More Than Points

Seth Godin makes a great point in a recent blog post titled, “We don’t compare ourselves to other airport restaurants”, but his quote, “Regardless, it’s better than we have been taught we should deserve” really stuck out for me as a road warrior.  We have been trained to expect bad (and worsening) service in the frequent flyer world.  Uncaring airline representatives, devaluation of frequent flyer points, additional service fees, more points to buy free nights, terrible customer service, bad airport food, more time away from home – we accept these things as “part of the job”.  At one point frequent travelers felt free flights, free nights, and credit card points were the “benefits” which offset having to deal with all the crappy things about flying, but…

Is that still true anymore?

In most industries, bad customer service means you don’t last very long, but not for industries who serve frequent travelers.  We are captive customers at airports and we pay more for bad food and bad service.  We are limited to certain airlines by when and where we need to fly.  We are limited to hotels by distance or cost to clients.  We have limitations placed on our ability to choose.  Then we get attached to “loyalty programs” and a currency which is controlled by folks who believe we are mindless point-addicts who only care about racking up enough miles to be treated with “ok” customer service (because a special 1-800 number is supposed to make us feel elite).  We just suck it up.  That is sad.

Wouldn’t it be great if there was a way to change that?  I don’t know the solution, but I bet it starts with us – the frequent travelers.