Originally Posted by USFlyerUS
I'm working on a merger of two companies as we speak. This is a multi-year process fraught with many, many complications. Technology especially is a wonderful thing until you actually have to double the transactions, deploy nationwide, train thousands of people, upgrade hardware in 200+ locations, etc. ... and in a very short period of time. I admit US's web site merger was a disaster, but you need sharp people to get this stuff right ... and there truly aren't many truly sharp IT people out there.
Finally - someone that can speak honestly and openly about this.
Don't get me wrong...on my original post, I never meant that a merger would be an easy proposition. In addition, I realize there is a lot to do on many levels and fronts when dealing with a merger. Some of the smaller things like branding, coupled with some of the bigger things like reservations and operations.
But, amid all the items that need to be merged...one thing remains. This is a business, and the goal is to make money. If there are things that are hampering the business from making that money, there is something wrong. From all the complaints i've heard about the website (from this forum - from frequent US flyers), they are losing business by not allowing for even simple reservations at some time. That doesn't even include other *A passengers not flying with US, because they can't book a simple round-trip online and enter their FF#. Granted, this probably doesn't happen TOO much, but if it happens once and loses a sale...it already is too much.
Finally, when someone goes through a merger, my guess is that they would get the best and brightest people up front (even if it costs more money), because they'll know the divdend at the end will be much more worth it to make money from something functional and something 'merged', than something in shambles that will...'probably be worked on for another year'.
I feel that I can speak up about this, since these issues are ones I deal with on a daily basis. I'm a IT/Strategy/Management consultant, and working these problems is what I enjoy to do. They aren't easy, but nothing is. But lost business, is dollars that aren't coming in revenue and passengers that aren't coming in later. I won't explain simple business concepts...but these things will cause US pain later on.
I'm glad you admit the merger was a disaster. It could have been a lot worse, but it definitely could have been MUCH better. And finally, there are a bunch of bright IT workers out there - I've seen a lot of them...just US doesn't seem to see a lot of them
-jeremy