New survey shows that US is America's 6th "most hated company."

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/n...ost-hated.html

As a lifetime CO platinum, I've seen this movie before, as CO had a terrible reputation in the 90s even after Gordon Bethune had dramatically improved the airline. Perception seems to lag reality by at least 5 years in the airline industry.

That said, I do wonder if US could expedite the improvement in its reputation by taking some customer-friendly steps. From a business perspective, the question becomes whether these steps would be fiscally prudent -- whether the long term goodwill would overcome the short term hit to revenue.

The easiest things to fix are the nickel and dime fees that irritate customers, and leave a "bad taste in your mouth." (I'm not talking bag fees, which would be suicidal to eliminate). Like does US really need to charge a fee to redeem frequent flyer miles? And should US be more flexible on change fees?

It seems to me that when you have a bad reputation, even if it's not fully deserved (or out-dated), you should try extra hard to improve that reputation. I don't think being "most hated" is good for business, even if it's not entirely rational.