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United Thinks They Aren’t to Blame for Unhappy Customers

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - JULY 25: The United Airlines name is displayed on a barrier at San Francisco International Airport on July 25, 2013 in San Francisco, California. United Continental Holdings, the parent company of United Airlines, reported record revenues with second quarter earnings of $469 million. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Echoing the sentiments of his boss, CEO Oscar Munoz, United Airlines President Scott Kirby blamed the trials and tribulations of modern life, in part, for the carrier’s public perception as a less-than-customer-friendly entity. In comments to an employee group obtained by Live and Let’s Fly, he placed some of the blame for the airline’s troubled reputation on inexperienced flyers.

United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz made headlines recently after seeming to admit that passengers aren’t happy with the current state of air travel. While he admitted that flyers are becoming fed up with ever more crowded cabins and shrinking airplane, the airline executive indicated that much of what makes air travelers unhappy is out of his control.

“I think we are nearing a point certainly that we can’t do that anymore,” Munoz told ABC News’ David Kerley. “It’s [air travel] become so stressful, from when you leave, wherever you live, to get into traffic, to find a parking spot, to get through security. Frankly, by the time you sit on one of our aircraft, you’re just pissed at the world.”

Now, United President Scott Kirby appears to have seized on his boss’s talking points. Speaking with an employee group about customer service issues, he struck a remarkably familiar-sounding refrain.

“I would argue there’s a rationale for it,” Kirby said in the comments obtained by Live and Let’s Fly. “To a frequent flyer who knows all the rules, who understands how to get through TSA, who knows our rules about changing flights and when they can upgrade and when they can’t, that feels professional, because it’s black and white. I know all the rules. To somebody who doesn’t fly often, the rules don’t make sense. They’re already tense, they’re stressed, trying to get through security, trying to get to the airport on time, figure out where to park their cars, you know, all that stuff. And then they get here and what doesn’t make sense to them feels like a set of black and white rules, that we’re this big company that just doesn’t care.”

Discussing ways United might change the public’s often less than a favorable perception of the company, Kirby suggested that frontline workers will be given more latitude to help solve customer service issues whenever they arise. He stopped short, however, of providing details about how much authority employees will actually have to rectify those problems.

“So a lot of this is about empowering you to take care of customers and do the right thing for customers, but getting all of us to start to recognize that we’ve got to change how people feel and so that they feel like we care and that really is our mission,” Kirby continued. “If I have one request from all of you it’s to do that. To start to think about how people perceive us, how our customers perceive us. Actually, it’s not even just our customers, it’s the community at large. How others perceive United Airlines.”

Kirby also suggested that United (and the other big three U.S. airlines) may bear the brunt of the public’s ire, while smaller carriers such as Southwest Airlines are sometimes given a free pass. He suggested that management and rank-and-file employees should focus on the things that are within their control to fix.

“We need to, in 2019 and beyond, start to change how people feel about United Airlines,” Kirby admonished. “And a lot of time I will hear from employees that will say, ‘Why does United always get beat up in the press and Southwest gets a free pass? It’s not fair.’ Maybe it’s not fair. Also completely irrelevant whether it’s fair or not, because it is what it is.”

 

[Image Source: United]

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43 Comments
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spartacus May 10, 2019

Marriott says, "Hold my beer." The stories about getting Bonvoyed have taken center stage and JW is surely spinning in his grave. Not the same company focused on customer service and reputation that was required reading when I was a Hotel student at UNLV in the early 80's.

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SportDiver May 7, 2019

If Mr. Munoz and UA leadership were serious about customer satisfaction, they would not bleed their customers for every possible $ profit over the past decade or so. The "Big 3" airlines are all about profits and greed in their Boardrooms. And it shows with the general dissatisfaction of many of their employees. FWIW, I just flew r/t on WN yesterday. All their personnel, whether at the gate or on the plane, treated customers with respect and a touch of humor. How refreshing to be reminded that we all have choices as to customer loyalty.

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mark_s May 5, 2019

I am honestly baffled by the selections made by corporations for senior leadership. This guy is a blithering idiot. That was apparent from the "fight club" incident back in 2017. When I look at incompetent executives like this guy in the light of the recent elite colleges admission bribery scam, I suspect (perhaps erroneously) that these are just heritable positions passed around among the rich. (And I'm no socialist.) I wouldn't hire this guy to run gas station, much less an airline.

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sukki007 May 5, 2019

I don't fly a whole lot, but my usual route is to EWR. Continental used to be my airline of choice, but we all know how that turned out. Now, even though I have a United Mileage card (with no status), my choice is SWA. Even though I can fly non-stop with UA, and SWA always requires a connection. Even though the flight is often a couple of bucks cheaper with UA. Why? Because I can cancel a flight with no penalty, as I've had to do several times in the last year. Because I can take two bags with me at no charge, handy for all the stuff I need to bring back from the east coast. Because SWA will give me a choice of snacks on those cross-country flights. Because the FAs are usually pleasant, and sometimes even fun. But I do like to give credit where it's due, so I have to say that on my last flight, SIN return HKG, UA treated me exceptionally well; it was an Awards flight, and when I asked for consideration due to a broken clavicle (and unrelated mobility issues), they upgraded me to Economy Plus on three of the four flights involved, and on two also made sure that there was a middle seat next to my aisle one, so that my right arm wouldn't be jostled. They would have done it on all four legs, but couldn't due to full flights on the short connections. So maybe there is hope for UA after all.

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GTJoe May 4, 2019

On one hand, I believe that they have a point in the statement that there are a lot of things that frustrate passengers prior to ever interacting with the company. Many things ARE out of their control and sometimes they (United) get blamed unfairly. On the other hand, I think that the statement might come off as a bit tone deaf given recent history. In the words of Top Gun, they need to be doing it better and cleaner than the other guy.