How Do You Lure a Customer Away?

I am a long-time frequent flier with United Airlines. As such, I have occasionally commented on the degradation of service I've experienced through the years (which has been documented elsewhere), and pleaded for improvement.

One of the traps of airlines is the frequent flier programs. Now that I have "status" with United, I'm less likely to try the competition and lose the, albeit poor, perks I get from flying with the ol' stand-by (pun absolutely intended). But this week I did it. I flew American.

I really wanted to be "wowed". I wanted American to give me a reason to switch my allegiance. I wanted a great experience.

Instead, I was treated like another head of cattle being herded into the cramped quarters of the cattle-car. There was limited human interaction with the airline employees. My flight sat on the tarmac for about 15 minutes waiting for a gate on one flight. The other flight sat just feet away from the gate for several minutes waiting for someone to man the jet-bridge. Service was uninspired.

Customers often settle in to doing what is easy, what is known, what is comfortable.

It takes an exceptional customer experience to get customers to switch. The challenge is made even greater when you realize that any call, any customer walking through your door could be giving you that one chance to "wow" them and make them switch. What are you going to do to show them you're different?

Creative Commons photo courtesy of Flickr and luzmymind1

Comments

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