Originally Posted by
adams828
Sure pay can effect performance (their pay, as well as seeing those above them get those bonuses), as can cutting costs result in cuts in training.
But another thing to think about - YOU might be a courteous and well behaved traveller, but just think about how often you've seen someone else in an airport behaving rudely and irrationally. Now multiply that. Some passengers may act that way due to poor service, but odds are it's a result of the opposite...
Show me another industry where its acceptable to use the excuse that customer service is poor because customers are rude.
There are two types of "rude" customers: Difficult people, and people experiencing difficulty. While someone determined to be difficult maybe unaffected by spectacular service - there are truly very few of these people. I'd guess it's less than 0.5% of customers in any given industry.
Most unhappy or "rude" customers are those who have experienced great pain and inconvenience. These customers can be EASILY turned around by even good customer service and can be converted to lifetime loyal customers with spectacular service. Fix their problem and exceed their expectations and it is amazing the effect you have on your customers.
The truth is really quite simple. There's only one reason for the horrible customer service in the airline industry. Unions.
In fact, I would be willing to stake my net worth on a bet that if we eliminated unions from ALL sectors (public service, government, airlines, auto makers, etc), not only would the customer experience DRAMATICALLY improve in these industries - they might actually become profitable again.