On September 17, 1796, President George Washington gave his farewell address to the people of the United States upon completion of his second term as President of the United States.
That address included a warning about political factionalism which he saw developing and he urged Americans to unite for the good of the nation. Two political parties, the Federalists and Republicans, had developed in the early 1790s and factionalism, though in its infancy, was growing.
After this address, George Washington went home to his beloved Mount Vernon and died a little more than three-years later in December 1799.
Washington had seen the development of factionalism in his own cabinet, with John Adams and Thomas Jefferson playing a significant role in both the rise of divisions and the beginnings of the two political parties.
I’ve had some experiences recently that have led me to develop a theory about why the divisive nature of political factions would have worried President Washington and further, why his warnings fell on the deaf ears of the next two presidents of the United States.
Adams and Jefferson had been united in the creation of this hallowed Nation, but allowed ego and differences of opinions to sever them from one another when the new nation was still fledgling – struggling to even exist against huge odds. It appears to me that they were more concerned about the ascendancy of their own political ideas over unity. When their political ideas diverged, they fought one another tooth and nail.
Washington, in his farewell address urged, “The name of American, which belongs to you, in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of Patriotism, more than any appellation derived from local discriminations. With slight shades of difference, you have the same religion, manners, habits, and political principles. You have in a common cause fought and triumphed together; the Independence and Liberty you possess are the work of joint counsels, and joint efforts, of common dangers, sufferings, and successes.
But these considerations, however powerfully they address themselves to your sensibility, are greatly outweighed by those, which apply more immediately to your interest. Here every portion of our country finds the most commanding motives for carefully guarding and preserving the Union of the whole.” (Washington’s Farewell Address, September 17, 1796, paragraphs 10-11.)
Washington prized unity and what he called the “concentrat[ion] of your affections.” Adams and Jefferson prized the “rightness” and ascendancy of their own opinions over unity.
What was the motive which drove Washington to prize this unity of Americans? I can never prove what I am about to say, but my recent experience leads me to postulate that it was Washington’s Masonic experience that drove his concern.
Since the day he stood in the Northeast corner of his brand new lodge as an Entered Apprentice, and at every meeting thereafter he had been taught and reminded that “harmony [is] the strength of all institutions ...”
Neither Adams nor Jefferson had this Masonic experience. I believe this was the key and critical difference in the focus, mindset and activities of these three patriots.
It has been this tenet of Masonry which has been most needful and powerful in my life. It is the one thing which has caused me to curb my tongue, withhold my judgment, control my “wit” and get a hold of my ego – well, at least more often than before! Despite my idealistic and Utopian leanings, this was truly a foreign thing to me.
Life in this world, as it is “red of tooth and claw” (Tennyson, Canto LVI, In Memoriam A.H.H.) does not lead one to soften words or hold the tongue. It does not reward kindness or harmony. It does not encourage us to set aside our prejudices or to tolerate differences. And often even the supposed best of human institutions, those predicated upon religious practices, do not lead men and women to unite with all humanity.
On the other hand, my Masonic profession does lead me to do those things that will build and maintain unity, harmony, and peace. As I have ruminated on the life and particularly this final address of this great man and first American, it has occurred to me that the Masonic precepts and tenets would have had a similar impact in the life of this great man.
How grateful I am that this tenet has affected me so deeply. It has made a tremendous difference in my life, even as imperfectly as I practice it. I wish to forever curb my ego and be perfect in this one thing. I wish too that I could effectively teach it to my now grown children who have seen my pre-Masonic example. They may well think that was a correct pattern.
Time has proved Washington to be correct in his assessments contained in his final address. As a Nation and a People we have done poorly at taking his advice. I am convinced that the unity of this nation is its salvation and we must get around to the business of unity soon or we may well lose what makes us great.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Friday, August 22, 2008
An Open Letter to Herb Kelleher
Dear Herb,
I swear I was ready to stop ranting about airlines, air travel and customer experience, and go back to writing about the more mundane issues in my life. If you have read any of my previous posts, you know I was a boy who saw the magic of flight as a child and 911 killed all that for me.
I don’t want to become some kind of “air travel critic.” But Herb, Wednesday evening, I read an interview with you (the retired Chairman of Southwest Airlines) by Matthew Malone for Portfolio Magazine, and I find I cannot let some of your comments go by without an answer from a passenger.
You may wonder what qualifies me to write about commercial flying. I’m certainly not an industry insider or expert. I am not even, like my brother – a retired Air Force pilot now flying for Southwest Airlines.
I do have some aircraft credentials. I grew up an Air Force Brat, living on base with pilots and navigators all around (including at home.) I absorbed a lot of it. I can still see the silhouette of an aircraft in the sky and tell you what it is – just like my Dad, Uncle, brothers and sisters – but that is no indication I have any airline business sense.
I’d like to think that my experience as an Aircraft Maintenance Specialist, Mechanic, Technician, Manager and Instructor for the U.S. Air Force and Reserve means I am not completely unfamiliar with aircraft and runways. My business and customer experience credentials (earned since then) are impeccable, but not airline related.
But to the more relevant point: I am a passenger! I have been an air traveler since my birth, logging many thousands of hours in the web seats of C-130s and the commercial (but not much more comfortable) seats. I’ve flown in pretty much every variety of commercial aircraft in the airline inventories for domestic and international flights over the last half decade.
Why one year I flew so often I was averaging more than two flights a week …
And that is the crux of the matter! I am not an insider or expert despite my Air Force experience. I am a very experienced passenger. And you and your experts don’t pay enough attention to the passenger and the passenger experience. And do you know how I know that? I know because if you did pay more attention it would be a better experience.
In my last post I described the current Senior Management of Airlines as moribund.
I may have been too kind.
Herb, please understand that I have been a big fan of yours. In the Portfolio interview, you were pretty much the maverick we have come to love and expect.
You managed to raise my ire when you said:
“If you stop to think about it, we’re really a little slice of salami in a governmental sandwich. The F.A.A. tells us what we can do with the airplane, right? You can’t push back from the gate, can’t taxi, can’t take off without the F.A.A. telling you. Our passengers on the ground are processed by the Transportation Security Administration. And guess who owns the airports. Government bodies.
That’s why we have so little control over our destiny. Don’t misunderstand me – all those things are needed. But it would be interesting if you said that all department stores are now going to have X-ray machines. You’re going to have to take your shoes off, your coat off, before you get into Macy’s. That might cut back patronage just a little bit.” (In for a Landing, by Matthew Malone, Portfolio Magazine, August 2008, page 93.)
You think this is unprecedented? You speak with marked impotence in the face of so much government intervention. Do you think shareholders pay you and others like you millions of dollars to whine and simply react (poorly) to the forces around you?
With this post, I am calling you and the rest of the Senior Airline executives out. You’ve abdicated your responsibility for the EXPERIENCE at YOUR GATE and on YOUR AIRCRAFT, and you use the government and 911 as the excuse!
Unfortunately for you, I know these conditions are not without precedent. I was 20-years old when I had the experience of going through not only a metal detector to enter Marks and Spencer (M&S) in Belfast, but also experienced numerous “pat down” searches – from the rough to the almost pleasant …
In 1977, the Provisional IRA and opposing paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland were blowing up or assassinating soldiers, the police and civilians up at a pretty good clip. This was real in-your-face terrorism. Everyone in Northern Ireland in the 70s knew what terrorism was because it touched them personally, and not just in terms of increased security.
All the shops and shopping were located in Town Centre, and were the targets of a variety of bombs – the most popular being the 500, 1000 or 2000 pound timed, gelignite, bomb in the boot (or trunk) of a car or truck parked in front of a business.
The town centre of most Northern Ireland towns and cities were barricaded off from outside traffic (think cement filled 55-gallon drums and steel pipe.) To enter and shop you had to pass through a security-checkpoint equipped with metal detectors supplemented by fairly intrusive (and sometimes quite rough) frisk searches performed by the Royal Ulster Constabulary and/or the British Army. There were tables to search the bags you carried. What you could carry in changed almost daily.
Those businesses that felt especially vulnerable (those of English origin like M&S) added their own metal detectors and security, police or army personnel to repeat the process for added assurance.
And Herb, people still shopped. They didn’t slow a bit. Most people in Great Britain in 1977 had to shop for their “messages” daily. And more importantly the service didn’t become grim and foreboding because of the presence of the police, army, guns, fencing, barbed wire, and metal detectors. It actually became more like “white noise” (always present but rarely noticed.)
And lest you think that the military intrusion was limited to entry and airlines are somehow especially picked on, I could tell you several hours of stories about the sudden appearance of armed and shouting soldiers or police – waving weapons, clearing a shop, detaining, questioning and searching patrons, and making arrests on the spot while you shopped.
Despite these conditions, the experience in the store remained the responsibility of store management and personnel even if the experience to get into the store was less than ideal.
The clerks, rattled as they may have been from time to time, did not use the presence of armored vehicles on the streets and extraordinary security measures as an excuse to mistreat their customers.
I’d not probably have been so disgusted by your surprising comments had I not recently read an interesting blog by Seth Godin titled, “Bait and Switch.” Seth “feel(s) bad for the airline industry” because “they are caught in a never-ending price war due to online websites and their own commodification.” Seth then goes on to describe a recent experience he had with Air Canada. He then he made this very important point:
“But the purpose of this rant isn't to hassle Air Canada. The purpose is to learn a key lesson from Disney: When there is both pain and pleasure associated with your service, work extremely hard to separate them by time and geography.
Disney charges a fortune for the theme park, but they do it a well before you get there, or at a booth far, far away from the rides. By the time you get to the rides, you're over it. The pain isn't associated with the fun part.” (Seth Godin’s Blog – July 24, 2008, http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/07/bait-and-switch.html)
Seth is right on point (as usual.) Compare the experience of a Southwest Flight with Disney’s “Soaring over California.” It is now $94 for a one-day park hopper. Not cheap Herb. The lines at Soaring never abate. Not wonderful Herb. And yet, when you are inside it is pure magic and you can hardly wait to return to the lines and do it all over again. That is not how anyone I know feels about flying commercially. Even on your airline (and I think you do it better than most!)
There is no doubt that the government has done a stellar job messing up the commercial flying experience. The market forces acting upon the airlines have not been favorable for many years. But accountability for the experience at the Gate and inside the plane sits squarely in the lap of the airline management.
Airline CEOs have used the cost and regulation morass to excuse their lack of focus on the passenger and the passenger experience. And Herb, while you created a wonderful business model to attack cost and price concerns – no one has truly addressed the passenger experience model.
Inside that painted aluminum tube it is all pretty much the same, one carrier or another – other than logos and uniforms, and it has killed the magic of flight.
Like so many others I speak with, I fly ONLY when I have to fly and I hope to have one of those rare, acceptable experiences.
It is pretty sad when a set of customers hope for an acceptable experience and rarely get it. You ought to face up to that, accept accountability for what happens at Your Gates and in Your Aircraft, and then fix it. If you don’t know where to start, I’ve a few thoughts in my last post.
Make the regulators more like white noise. Stop pretending you are not in the "Experience Industry." Dazzle us! Frankly, it won’t take much – the bar is pretty low right now.
We know you can’t fix the economy. It looks like the TSA is here to stay. The F.A.A. will continue to be, well, the F.A.A. We may grumble, but we don’t hold you responsible for those things. We know they are outside your control. What we do hold you accountable for is the part of the experience in your control. And we hold you responsible for your visible reactions to the regulations.
When we walk down your fly-ways, let the magic begin! It is not like we are getting on a City Bus. It is, after all, flight …
Sincerely,
Lon Tibbitts
Experienced Passenger
I swear I was ready to stop ranting about airlines, air travel and customer experience, and go back to writing about the more mundane issues in my life. If you have read any of my previous posts, you know I was a boy who saw the magic of flight as a child and 911 killed all that for me.
I don’t want to become some kind of “air travel critic.” But Herb, Wednesday evening, I read an interview with you (the retired Chairman of Southwest Airlines) by Matthew Malone for Portfolio Magazine, and I find I cannot let some of your comments go by without an answer from a passenger.
You may wonder what qualifies me to write about commercial flying. I’m certainly not an industry insider or expert. I am not even, like my brother – a retired Air Force pilot now flying for Southwest Airlines.
I do have some aircraft credentials. I grew up an Air Force Brat, living on base with pilots and navigators all around (including at home.) I absorbed a lot of it. I can still see the silhouette of an aircraft in the sky and tell you what it is – just like my Dad, Uncle, brothers and sisters – but that is no indication I have any airline business sense.
I’d like to think that my experience as an Aircraft Maintenance Specialist, Mechanic, Technician, Manager and Instructor for the U.S. Air Force and Reserve means I am not completely unfamiliar with aircraft and runways. My business and customer experience credentials (earned since then) are impeccable, but not airline related.
But to the more relevant point: I am a passenger! I have been an air traveler since my birth, logging many thousands of hours in the web seats of C-130s and the commercial (but not much more comfortable) seats. I’ve flown in pretty much every variety of commercial aircraft in the airline inventories for domestic and international flights over the last half decade.
Why one year I flew so often I was averaging more than two flights a week …
And that is the crux of the matter! I am not an insider or expert despite my Air Force experience. I am a very experienced passenger. And you and your experts don’t pay enough attention to the passenger and the passenger experience. And do you know how I know that? I know because if you did pay more attention it would be a better experience.
In my last post I described the current Senior Management of Airlines as moribund.
I may have been too kind.
Herb, please understand that I have been a big fan of yours. In the Portfolio interview, you were pretty much the maverick we have come to love and expect.
You managed to raise my ire when you said:
“If you stop to think about it, we’re really a little slice of salami in a governmental sandwich. The F.A.A. tells us what we can do with the airplane, right? You can’t push back from the gate, can’t taxi, can’t take off without the F.A.A. telling you. Our passengers on the ground are processed by the Transportation Security Administration. And guess who owns the airports. Government bodies.
That’s why we have so little control over our destiny. Don’t misunderstand me – all those things are needed. But it would be interesting if you said that all department stores are now going to have X-ray machines. You’re going to have to take your shoes off, your coat off, before you get into Macy’s. That might cut back patronage just a little bit.” (In for a Landing, by Matthew Malone, Portfolio Magazine, August 2008, page 93.)
You think this is unprecedented? You speak with marked impotence in the face of so much government intervention. Do you think shareholders pay you and others like you millions of dollars to whine and simply react (poorly) to the forces around you?
With this post, I am calling you and the rest of the Senior Airline executives out. You’ve abdicated your responsibility for the EXPERIENCE at YOUR GATE and on YOUR AIRCRAFT, and you use the government and 911 as the excuse!
Unfortunately for you, I know these conditions are not without precedent. I was 20-years old when I had the experience of going through not only a metal detector to enter Marks and Spencer (M&S) in Belfast, but also experienced numerous “pat down” searches – from the rough to the almost pleasant …
In 1977, the Provisional IRA and opposing paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland were blowing up or assassinating soldiers, the police and civilians up at a pretty good clip. This was real in-your-face terrorism. Everyone in Northern Ireland in the 70s knew what terrorism was because it touched them personally, and not just in terms of increased security.
All the shops and shopping were located in Town Centre, and were the targets of a variety of bombs – the most popular being the 500, 1000 or 2000 pound timed, gelignite, bomb in the boot (or trunk) of a car or truck parked in front of a business.
The town centre of most Northern Ireland towns and cities were barricaded off from outside traffic (think cement filled 55-gallon drums and steel pipe.) To enter and shop you had to pass through a security-checkpoint equipped with metal detectors supplemented by fairly intrusive (and sometimes quite rough) frisk searches performed by the Royal Ulster Constabulary and/or the British Army. There were tables to search the bags you carried. What you could carry in changed almost daily.
Those businesses that felt especially vulnerable (those of English origin like M&S) added their own metal detectors and security, police or army personnel to repeat the process for added assurance.
And Herb, people still shopped. They didn’t slow a bit. Most people in Great Britain in 1977 had to shop for their “messages” daily. And more importantly the service didn’t become grim and foreboding because of the presence of the police, army, guns, fencing, barbed wire, and metal detectors. It actually became more like “white noise” (always present but rarely noticed.)
And lest you think that the military intrusion was limited to entry and airlines are somehow especially picked on, I could tell you several hours of stories about the sudden appearance of armed and shouting soldiers or police – waving weapons, clearing a shop, detaining, questioning and searching patrons, and making arrests on the spot while you shopped.
Despite these conditions, the experience in the store remained the responsibility of store management and personnel even if the experience to get into the store was less than ideal.
The clerks, rattled as they may have been from time to time, did not use the presence of armored vehicles on the streets and extraordinary security measures as an excuse to mistreat their customers.
I’d not probably have been so disgusted by your surprising comments had I not recently read an interesting blog by Seth Godin titled, “Bait and Switch.” Seth “feel(s) bad for the airline industry” because “they are caught in a never-ending price war due to online websites and their own commodification.” Seth then goes on to describe a recent experience he had with Air Canada. He then he made this very important point:
“But the purpose of this rant isn't to hassle Air Canada. The purpose is to learn a key lesson from Disney: When there is both pain and pleasure associated with your service, work extremely hard to separate them by time and geography.
Disney charges a fortune for the theme park, but they do it a well before you get there, or at a booth far, far away from the rides. By the time you get to the rides, you're over it. The pain isn't associated with the fun part.” (Seth Godin’s Blog – July 24, 2008, http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/07/bait-and-switch.html)
Seth is right on point (as usual.) Compare the experience of a Southwest Flight with Disney’s “Soaring over California.” It is now $94 for a one-day park hopper. Not cheap Herb. The lines at Soaring never abate. Not wonderful Herb. And yet, when you are inside it is pure magic and you can hardly wait to return to the lines and do it all over again. That is not how anyone I know feels about flying commercially. Even on your airline (and I think you do it better than most!)
There is no doubt that the government has done a stellar job messing up the commercial flying experience. The market forces acting upon the airlines have not been favorable for many years. But accountability for the experience at the Gate and inside the plane sits squarely in the lap of the airline management.
Airline CEOs have used the cost and regulation morass to excuse their lack of focus on the passenger and the passenger experience. And Herb, while you created a wonderful business model to attack cost and price concerns – no one has truly addressed the passenger experience model.
Inside that painted aluminum tube it is all pretty much the same, one carrier or another – other than logos and uniforms, and it has killed the magic of flight.
Like so many others I speak with, I fly ONLY when I have to fly and I hope to have one of those rare, acceptable experiences.
It is pretty sad when a set of customers hope for an acceptable experience and rarely get it. You ought to face up to that, accept accountability for what happens at Your Gates and in Your Aircraft, and then fix it. If you don’t know where to start, I’ve a few thoughts in my last post.
Make the regulators more like white noise. Stop pretending you are not in the "Experience Industry." Dazzle us! Frankly, it won’t take much – the bar is pretty low right now.
We know you can’t fix the economy. It looks like the TSA is here to stay. The F.A.A. will continue to be, well, the F.A.A. We may grumble, but we don’t hold you responsible for those things. We know they are outside your control. What we do hold you accountable for is the part of the experience in your control. And we hold you responsible for your visible reactions to the regulations.
When we walk down your fly-ways, let the magic begin! It is not like we are getting on a City Bus. It is, after all, flight …
Sincerely,
Lon Tibbitts
Experienced Passenger
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Some positive thoughts about flying
“The airlines are going back to their old playbooks.”
(The Middle Seat: Airlines Revive Minimum Stays On Cheap Fares,
(The Middle Seat: Airlines Revive Minimum Stays On Cheap Fares,
By Scott McCartney, Wall Street Journal, August 19, 2008.)
Whenever I take pen (or keyboard) in hand to complain about things like flying, I realize that I risk sounding like some crabby, hard-to-please, Old guy. I’d like to think that nothing could be farther from the truth! (but my daughters would probably say I am really all those things!)
As I boarded the first of four flights to and from my destination of Manchester, Vermont on business last week, I was determined to try to re-connect with the joy of flying in pre-September 11 days.
I chose a “carrier” (as airlines now call themselves – pretty romantic name, huh!?) that I had a pretty good history with and avoided the three that have come to mean poor customer service in my mind (JetBlue, Northwest, Continental.)
In the current economic environment - and especially the need to control travel expense, I did not feel comfortable asking my employer to pay for a direct flight from Salt Lake to Albany. I have discovered that changing carriers pretty much ensures lost luggage, so I chose to fly both legs of two one-lay-over trips on the same airline.
I flew Southwest. It met all my requirements. And the price was not on the dreaded “out-of-policy” list for my employer. I noted right away that Southwest has instituted a new boarding procedure since the last time I flew with them – giving you both a boarding letter and now, a number too.
The addition of a number meant that you did not have to park in the A, B or C line from the moment you arrived at the gate and could remain in a seat, reading, eating or just people-watching until much closer to the actual board time. It has an added benefit for Southwest – their boarding gates no longer resemble a Greyhound Bus Station.
Southwest is the only airline which continues to turn a profit since JetBlue managed to find their way into the Red Zone last quarter. This is largely because they had the foresight to purchase fuel futures at a favorable price several years ago. This advantage won’t last forever, and based on what I experienced they are soon headed for the Red Zone with everyone else.
Southwest has a different, and much touted business model which includes many cost suppressing elements. And they are often held up as an employee and customer friendly organization.
If I am generous, they batted .500! Two of the four flight legs were miserable, one was acceptable and the other was truly good.
Why?
No one makes affordable seats for real people. They are too small for all but children and the anorexic. They just aren’t wide enough. After years of complaining, travelers less than 6’4” get the legroom they need (and everyone talks about legroom as if it were the Holy Grail) but how many jokes have you heard about the cart in the aisle taking off a shoulder as it zips on by? (I need detachable shoulders - even if I lose weight, these shoulders aren't getting any narrower!)
As an aside, I did have one very rare experience. I try to be cognizant of the approach of people coming up the aisle. I shift my shoulder just as they get close (without turning around - my one real talent!) I always miss at least one and get nailed. After being nailed by a very pleasant flight attendant (unusual these days) the flight attendant apologized. For me, that is a first. It was so rare as to be noticeable. It made that flight particularly good. In fact, she is probably why I said Southwest batted .500.
On the Baltimore to Albany leg, while I was hermetically sealed in that painted aluminum tube with wings and some motors bolted on, more intimate with the middle seat-mate than I ever wanted to be, I realized that for all the talk there is no truly revolutionary airline business model out there.
Do you know how you will recognize a revolutionary business model? The entrepreneur who crafts it will do revolutionary, customer-centric things.
First, they will buy commercial aircraft with no overhead bins and put everything you need to know or use (other than that silly little bathroom) in front of you on the television/computer screen on the back of the seat.
They will ban carry on luggage.
They will fill the plane from the back to the front.
They will know your preferences and group like passengers in like areas.
They will fix the lost luggage thing and give you your checked baggage as you deplane.
They will ensure you have the room you need to sit comfortably for 1 to 7 hours.
Do you know how you will recognize a revolutionary business model? The entrepreneur who crafts it will do revolutionary, customer-centric things.
First, they will buy commercial aircraft with no overhead bins and put everything you need to know or use (other than that silly little bathroom) in front of you on the television/computer screen on the back of the seat.
They will ban carry on luggage.
They will fill the plane from the back to the front.
They will know your preferences and group like passengers in like areas.
They will fix the lost luggage thing and give you your checked baggage as you deplane.
They will ensure you have the room you need to sit comfortably for 1 to 7 hours.
They will interrupt you only when they have to – leaving out the “on the left side of the aircraft you will see the Grand Canyon” or the “we’re twelfth in line for take off. Sorry – we’ll get there as soon as we can,” pilot-speak.
Frankly, if there is no in-flight emergency and we are going to be on-time, and I am comfortably reading my book, watching a show, or listening to music, why do I care what the current stacking number of my particular aircraft is? Did I insist on checking our aircraft registration number? Do I care what is on the tail? Do you think I care we are 12th?
Frankly, if there is no in-flight emergency and we are going to be on-time, and I am comfortably reading my book, watching a show, or listening to music, why do I care what the current stacking number of my particular aircraft is? Did I insist on checking our aircraft registration number? Do I care what is on the tail? Do you think I care we are 12th?
In the revolutionary business model - they will shut up and leave me comfortably alone, unless I need something and then they will be right there. (Not impossible - there are retail models that meet this demand.)
That revolutionary business model will know that I want lunch and charge me for it prior to the flight. They will allow me to change my mind, though, when I arrive in Baltimore late, and in my rush to the gate I can’t grab lunch and now in my starved condition I’m developing the beginnings of a headache.
That revolutionary business model will know that I want lunch and charge me for it prior to the flight. They will allow me to change my mind, though, when I arrive in Baltimore late, and in my rush to the gate I can’t grab lunch and now in my starved condition I’m developing the beginnings of a headache.
Shoot, they will know in advance that I like Sun Chips and a cold coke with minimal ice and won’t even have to ask me.
And since there are no more overhead bins, perhaps they will figure out how to get stuff to me without a cart in an aisle or an overworked flight attendant who has to act like – well, a steward or stewardess (since that whole “serve the customer” thing has now become a “herd the customer” thing.)
They will figure out how to let the guy in front of me sleep in a reclined position without cutting into my space – or jamming my knees when he suddenly flops the seat back. (This, of course, will keep me from tapping on the seat incessantly in order to annoy the reclined clod whose seat back is in my face.)
And why haven’t they done this already? Ah, come on, you know this answer. It is because those who determine how I will fly do not fly like I fly. They are out of touch.
In order to keep that revolutionary business model fresh, customer-centric and comfortable – they are going to need to fly their own flights just like an average Joe whose is trying to keep his, or his employer’s costs down. They won’t forget the customer focus groups. But they will also be a customer focus group of one. And when all their employees are customer focus groups of one, they will group them up and talk about what is happening to the customer experience.
And they will reward those customers who care enough to complain by listening to them, making changes and perhaps giving them an incentive to come back and see if you fixed it.
So there you have it. My positive thoughts about the future of air travel. Don’t hold your breath though, because those multi-million dollar CEOs are only worried about cutting costs and raising fares – they are going back to their old playbooks! There isn’t a creative thinker among the lot.
Those moribund CEOs and their equally short-sighted staffs continue to misunderstand that it isn’t just the discounters who are killing them. They are going back to their old playbooks and they are killing them.
Shoot, I told you three airlines I won’t ever fly again if I have a choice. It had nothing to do with fares. And low fares aren’t getting me back. It had everything to do with experience. Fix the experience. And fix it from inside that painted aluminum tube.
They will figure out how to let the guy in front of me sleep in a reclined position without cutting into my space – or jamming my knees when he suddenly flops the seat back. (This, of course, will keep me from tapping on the seat incessantly in order to annoy the reclined clod whose seat back is in my face.)
And why haven’t they done this already? Ah, come on, you know this answer. It is because those who determine how I will fly do not fly like I fly. They are out of touch.
In order to keep that revolutionary business model fresh, customer-centric and comfortable – they are going to need to fly their own flights just like an average Joe whose is trying to keep his, or his employer’s costs down. They won’t forget the customer focus groups. But they will also be a customer focus group of one. And when all their employees are customer focus groups of one, they will group them up and talk about what is happening to the customer experience.
And they will reward those customers who care enough to complain by listening to them, making changes and perhaps giving them an incentive to come back and see if you fixed it.
So there you have it. My positive thoughts about the future of air travel. Don’t hold your breath though, because those multi-million dollar CEOs are only worried about cutting costs and raising fares – they are going back to their old playbooks! There isn’t a creative thinker among the lot.
Those moribund CEOs and their equally short-sighted staffs continue to misunderstand that it isn’t just the discounters who are killing them. They are going back to their old playbooks and they are killing them.
Shoot, I told you three airlines I won’t ever fly again if I have a choice. It had nothing to do with fares. And low fares aren’t getting me back. It had everything to do with experience. Fix the experience. And fix it from inside that painted aluminum tube.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Memorable Breezes
Somewhere around ten-thirty last night I stepped into my South Jordan yard, heard crickets chirping and felt the warm August breeze on my face and I was transported back over four decades into my childhood, and onto my Grandmother’s back porch on Wilson Avenue in Salt Lake City.
While I grew up with an Air Force base for a hometown, Salt Lake was my parent’s hometown. Whenever we were stationed in the United States we spent a portion of August in Salt Lake. We stayed with my paternal Grandparents, and the children played and slept on the beds in the enclosed back porch.
To fully understand why crickets and the heated August breeze in South Jordan would trigger such memories, you have to know that Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Washington and California (not to mention our homes in Europe) all sound and feel different than Salt Lake does. The sound of those crickets and that humid breeze are the most memorable parts of that sensation.
Heraclitus is quoted as saying “You cannot step twice in the same river,” and by that means that the movement of the elements that generate that river make it essentially different when you next step in it, even if it is minutes later and in the very same spot.
But his implication goes deeper and the multi-layered meanings became more evident to me last night.
When my Grandmother died the family sold her home and it has been very unsatisfying to drive by because the yard, the detached garage and the home have since changed so much that it just does not resemble the vacation home of my youth. Even if I stopped and asked the current owners to tour their home and yard, I can no longer physically visit the place of my memories.
So that place, those sounds and sensations on exist only in the long-stored memories of my mind.
For just a few seconds last night I stood in my South Jordan yard but all I saw was my Grandmother’s back yard. I heard the crickets of those August days, and felt the warmed night breeze of some forty odd years ago. The memory brought a tear as I thought of a time, place and people long gone.
And then my own yard returned, the weight of the trash bag in my hand reminded me of current duties and my sweet pause was over.
While I grew up with an Air Force base for a hometown, Salt Lake was my parent’s hometown. Whenever we were stationed in the United States we spent a portion of August in Salt Lake. We stayed with my paternal Grandparents, and the children played and slept on the beds in the enclosed back porch.
To fully understand why crickets and the heated August breeze in South Jordan would trigger such memories, you have to know that Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Washington and California (not to mention our homes in Europe) all sound and feel different than Salt Lake does. The sound of those crickets and that humid breeze are the most memorable parts of that sensation.
Heraclitus is quoted as saying “You cannot step twice in the same river,” and by that means that the movement of the elements that generate that river make it essentially different when you next step in it, even if it is minutes later and in the very same spot.
But his implication goes deeper and the multi-layered meanings became more evident to me last night.
When my Grandmother died the family sold her home and it has been very unsatisfying to drive by because the yard, the detached garage and the home have since changed so much that it just does not resemble the vacation home of my youth. Even if I stopped and asked the current owners to tour their home and yard, I can no longer physically visit the place of my memories.
So that place, those sounds and sensations on exist only in the long-stored memories of my mind.
For just a few seconds last night I stood in my South Jordan yard but all I saw was my Grandmother’s back yard. I heard the crickets of those August days, and felt the warmed night breeze of some forty odd years ago. The memory brought a tear as I thought of a time, place and people long gone.
And then my own yard returned, the weight of the trash bag in my hand reminded me of current duties and my sweet pause was over.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
I hate to fly ... for real!
This week, I’m sandwiched between a trip to the LA area last week and one to Vermont next week. And after the flight in and out of Long Beach, I’m less than thrilled about the upcoming opportunity to spend the equivalent of two entire days in airports and on airplanes.
It wasn’t always like this.
I cannot remember details from the first time I flew. I was way too young to remember back that far. I know I was a toddler. I remember that I was excited enough about it that I just about drove my poor Mother to drink. She arranged to have me sedated before I flew the next time! I was a toddler for the first four or five flights of my life. And I loved it. That happens when you are a military brat.
Flying was still very exciting for me for the next four decades. There was joy in each flight, even if, as the government was de-regulating the airlines they were more fully regulating the lives of those who flew places on those airlines.
And then came September 11th and the government’s “failure” to keep us all safe from creative killers bent on destruction. This led to unprecedented meddling. And frankly, all the joy was sucked out of the experience.
I used to envy my brother with the better than perfect eyes who got that waiver for his bad knees and spent 20-years flying for the Air Force prior to retiring to fly 737s for Southwest.
I can no longer imagine why my brother wants to be a pilot. These days I see him as a glorified bus-driver with a terrible work schedule.
I’m especially appalled when my brother tells the story from the day after that idiot tried to light his shoes on fire. My brother had a bottle of favorite (and very expensive) cologne he carried in his pilot carry-on. Now remember, he flies the plane. He is also rated to carry a firearm. But he had to give up the cologne because that was the rule de jour. Clever.
As any military brat knows – better even than their uniformed parent, it may take a committee or a corporation to really screw things up, but if you want something fouled up beyond all recognition, it takes a government agency.
A corporation, at least, starts with a profit motive and some idea for meeting a need. A corporation usually understands both the “invisible hand” of the market and human behavior to some degree. They begin with the hope that their product or service will be desirable to some of the people some of the time.
A government agency starts with a mandate of force. The government agency begins with authorization to either make something happen, or stop something from happening. They set off with platitudes and jingoistic slogans and build intrusive processes that would make Rube Goldberg jealous.
And they suck the life and all the awe and delight out of the product or service.
I was once a boy who dreamed of flying fighters and keeping the Free World free from tyranny and oppression.
I am now unable to stomach the miserable experience we calling air travel.
I’d rather drive a snarled Southern California Freeway under construction during rush hour!
I fear that “We the People” will never regain any control of this mode of transportation and inject any life, let alone enjoyment, back into it. Any pleasure I felt for soaring above the clouds in an aluminum tube with wings and motors attached died shortly after September 11!
Like so many of the rising generation, I do enjoy the simulated experience. Today's youth like the video game experience. To me there is nothing like Disney's simulated rendition. But then, even with the long lines on hot days, it isn't as unpleasant as the oppressive experience at the real airport.
Do you know the worst part? You can’t prove that we are any safer today than we were before we created the TSA.
It is one thing to make the conscious decision to give up rights or freedoms to secure the well being of citizens. I may think it is silly and misguided, but at least it is a weighing of priorities and giving more weight to one element than another.
It is another thing to give up the freedoms only to find that the elusive security sought is a pipe-dream.
It wasn’t always like this.
I cannot remember details from the first time I flew. I was way too young to remember back that far. I know I was a toddler. I remember that I was excited enough about it that I just about drove my poor Mother to drink. She arranged to have me sedated before I flew the next time! I was a toddler for the first four or five flights of my life. And I loved it. That happens when you are a military brat.
Flying was still very exciting for me for the next four decades. There was joy in each flight, even if, as the government was de-regulating the airlines they were more fully regulating the lives of those who flew places on those airlines.
And then came September 11th and the government’s “failure” to keep us all safe from creative killers bent on destruction. This led to unprecedented meddling. And frankly, all the joy was sucked out of the experience.
I used to envy my brother with the better than perfect eyes who got that waiver for his bad knees and spent 20-years flying for the Air Force prior to retiring to fly 737s for Southwest.
I can no longer imagine why my brother wants to be a pilot. These days I see him as a glorified bus-driver with a terrible work schedule.
I’m especially appalled when my brother tells the story from the day after that idiot tried to light his shoes on fire. My brother had a bottle of favorite (and very expensive) cologne he carried in his pilot carry-on. Now remember, he flies the plane. He is also rated to carry a firearm. But he had to give up the cologne because that was the rule de jour. Clever.
As any military brat knows – better even than their uniformed parent, it may take a committee or a corporation to really screw things up, but if you want something fouled up beyond all recognition, it takes a government agency.
A corporation, at least, starts with a profit motive and some idea for meeting a need. A corporation usually understands both the “invisible hand” of the market and human behavior to some degree. They begin with the hope that their product or service will be desirable to some of the people some of the time.
A government agency starts with a mandate of force. The government agency begins with authorization to either make something happen, or stop something from happening. They set off with platitudes and jingoistic slogans and build intrusive processes that would make Rube Goldberg jealous.
And they suck the life and all the awe and delight out of the product or service.
I was once a boy who dreamed of flying fighters and keeping the Free World free from tyranny and oppression.
I am now unable to stomach the miserable experience we calling air travel.
I’d rather drive a snarled Southern California Freeway under construction during rush hour!
I fear that “We the People” will never regain any control of this mode of transportation and inject any life, let alone enjoyment, back into it. Any pleasure I felt for soaring above the clouds in an aluminum tube with wings and motors attached died shortly after September 11!
Like so many of the rising generation, I do enjoy the simulated experience. Today's youth like the video game experience. To me there is nothing like Disney's simulated rendition. But then, even with the long lines on hot days, it isn't as unpleasant as the oppressive experience at the real airport.
Do you know the worst part? You can’t prove that we are any safer today than we were before we created the TSA.
It is one thing to make the conscious decision to give up rights or freedoms to secure the well being of citizens. I may think it is silly and misguided, but at least it is a weighing of priorities and giving more weight to one element than another.
It is another thing to give up the freedoms only to find that the elusive security sought is a pipe-dream.
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