SMI... I think you guys are legitimately working very hard to improve the customer experience, in the face of a complicated merger. You also are clearly under fire from a small but dedicated group of core NW passengers who are dissatisfied (in some cases rightly so, based on their expectations) with how things currently stand.
But I feel the need to, well, call "shenanigans" on this:
Originally Posted by
SkyMilesInsider
We would like to close by sharing some additional information with you. We have a number of data points that we use in making our decisions on what we need to focus on in order to improve your experience in our Clubs. Among those data points are: FlyerTalk, customer response cards, Delta In-Club survey data and independent ratings like that of Business Traveler Magazine and other publications. In terms of snacks and beverages offered among US-based carriers, Delta scores the highest among our competition across some of these key measurements. We believe this was part of what contributed to Business Traveler Magazine, Executive Travel Magazine and Global Traveler Magazine reader’s polls naming Delta Sky Clubs ‘Best Airport Lounge’ in 2010 – we were honored by all of these awards this year, but we definitely do not take them for granted.
From what I can see, there is nothing REMOTELY impartial about Business Traveler Magazine. DL (and Amex, I think) has been a major advertiser for a long time, and even stocks the magazine (I assume that means DL buys a huge subscription) in the SkyClubs. The same, I think, can be said about Global Traveler, which also appears in the SC.
Please, in the name of journalism, do NOT call their surveys "independent." When you get a top ranking from Conde Nast Traveler or Travel and Leisure, then you can feel free to use it as a "data point." But it's fairly clear that the the endorsements you list have been bought and paid for. It severely undermines your argument when you call them "independent."