PR: The Good, The Bad, and the
Galactically Stupid
Delta: Take these Skymiles and ... give them to AirTran
September2008 12:26
My blogs
have been a little Apple-centric lately so I thought I’d
unleash the hounds at another enterprise engaging in poor marketing
and PR: the Airlines.
What started this? A few calls and one claim form sent to Delta. A couple weeks ago, as their website suggests, I booked a flight in advance so that I could receive the lowest fare. As I booked the cute little Best Fare Guarantee logo icon on the screen misguidedly reassured me.
So naturally when I saw that Delta had reduced the fare for a weekend sale, I was annoyed because a) that was just my luck, par for the course and b) I was going to have to jump through some hoops.
Well forget hoops. Try ring of fire, two customer disservice reps, and being forced to listen to the automated on-hold sales pitch extolling the virtues of the Best Fare Guarantee program while waiting for a third. The final indignity was the last phone rep who was not so subtly questioning my interrupting her day along the lines of: “Why would you want to do the guarantee, you would have to pay our excessive rebooking fee, you half wit? You don’t expect us just to give you the difference.”
On the flipside, Macy’s does exactly that. My sister recently brought back a dress she had purchased a month earlier, and since it was now on-sale, they gave her a price adjustment and credited her account. With a smile no less!
So I completed Delta’s online claims form, which I knew was fruitless but what they heck. And of course Delta replied that they do NOT have honor their guarantee because of mitigating fine print. This is apparently common practice for Delta, Northwest and their fellow miscreants to promise one thing, deliver on nothing and make it so hard to redeem a voucher, that most give up on trying.
So to end my little rant, while it may be common practice to have 148 different terms and exclusions that keep you from honoring price guarantee policies, it is bad customer relations to push them in your marketing program when they are essentially worthless. Retailers like Macy's that strive to do right by their customers earn loyalty and goodwill. The struggling airlines should sit up and take notice. Delta can keep my Skymiles and I will see if AirTran can do any better.
What started this? A few calls and one claim form sent to Delta. A couple weeks ago, as their website suggests, I booked a flight in advance so that I could receive the lowest fare. As I booked the cute little Best Fare Guarantee logo icon on the screen misguidedly reassured me.
So naturally when I saw that Delta had reduced the fare for a weekend sale, I was annoyed because a) that was just my luck, par for the course and b) I was going to have to jump through some hoops.
Well forget hoops. Try ring of fire, two customer disservice reps, and being forced to listen to the automated on-hold sales pitch extolling the virtues of the Best Fare Guarantee program while waiting for a third. The final indignity was the last phone rep who was not so subtly questioning my interrupting her day along the lines of: “Why would you want to do the guarantee, you would have to pay our excessive rebooking fee, you half wit? You don’t expect us just to give you the difference.”
On the flipside, Macy’s does exactly that. My sister recently brought back a dress she had purchased a month earlier, and since it was now on-sale, they gave her a price adjustment and credited her account. With a smile no less!
So I completed Delta’s online claims form, which I knew was fruitless but what they heck. And of course Delta replied that they do NOT have honor their guarantee because of mitigating fine print. This is apparently common practice for Delta, Northwest and their fellow miscreants to promise one thing, deliver on nothing and make it so hard to redeem a voucher, that most give up on trying.
So to end my little rant, while it may be common practice to have 148 different terms and exclusions that keep you from honoring price guarantee policies, it is bad customer relations to push them in your marketing program when they are essentially worthless. Retailers like Macy's that strive to do right by their customers earn loyalty and goodwill. The struggling airlines should sit up and take notice. Delta can keep my Skymiles and I will see if AirTran can do any better.
Braves Cancel Fireworks, Lose Fans, Model Bad PR
July2006 15:06
Last
night thunderstorms rolled in and delayed the Atlanta Braves game
by several hours. That happens. I mean it’s not like AOL Time
Warner can control the weather. But what the folks in the Braves
administration offices can control is how they treat their
fans.
This year the Braves are in a dogfight to maybe win a Wild Card birth. For a team that’s been winning (regular season) for nigh onto forever now, it’s an unfamiliar place to say the least. It’s hurting the fan base, as attendance continues to dwindle. By “attendance” I refer to butts in the seats–those buying beer and other assorted goodies–not the reported stat of “paid to see it.” Seriously, tune in and see how many empty GOOD seats there are.
Most of the fans waited around, myself included, for that first hour. But as the rains continued, and without announcements from the team, the crowd started to thin. By 10:30 p.m. I’d guess maybe as many as half the crowd had left. We had slipped into the much drier Lexus level by then, to warm up and to better hear any announcements.
The first one we heard was just after 11 p.m., announcing the probable restarting time of 11:35. Nothing was mentioned about the scheduled Fourth of July fireworks show. At 11:30 as play was about to resume, the PA announcer said that due to local noise ordinances, the show would be rescheduled for the next night. Weather permitting, natch.
According to the AJC, the fans booed that decision. Booed meaning “got up, left the stadium, and probably won’t come back.” My issue is not the cancellation of the show due to the laws. It’s how badly management handled it.
Clearly the powers that be knew about the noise ordinances. In this case, the laws of both Fulton County (Section 46-137) and the City of Atlanta apply. So all one had to do was do some backwards math – fireworks must end by X time, the game will take Y time to finish, and so on, to determine by what time the game would have to resume in order to have the show. Therefore:
This year the Braves are in a dogfight to maybe win a Wild Card birth. For a team that’s been winning (regular season) for nigh onto forever now, it’s an unfamiliar place to say the least. It’s hurting the fan base, as attendance continues to dwindle. By “attendance” I refer to butts in the seats–those buying beer and other assorted goodies–not the reported stat of “paid to see it.” Seriously, tune in and see how many empty GOOD seats there are.
Most of the fans waited around, myself included, for that first hour. But as the rains continued, and without announcements from the team, the crowd started to thin. By 10:30 p.m. I’d guess maybe as many as half the crowd had left. We had slipped into the much drier Lexus level by then, to warm up and to better hear any announcements.
The first one we heard was just after 11 p.m., announcing the probable restarting time of 11:35. Nothing was mentioned about the scheduled Fourth of July fireworks show. At 11:30 as play was about to resume, the PA announcer said that due to local noise ordinances, the show would be rescheduled for the next night. Weather permitting, natch.
According to the AJC, the fans booed that decision. Booed meaning “got up, left the stadium, and probably won’t come back.” My issue is not the cancellation of the show due to the laws. It’s how badly management handled it.
Clearly the powers that be knew about the noise ordinances. In this case, the laws of both Fulton County (Section 46-137) and the City of Atlanta apply. So all one had to do was do some backwards math – fireworks must end by X time, the game will take Y time to finish, and so on, to determine by what time the game would have to resume in order to have the show. Therefore:
They
knew there would be no
fireworks when they made that
11:00 p.m. announcement.
What's worse, with a couple innings left to play and it still
raining at
10:00 p.m., they
knew the game would not
resume and finish in time for the fireworks show. Yet no
announcement was made.
Waiting
around until the last minute to make an announcement that should
have come at least an hour (if not more) earlier was an
inconsiderate, fan-base killing move on the part of management and
an excellent example of some bad public relations.
Let's hear it for the Golden Silence!
May2006 15:13
While
going to see X-Men: The
Last Stand on opening
night, an employee of AMC Parkway Pointe came in with a very strong warning to turn off
cell phones and pagers. She went on to nix idle chatter, text
messaging or even the unruly toddler (who would have had no
business at this loud, scary-for-a-three-year-old, late-night movie
anyway).
You know basic "common sense" manners that have been lost. Where have gone Mrs. Post? Oh right, you’re still there. Sadly no one is listening.
Furthermore the AMC representative cautioned that management would ask violators of their policies to leave the theater. This announcement got a well-deserved round of applause from the crowd.
This was the second time I’d been there for such warning, and it was music to my ears. As their trademarked “Silence is Golden®” appeared on-screen, there was more applause from the packed theater.
Announcing and enforcing good movie-going etiquette is a simple way to keep fans happy and coming back, and a perfect example of cost-effective good PR.
You know basic "common sense" manners that have been lost. Where have gone Mrs. Post? Oh right, you’re still there. Sadly no one is listening.
Furthermore the AMC representative cautioned that management would ask violators of their policies to leave the theater. This announcement got a well-deserved round of applause from the crowd.
This was the second time I’d been there for such warning, and it was music to my ears. As their trademarked “Silence is Golden®” appeared on-screen, there was more applause from the packed theater.
Announcing and enforcing good movie-going etiquette is a simple way to keep fans happy and coming back, and a perfect example of cost-effective good PR.