U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, asked to cite examples of major decisons his vice-president, Richard M. Nixon, participated in, famously replied "If you give me a week, I may think of one.''
That is how I feel when I try to come up with a major virtue of United Airlines (aka Misery Air): If you give me a week, I may think of one.
I flew United (www.ua.com) twice in the past few days between San Francisco and Vancouver, British Columbia on a travel-writing trip. Nothing terribly untoward happened and United's infamously cranky cabin crews - the carrier's "friendly skies'' era is long gone - at least stayed out of passengers' faces. That's something, I guess. The last time I flew United, flight attendants openly mocked passengers and blamed travelers for the overstuffed overhead bins,
This time, little things went awry. I flew in economy class, everyone's favorite. The passenger in front of me put his seat all the way back, nearly knee-capping me. He kept it there during take-off and landing, which is supposed to be a no-no. I didn't say anything because I didn't want to get into it with a fellow traveler. Neither did the flight attendants, although enforcing safety regulations and seeing to the comfort of all their customers is their job.
On the way back from B.C., on-board another crowded, narrow-body, single-aisle Airbus A320, more little things went wrong. Although I was one of the first passengers in the way-back of the plane, when I went into a washroom well before take-off, I found a messy unflushed toilet. Early in the flight, I flicked on the overhead light at my seat so I could read. It winked on, and then it winked off. And then it winked on again. And then ... I turned it off for the duration of the flight. I squinted and read in semi-darkness.
No big thing, you may say, and you would be right. Both flights arrived safely, and one of them was even on time. But as the old song says, little things mean a lot. And little things add up. United still has a lot of work to do to make its customer service more than notional.
Showing posts with label airline customer service. Show all posts
Showing posts with label airline customer service. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Misery Air: United
It's Thanksgiving Day in the United States, and I know I'm supposed to feel thankful, but when it comes to flying United Airlines - the big carrier at my main airport, San Francisco International (www.flysfo.com)- I just can't.
My feeling about United (www.ual.com) can be summed-up like this: Misery, thy name is United Airlines.
My wife and I flew Chicago-based United from SFO to Washington Dulles International earlier this month, paying a bit extra for Economy Plus, to get a little extra legroom. That worked out OK, but what didn't go well was the passenger-flight crew relationship. Simply put, the crew on our flight couldn't have cared less about the comfort and convenience of their customers.
The main source of tension was the overhead luggage bins. By the time most passengers clambered on board the needle-thin, single-aisle aircraft - following frequent fliers, military people in uniform, and people who needed help boarding - the bins were full. Seated in row 7, I, for example, had to stow my carry-on in the bin over row 35. I was lucky to find a spot.
This situation has come about because airlines, led by money-bleeding United, have reduced the size of aircraft on many routes, slashed the number of flights and instituted extra fees for everything from extra legroom to checking bags, in an attempt to finally return to profitability. Hoping to save money in tight times, many passengers are, not surprisingly, opting to carry on their bags. The rub: There is not enough space for them. So, passengers struggle with their bags, increasingly frustrated, the boarding of aircraft is delayed and take-off is delayed, compounding frustration.
Rather than help, United flight crews such as the sarcastic, snickering bunch of flight attendants on our overbooked flight, all too often stand idly by, amused by the frustrations of their customers.
"Come on, honey, try again, honey, move it, honey,'' one FA said loudly as a diminutive woman struggled to find space for her bag. Later, in voices, loud enough to be heard by passengers, the FAs gathered in a tight knot and talked, laughing all the while, about a passenger who went fruitlessly from one side of the aisle to the other, trying to find a space to stow a bag. Another FA on the intercom said in a hectoring voice that the plane could not take-off until all the overhead bin doors were closed and if we wanted an on-time flight we had better get the lead out.
Blame the customers - it's the customers' fault for a situation United itself created.
United's largely notional idea of customer service came about several years back when staff had to give back benefits and wages to management bent on downsizing. Employees couldn't strike back effectively at management so they have taken it out on people they can push around - their customers - who, it must be pointed out, are the only reason these disgruntled employees have a job in the first place.
Back on Oct. 1, 2010, United merged with Continental Airlines, creating a new company, United Continental Holdings Inc. In recent years, Continental had forged a reputation for a generally well-run and traveler-friendly company. When I flew Continental in November 2009 from London to Newark, near the end of a round-the-world trip, I was pleasantly surprised by how good Continental was.
The merger has yet to fully finish-up, however, and the can-do Continental culture has not replaced the miserable United culture, even though chief executive officer Jeff Smisek came over from Continental to run what is now the world's largest airline. As a useful piece in the 24 November Chicago Tribune by reporter Gregory Karp points out, the new United hasn't received an SOC - single operating certificate - from the Federal Aviation Administration, giving the merged company permission to cross-crew its flights. Until that happens - Karp reports it should come soon - the customer-friendly Continental staff can't blend in with their United counterparts. (www.chicagotribune.com).
As it is, the frequent flier programs of the two heretofore separate airlines will fully merge Jan. 1, 2012, and the company will soon take additional steps to become one in the coming months. As I and other long-suffering United customers can attest, it can't happen a minute too soon.
My feeling about United (www.ual.com) can be summed-up like this: Misery, thy name is United Airlines.
My wife and I flew Chicago-based United from SFO to Washington Dulles International earlier this month, paying a bit extra for Economy Plus, to get a little extra legroom. That worked out OK, but what didn't go well was the passenger-flight crew relationship. Simply put, the crew on our flight couldn't have cared less about the comfort and convenience of their customers.
The main source of tension was the overhead luggage bins. By the time most passengers clambered on board the needle-thin, single-aisle aircraft - following frequent fliers, military people in uniform, and people who needed help boarding - the bins were full. Seated in row 7, I, for example, had to stow my carry-on in the bin over row 35. I was lucky to find a spot.
This situation has come about because airlines, led by money-bleeding United, have reduced the size of aircraft on many routes, slashed the number of flights and instituted extra fees for everything from extra legroom to checking bags, in an attempt to finally return to profitability. Hoping to save money in tight times, many passengers are, not surprisingly, opting to carry on their bags. The rub: There is not enough space for them. So, passengers struggle with their bags, increasingly frustrated, the boarding of aircraft is delayed and take-off is delayed, compounding frustration.
Rather than help, United flight crews such as the sarcastic, snickering bunch of flight attendants on our overbooked flight, all too often stand idly by, amused by the frustrations of their customers.
"Come on, honey, try again, honey, move it, honey,'' one FA said loudly as a diminutive woman struggled to find space for her bag. Later, in voices, loud enough to be heard by passengers, the FAs gathered in a tight knot and talked, laughing all the while, about a passenger who went fruitlessly from one side of the aisle to the other, trying to find a space to stow a bag. Another FA on the intercom said in a hectoring voice that the plane could not take-off until all the overhead bin doors were closed and if we wanted an on-time flight we had better get the lead out.
Blame the customers - it's the customers' fault for a situation United itself created.
United's largely notional idea of customer service came about several years back when staff had to give back benefits and wages to management bent on downsizing. Employees couldn't strike back effectively at management so they have taken it out on people they can push around - their customers - who, it must be pointed out, are the only reason these disgruntled employees have a job in the first place.
Back on Oct. 1, 2010, United merged with Continental Airlines, creating a new company, United Continental Holdings Inc. In recent years, Continental had forged a reputation for a generally well-run and traveler-friendly company. When I flew Continental in November 2009 from London to Newark, near the end of a round-the-world trip, I was pleasantly surprised by how good Continental was.
The merger has yet to fully finish-up, however, and the can-do Continental culture has not replaced the miserable United culture, even though chief executive officer Jeff Smisek came over from Continental to run what is now the world's largest airline. As a useful piece in the 24 November Chicago Tribune by reporter Gregory Karp points out, the new United hasn't received an SOC - single operating certificate - from the Federal Aviation Administration, giving the merged company permission to cross-crew its flights. Until that happens - Karp reports it should come soon - the customer-friendly Continental staff can't blend in with their United counterparts. (www.chicagotribune.com).
As it is, the frequent flier programs of the two heretofore separate airlines will fully merge Jan. 1, 2012, and the company will soon take additional steps to become one in the coming months. As I and other long-suffering United customers can attest, it can't happen a minute too soon.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
The Steven Slater Rules
For a society desperately, passionately, incoherently seeking a hero, we have Steven Slater.
Slater is a JetBlue Airways flight attendant - probably a former FA by now - who has 'gone viral' and become an Internet hero by taking a well-worn route to contemporary hero status: Embracing extreme behavior, self-absorption and self-righteousness.
If you haven't heard, the resident of Queens, N.Y. got into an altercation on a flight from Pittsburgh to New York City with a passenger that other travelers describe as rude. He may or may not have been assaulted by said passenger. It may have been at the beginning or the end of the flight - accounts differ. Slater reportedly responded to provocation by cursing out the passenger over the aircraft intercom (while also praising respectful passengers), snatching a beer and, most dramatically, deploying the emergency escape shute to leave the plane on his own at John F. Kennedy International Airport. He's outta here!
The 20-year airline veteran was arrested yesterday and arraigned today. He showed his respect for the court by wearing plaid shorts and what courtroom attendees described as a smirk. It's only a matter of days - that's years in Internet time - before he has his own reality TV show, a book deal, a public relations firm, a celebrity lawyer and someone to play him in the made-for-cable movie.
Airline passengers are, to be sure, often far from polite, and they have been known to take out their frustration on airline flight crews and airport workers. Stuffed into miniature seats, made to pay for food, checked bags and extra legroom, and subject to cascading delays, they have reason to be frustrated, though no good excuse for being rude.
FAs, of course, are on the frontlines of customer service. However, customer service is not much more than a rumor on many U.S. domestic flights; JetBlue is actually one of the better airlines. Deploying the emergency shute and getting off the plane takes to a literal degree what many American airline workers have already done in subtler ways: Bail out.
There will be more of this, as stressed-out workers and copycats decide to play by the Steven Slater rules. You know, the rules that allow you to do what you want to do, when you want to do it because it's hard being you. Really too bad about the other people who just happen to be there, but there's no stopping a hero, if you know what I mean.
Slater is a JetBlue Airways flight attendant - probably a former FA by now - who has 'gone viral' and become an Internet hero by taking a well-worn route to contemporary hero status: Embracing extreme behavior, self-absorption and self-righteousness.
If you haven't heard, the resident of Queens, N.Y. got into an altercation on a flight from Pittsburgh to New York City with a passenger that other travelers describe as rude. He may or may not have been assaulted by said passenger. It may have been at the beginning or the end of the flight - accounts differ. Slater reportedly responded to provocation by cursing out the passenger over the aircraft intercom (while also praising respectful passengers), snatching a beer and, most dramatically, deploying the emergency escape shute to leave the plane on his own at John F. Kennedy International Airport. He's outta here!
The 20-year airline veteran was arrested yesterday and arraigned today. He showed his respect for the court by wearing plaid shorts and what courtroom attendees described as a smirk. It's only a matter of days - that's years in Internet time - before he has his own reality TV show, a book deal, a public relations firm, a celebrity lawyer and someone to play him in the made-for-cable movie.
Airline passengers are, to be sure, often far from polite, and they have been known to take out their frustration on airline flight crews and airport workers. Stuffed into miniature seats, made to pay for food, checked bags and extra legroom, and subject to cascading delays, they have reason to be frustrated, though no good excuse for being rude.
FAs, of course, are on the frontlines of customer service. However, customer service is not much more than a rumor on many U.S. domestic flights; JetBlue is actually one of the better airlines. Deploying the emergency shute and getting off the plane takes to a literal degree what many American airline workers have already done in subtler ways: Bail out.
There will be more of this, as stressed-out workers and copycats decide to play by the Steven Slater rules. You know, the rules that allow you to do what you want to do, when you want to do it because it's hard being you. Really too bad about the other people who just happen to be there, but there's no stopping a hero, if you know what I mean.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)