Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Would you respect the fast food industry if they changed their menu prices literally every five minutes, and you paid twice as much for your burger as the person at the next table?
And when they tell you the price and you order the burger, they say "Sorry, there are none available at that price".
And the advertised price of a Double Cheseburger is 1.50, but that's for each patty, if you order a double? ("each way, round trip"), and they're out of 1.50 patties, go back and read the menu and make another selection, but still get exactly the same patties sitting there in the warmer.
And they won't take your order for a burger at all, they require you to order from an agent, to whom they refuse to pay a commission, so the agent doesn't want to take your order unless you buy a larger meal deal.
And if you cancel your burger, they sell it to somebody else at full price, but you get no refund. But if they cancel your burger, you just sit for a few hours and wait for another one, and there is no adjustment.
And if you order and pay at the drive through window, they might go bankrupt before you get to the pickup, and you're just out of luck.
And there are two drive-through lanes, and they're not both the same price.
And they double the price if you want it without the pickle.
I do not think that some one do not respect these companies.Because i visited on my all inclusive holidays package two months ago to the Austria and i traveled through the Emirates airline i did not face any kind of problem which is mentioned here.
Location: The Chatterdome in La La Land, CaliFUNia
39,031 posts, read 23,020,628 times
Reputation: 36027
Quote:
Originally Posted by jtur88
Would you respect the fast food industry if they changed their menu prices literally every five minutes, and you paid twice as much for your burger as the person at the next table?
And when they tell you the price and you order the burger, they say "Sorry, there are none available at that price".
And the advertised price of a Double Cheseburger is 1.50, but that's for each patty, if you order a double? ("each way, round trip"), and they're out of 1.50 patties, go back and read the menu and make another selection, but still get exactly the same patties sitting there in the warmer.
And they won't take your order for a burger at all, they require you to order from an agent, to whom they refuse to pay a commission, so the agent doesn't want to take your order unless you buy a larger meal deal.
And if you cancel your burger, they sell it to somebody else at full price, but you get no refund. But if they cancel your burger, you just sit for a few hours and wait for another one, and there is no adjustment.
And if you order and pay at the drive through window, they might go bankrupt before you get to the pickup, and you're just out of luck.
And there are two drive-through lanes, and they're not both the same price.
And they double the price if you want it without the pickle.
Would you respect the fast food industry if they changed their menu prices literally every five minutes, and you paid twice as much for your burger as the person at the next table?
And when they tell you the price and you order the burger, they say "Sorry, there are none available at that price".
And the advertised price of a Double Cheseburger is 1.50, but that's for each patty, if you order a double? ("each way, round trip"), and they're out of 1.50 patties, go back and read the menu and make another selection, but still get exactly the same patties sitting there in the warmer.
And they won't take your order for a burger at all, they require you to order from an agent, to whom they refuse to pay a commission, so the agent doesn't want to take your order unless you buy a larger meal deal.
And if you cancel your burger, they sell it to somebody else at full price, but you get no refund. But if they cancel your burger, you just sit for a few hours and wait for another one, and there is no adjustment.
And if you order and pay at the drive through window, they might go bankrupt before you get to the pickup, and you're just out of luck.
And there are two drive-through lanes, and they're not both the same price.
And they double the price if you want it without the pickle.
What a well thought out rational argument. However you fail to realize that the fast food industry is nothing like the airline industry.
For starters, and the biggest distinction, is the airlines deal in a perishable product. When that flight pushes, that is it, it's gone. Fast food, on the other hand, stores their food in the freezer and uses it when needed. You might point to other industries that deal in perishable products, like say concert sales. Have you looked at how much money an average concert nets?
When I worked at Pizza Hut, a medium pan supreme pizza cost the company $3.25 in costs to make, everything from materials to labor to the gas used to cook it. That pizza was sold for $10.99, a markup of over 300%. Airlines profit margin is in the neighborhood of 3%-5% (in a good year). Even the contract carriers are limited to a 5%-10% profit.
Capital investments. A fast food joint can be started for a couple hundred thousand dollars and run by a handful of people, 3-4 plus a general manager. An airline? Just one aircraft is in the tens of millions. Then you have pilots, dispatchers, mechanics, flight attendents, gate agents, ramp agents, cleaners, parts department clerks, HR, ticket sales, and general office staff that keeps track of training requirements etc. In short, it's expensive.
Just some small reasons why you can't compare one industry to another...
I don't get mad at the industry as a whole. I try very hard not to blame an entire industry for the faults of various individuals. I do get mad at the people who work in the airline industry and think this entitles them to treat their paying customers like dirt. I know working in a job that requires constant face-to-face with the general public can suck a$$ and sometimes the abuse people dish out is truly unacceptable, but it's usually as a result of total frustration and distress that the airline and its staff has caused! I know it's really easy to burn out when you work customer service and if you can't find work elsewhere your attitude is going to deteriorate even faster BUT I really wish the check-in clerks, the security agents, the baggage handlers and the flight attendants would remember: We paid you a lot of money to get us from A to B. That does not entitle you to talk to us like we're some huge blot on the landscape making your lives unbearable.
The majority of customers these days are in fact polite, punctual and doing their best to obey the rules. Very often these rules are not explained to us and that makes us annoyed. Very often flights are delayed or cancelled without explanation and that makes us annoyed. Very often we are asked to pay for things (blankets, water, etc) that used to be free and that makes us annoyed. People often book seats on planes for medical reasons and when those seats are suddenly changed or removed without explanation, that makes us really annoyed.
We try to understand that increased fuel prices affect the airlines, along with rises in cost of living, salaries, healthcare, airport fees, etc, etc, but perhaps if the airlines could be bothered to COMMUNICATE with their customers and EXPLAIN these issues instead of simply putting up the prices and telling us, "Take it or leave it," we'd have less of an issue.
I don't get mad at the industry as a whole. I try very hard not to blame an entire industry for the faults of various individuals. I do get mad at the people who work in the airline industry and think this entitles them to treat their paying customers like dirt. I know working in a job that requires constant face-to-face with the general public can suck a$$ and sometimes the abuse people dish out is truly unacceptable, but it's usually as a result of total frustration and distress that the airline and its staff has caused!
The REAL question should be "Why does the airline industry NOT respect their customers?"
I will give you a classic incident when I was on the road 200+ nights a year. I boarded an American Airlines flight. The flight attendant was hanging up a jacket of a 1st class passenger and accidentally poked me in the eye scratching my cornea. I was in pain but made it to the back of the plain to my seat.
A few minutes later, she comes to the back of the plane and accuses me f getting in her way. No concern that I was hurt and in pain. No concern that I missed a day of work ON THE ROAD while I sought medical treatment.
Now I pretty much book only on Southwest where I am treated well.
Location: The Chatterdome in La La Land, CaliFUNia
39,031 posts, read 23,020,628 times
Reputation: 36027
Quote:
Originally Posted by jlawrence01
The REAL question should be "Why does the airline industry NOT respect their customers?"
I will give you a classic incident when I was on the road 200+ nights a year. I boarded an American Airlines flight. The flight attendant was hanging up a jacket of a 1st class passenger and accidentally poked me in the eye scratching my cornea. I was in pain but made it to the back of the plain to my seat.
A few minutes later, she comes to the back of the plane and accuses me f getting in her way. No concern that I was hurt and in pain. No concern that I missed a day of work ON THE ROAD while I sought medical treatment.
Now I pretty much book only on Southwest where I am treated well.
The best customer service I've received was from Southwest ... It's a shame that they do not fly everywhere
As an airline employee I'd like to encourage dissatisfied customers to take the time to write to Customer Relations or the executives and let them know about your bad experience(s). Be specific, give date(s), time(s) and facts so they can investigate the situation and try to make improvements. In many cases that's how policy changes take place, by hearing from the customers.
As an airline employee I'd like to encourage dissatisfied customers to take the time to write to Customer Relations or the executives and let them know about your bad experience(s). Be specific, give date(s), time(s) and facts so they can investigate the situation and try to make improvements. In many cases that's how policy changes take place, by hearing from the customers.
Sorry but that's total rubbish. I've sent letters of complaint a few times to various airlines over the past 15+ years and not only have they not changed their behaviour one iota, I've never even received an acknowledgement let alone a note of apology. Maybe your airline is different these days, but the reason customers don't bother with that is because we all believe it will make ZERO difference. The only time an airline changes their behaviour is when a story makes into the national press and they are forced to change by public opinion or legislation.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
