him make an immediate connection to another bus. As they hustled out of the office, she asked the rest of us to please wait since she could offer him help right away.

When Rachel returned, she offered to store the R&B woman’s luggage for free until the woman could get friends of hers to come and help her carry it to her new apartment. They had been at the bus terminal earlier but had to leave to go to work.

As for the man trying to get to Hartford, I’m not sure what Rachel was able to do for him since we left before his problems were resolved. Hopefully, he was able to take the train, something he was vying for.

There was one young woman who started to leave the office in a huff once she heard there was not to be immediate compensation and she’d most likely be stuck for a couple more hours in Port Authority before a connecting bus could get her to her final destination. I cajoled her to fill out the form, explaining that she deserves some compensation for her inconvenience and that she’d most likely get something. She agreed to stay and picked up the pen.

With complaint forms filled out, off my daughter and I went to enjoy our Halloween weekend in Manhattan.

Within eight days, we each received a wonderful letter from Greyhound customer service with a $40 ticket voucher that can be used within a year. (That’s $40 a piece.)

As the letter says, “We want to apologize for the recent inconvenience you experienced while using our service. At Greyhound, we strive to make every trip fast, affordable and convenient…Again, we value your business and thank you for your service. We look forward to seeing you on the road.”

Rachel personally signed the letter.

Is this Greyhound bus rider satisfied? You bet. I’m hopping on a Greyhound with my son in December. With a 21-day advanced purchase and my voucher, the trip for the two of us will only be $172. That’s what I call affordable. And unless the driver heads the wrong way, it won’t take much longer than driving to Manhattan ourselves.

As for my daughter, I may send her to Pittsburgh on a solo trip to visit her cousin who’s going to college there–something I wouldn’t have thought to do otherwise.

Greyhound’s actions made sure we’d keep coming back. It seems to me, that makes good business sense. It doesn’t take a lot to make customers satisfied. Really.