Comments

Airlines as shell game - solutions: timeshare jet fees down due to competition - $1M new jets by 2006 - buy with 3 partners!!!

Posted by Freeman at December 8, 2004 9:00 AM

Reminds me of part of one of Bill Bryson's books. He's in a hotel that used to have ice dispensers on every floor. Where the ice dispenser used to be on his floor, there was a sign telling him that ice dispensers were now only on floors three and nine, "for your added convenience".

Posted by Michael Randall at December 8, 2004 9:02 AM

I'm often glad companies makes a point to remind me that i'm an idiot and they are smarter than me.

Only completely not.

Posted by shua at December 8, 2004 9:11 AM

"Inauthentic organizations reproduce inauthentic marketing programs." Connie Sartain From the "Why Marketing Programs Fail - encore" thread.

It's the same old thing. If you read that entire thread you'll see a lot of marketing people using MBA buzzwords to justify their existence. The fact is, Steve, all you want to do is get from point A to point B, safely, in a reasonable amount of time. Some "marketing genius" decided that you would be willing to put up with a four hour delay, if you got a friendly, upbeat, recorded message. That person should be fired and you should fire United.

Here's another example. I have been a long-time consumer of Jack Daniel's. You know them, they're the ones who've been running print ads talking about "tradition" for as long as I can remember. They've been purchased by Brown-Forman Distilleries.

Recently they quietly reduced the alcohol content of JD from 86 proof to 80. (Not all that long ago it was 90 proof). I sent them an email expressing my displeasure at their selling me water for the price of bourbon. Their response? "Consumers prefer the lower proof." If I want a higher proof, I can always buy Single-Barrel JD. Of course, it's a lot more expensive.

OK, I'm an idiot. If that's true, couldn't those consumers who prefer less alcohol add their own water? Also, if it's true, why didn't they promote this "improvement"? You know the answer.

So Steve, you can sit in the airport for four hours drinking watered-down Jack Daniel's, reflecting on the fact that United and Brown-Forman both think we're stupid.

Posted by MikeB at December 8, 2004 10:47 AM

MikeB that for the hattip !! on JD !!

Posted by /pd at December 8, 2004 11:36 AM

It remains entirely clear as to why the airline industry is in trouble.

Last year, I was on a flight from Newark to Chicago. I settled into my seat, they locked the doors, and the pilot announced we would be delayed AND that we were 63rd in line for take-off (I kid you not, Vol. I)... arrival time: unknown. That's poor customer service (no?). So, I called United Airlines "customer service"... which took forever and a day to get through to... to ask why they put all these people on the plane without letting everyone know that we'd be so delayed. The United representative informed me that the only information he had was that the computer system indicated the flight had departed 10 minutes prior and was en route to Chicago (I kid you not, Vol. II). The story goes on, of course. At least you received a voicemail message and some nice music...

It remains entirely clear as to why the airline industry is in trouble.

Posted by Lee H. Igel at December 8, 2004 11:41 AM