We just returned from vacation. We used our frequent flyer miles for two of our three airline tickets. My regular, "go-to" airline put us on another carrier for the first leg of our trip. Big mistake on their part.
First, let me share with you a little bit about the third ticket we booked with my "go-to" carrier.
These days, airlines offer online check-in 24 hours before you leave, so of course I took advantage of this for the third ticket for my daughter. A last minute option of bumping the ticket to first class came up for only $69. This ticket included two "free" checked bags. The cost of each checked bag alone is $20, so in the end the upgrade would only be $29. I booked it for her as a special surprise.
Of course, living in Cleveland the weather is not always on our side and when we arrived to the airport my daughters flight had been canceled. She was re-routed to our flight, which in the end worked out great. Her first class seat however, did not get re-routed.
I called my "go-to" airline after we arrived at our destination and all of the numbers I had led me to a recorded message stating no one could answer my call. My later attempt gave me the same results. I decided I would wait and ask about it at the airport on our way home.
Now, let me go back to first part of the story. We probably go on about 12-16 flights per year and I would say 90% of the time we use the same airline. I know this is not a tremendous amount of travel but our loyalty has always been with this airline.
So we decided to redeem our frequent flyer miles and we get moved to another carrier. Hmmm, they must be paying less for the seats on the other carrier than they would on their own. If they move us to another carrier, they're not losing any money on our "free" seats, right?
Then I realize the other airline must know this too, because our new airline bumped us to first class! Genius! This other airline is treating us like royalty and they're not even my "go-to" carrier. Now, this may all just be coincidental, but I can tell you I've never just been bumped to first class by my usual airline.
They also did not charge for our bags. Another huge plus. That saved us $60 on the way down.
Unfortunately on our way home we were back to our usual airline. Back to our old coach seats. Back to our $20 baggage fee. When we arrived at the airport I asked about the first class up charge/cancellation from the trip down and was told to contact Customer Care.
When they weighed my bag it was 7 pounds over their limit, another $50. Are they crazy? $70 for my bag to fly to Cleveland? Not a chance. Took out a couple pairs of shoes, a few books and we were back to $20.
Once we arrived at our gate I proceeded to call Customer Care, only to be told I was not calling during their designated hours. Not, "Oh, you're a frequent flyer mile holder, let me take your information and get back to you at a better time." It's all on my shoulders. I'm assuming this was an attempt to frustrate their customers and prolong my acquisition of the $69, hopefully causing me to forget about it all together.
But that's where they are wrong. The only thing I am giving up on is them. I will now pay extra to fly any other airline, especially the one that treated us like a valued customer.
What have we learned from this story? Be sure to treat your loyal customers like royalty. Because if you don't, someone else will and you will lose them forever.
First, let me share with you a little bit about the third ticket we booked with my "go-to" carrier.
These days, airlines offer online check-in 24 hours before you leave, so of course I took advantage of this for the third ticket for my daughter. A last minute option of bumping the ticket to first class came up for only $69. This ticket included two "free" checked bags. The cost of each checked bag alone is $20, so in the end the upgrade would only be $29. I booked it for her as a special surprise.
Of course, living in Cleveland the weather is not always on our side and when we arrived to the airport my daughters flight had been canceled. She was re-routed to our flight, which in the end worked out great. Her first class seat however, did not get re-routed.
I called my "go-to" airline after we arrived at our destination and all of the numbers I had led me to a recorded message stating no one could answer my call. My later attempt gave me the same results. I decided I would wait and ask about it at the airport on our way home.
Now, let me go back to first part of the story. We probably go on about 12-16 flights per year and I would say 90% of the time we use the same airline. I know this is not a tremendous amount of travel but our loyalty has always been with this airline.
So we decided to redeem our frequent flyer miles and we get moved to another carrier. Hmmm, they must be paying less for the seats on the other carrier than they would on their own. If they move us to another carrier, they're not losing any money on our "free" seats, right?
Then I realize the other airline must know this too, because our new airline bumped us to first class! Genius! This other airline is treating us like royalty and they're not even my "go-to" carrier. Now, this may all just be coincidental, but I can tell you I've never just been bumped to first class by my usual airline.
They also did not charge for our bags. Another huge plus. That saved us $60 on the way down.
Unfortunately on our way home we were back to our usual airline. Back to our old coach seats. Back to our $20 baggage fee. When we arrived at the airport I asked about the first class up charge/cancellation from the trip down and was told to contact Customer Care.
When they weighed my bag it was 7 pounds over their limit, another $50. Are they crazy? $70 for my bag to fly to Cleveland? Not a chance. Took out a couple pairs of shoes, a few books and we were back to $20.
Once we arrived at our gate I proceeded to call Customer Care, only to be told I was not calling during their designated hours. Not, "Oh, you're a frequent flyer mile holder, let me take your information and get back to you at a better time." It's all on my shoulders. I'm assuming this was an attempt to frustrate their customers and prolong my acquisition of the $69, hopefully causing me to forget about it all together.
But that's where they are wrong. The only thing I am giving up on is them. I will now pay extra to fly any other airline, especially the one that treated us like a valued customer.
What have we learned from this story? Be sure to treat your loyal customers like royalty. Because if you don't, someone else will and you will lose them forever.
About the Author:
Kathy Jiamboi has 14+ years experience in Relationship and Direct Response Marketing and is President of Creativedge Marketing and Ready2Go Client Contact, in Cleveland, Ohio. Ready2Go Client Contact, a done for you program allows her clients to smoothly and swiftly build client relationships. She offers FREE expert marketing tips to anyone seeking to get more clients.
0 comments:
Post a Comment