5 ms·

I'm always astounded why so many companies seem more willing to lose a loyal repeat customer than take a small hit on the bottom line for a particular transacti

by jwegan 16y ago

I'm always astounded why so many companies seem more willing to lose a loyal repeat customer than take a small hit on the bottom line for a particular transaction. Companies like NewEgg, Costco, and Zappos have demonstrated how being willing to take a small hit on some transactions can engender a fanatical customer base, but it seems most companies still prefer to be penny wise and pound foolish.

gabrielroth 16y ago
This works differently for retail businesses than it does for airlines. If I'm looking to buy a pair of shoes online, I have multiple options that are all roughly the same price. But I always buy them from Zappo's because I know I'll get good customer service. When I buy a plane ticket, I have a specific route I need to fly on a particular date. I want the flight with the fewest stops. The price difference is often hundreds of dollars. I've had good experiences with Virgin and JetBlue, but I often wind up flying United or Delta anyway, even though I hate them. In that circumstance, it's rational for large carriers with monopolies on important routes to cut costs on customer service.
- kingkilr 16y ago
  I'm not sure, I've passed up moderate savings ($70 on a $400 flight or so) to go on an airline I prefered. Delta has been a PITA every time I've flown with them, where Southwest has been my airline of choice for over a decade, it's an easy decision to give my money to the people who don't cause pain for me every time.
  - megablast 16y ago
    Cool, most people aren't like you, and if they ever do end up like you, then we will have the situation improve. It does not matter what you do, or your friends do, until a lot of people do it.
    - kingkilr 16y ago
      Sure, it's an anecdote, note a statistic. But people purchase favored brands in everything else, I hardly see a reason airlines should be different; particularly given a carrier like United makes most of their money on business class seats, and they do treat those passengers well.
- krschultz 16y ago
  If you live in a metro area with multiple carriers, often the price differences are negligable. If they weren't, there would be no point of frequent flyer miles. They are trying to lock you into their airline even if their prices are slightly higher, but if the prices on the other airline are drastically lower (hundreds of dollars), it wouldn't make any sense to stick with your normal carrier.
whakojacko 16y ago
Honestly though, I doubt he is a loyal repeat customer of UAL, since he almost definitely would know about the "miss a segment, your itinerary is cancelled" rule if he was. IMO, US legacy airlines are relatively good to their valuable customers via frequent flyer programs and elite status.
- woan 16y ago
  Elite status customers can cancel and change travel plans at will on many airlines without penalty, not too mention auto First class upgrades, no baggage fees, priority boarding, special security line access, etc... A number of folks do mileage runs just to get this privilege... I always wondered why frequent flyers don't claim about all the stuff normal travelers face. It turns out they are exempt from the horrid experience.
JimmyL 16y ago
Simple: by their standards, he's not a loyal repeat customer. People who the airlines care about - and will move heaven and earth for - are their top-tier frequent flyers, guys who fly 100K+ miles per year. If someone picks up that many flights, it means they do most of their flights for business (very few people fly for pleasure that far), which means they're buying much higher-priced tickets than people who are traveling for pleasure, and are the ones whose presence makes a flight turn a profit. An example: if you're Super-Elite on Air Canada (95 flights or 100K miles per year) you have guaranteed flight availability up to six hours before departure. What does that mean? If you want to fly on a flight that's fully sold out - any flight - and call AC more than six hours before take-off, they will kick someone (or two people, as you can bring your companion too) off the plane so that you can get on. You will also get different call-center numbers, access to more rewards flights, more upgrade certificates than you can possibly use, and free upgrades when you choose not to use a certificate. Legacy carriers, for the most part, do treat their frequent/loyal customers quite well. It's just that when you have that many routes and that many flights "frequent" is a lot more than most people who aren't business travelers think it is.

by jwegan 16y ago

gabrielroth 16y ago

This works differently for retail businesses than it does for airlines. If I'm looking to buy a pair of shoes online, I have multiple options that are all roughly the same price. But I always buy them from Zappo's because I know I'll get good customer service. When I buy a plane ticket, I have a specific route I need to fly on a particular date. I want the flight with the fewest stops. The price difference is often hundreds of dollars. I've had good experiences with Virgin and JetBlue, but I often wind up flying United or Delta anyway, even though I hate them. In that circumstance, it's rational for large carriers with monopolies on important routes to cut costs on customer service.

kingkilr 16y ago
I'm not sure, I've passed up moderate savings ($70 on a $400 flight or so) to go on an airline I prefered. Delta has been a PITA every time I've flown with them, where Southwest has been my airline of choice for over a decade, it's an easy decision to give my money to the people who don't cause pain for me every time.
- megablast 16y ago
  Cool, most people aren't like you, and if they ever do end up like you, then we will have the situation improve. It does not matter what you do, or your friends do, until a lot of people do it.
  - kingkilr 16y ago
    Sure, it's an anecdote, note a statistic. But people purchase favored brands in everything else, I hardly see a reason airlines should be different; particularly given a carrier like United makes most of their money on business class seats, and they do treat those passengers well.
krschultz 16y ago
If you live in a metro area with multiple carriers, often the price differences are negligable. If they weren't, there would be no point of frequent flyer miles. They are trying to lock you into their airline even if their prices are slightly higher, but if the prices on the other airline are drastically lower (hundreds of dollars), it wouldn't make any sense to stick with your normal carrier.

whakojacko 16y ago

Honestly though, I doubt he is a loyal repeat customer of UAL, since he almost definitely would know about the "miss a segment, your itinerary is cancelled" rule if he was. IMO, US legacy airlines are relatively good to their valuable customers via frequent flyer programs and elite status.

woan 16y ago
Elite status customers can cancel and change travel plans at will on many airlines without penalty, not too mention auto First class upgrades, no baggage fees, priority boarding, special security line access, etc... A number of folks do mileage runs just to get this privilege... I always wondered why frequent flyers don't claim about all the stuff normal travelers face. It turns out they are exempt from the horrid experience.

JimmyL 16y ago

Simple: by their standards, he's not a loyal repeat customer. People who the airlines care about - and will move heaven and earth for - are their top-tier frequent flyers, guys who fly 100K+ miles per year. If someone picks up that many flights, it means they do most of their flights for business (very few people fly for pleasure that far), which means they're buying much higher-priced tickets than people who are traveling for pleasure, and are the ones whose presence makes a flight turn a profit. An example: if you're Super-Elite on Air Canada (95 flights or 100K miles per year) you have guaranteed flight availability up to six hours before departure. What does that mean? If you want to fly on a flight that's fully sold out - any flight - and call AC more than six hours before take-off, they will kick someone (or two people, as you can bring your companion too) off the plane so that you can get on. You will also get different call-center numbers, access to more rewards flights, more upgrade certificates than you can possibly use, and free upgrades when you choose not to use a certificate. Legacy carriers, for the most part, do treat their frequent/loyal customers quite well. It's just that when you have that many routes and that many flights "frequent" is a lot more than most people who aren't business travelers think it is.