TheMoose

...then they would have adopted many of the good things from WorldPerks and NWA and integrated them into Delta. We were told, repeatedly, that this was going to be a merger that would result in "best in class" products, services, and rewards.

Boy have we been fooled.

People wonder why some keep reminding others that NWA did this, NWA did that, and why many of the people unhappy with Delta and SkyMiles are former NWA customers (although increasingly it seems to be former DL customers, too). Well, the simple reason is that Delta has been trying to eliminate all things NWA as fast as they possibly can, and in return, they've done very little to improve SkyMiles (much of which could be alleviated by adopting some simple policies & benefits that WorldPerks had).

The Delta hard product is overall an improvement. There are some areas that still need work (MD-88, domestic/international 767-300s, and the plethora of CRJs) but by and large the IFE is nice for those who care about that and the free wifi -- although being introduced after the merger -- was something we never had on NWA and it is a great option to have.

People stay loyal, especially frequent or very valuable customers, in large part due to the loyalty program. When you make the kinds of cuts to WorldPerks as have been done, and then call it SkyMiles, you're not going to get a lot of warm fuzzies from your newly "acquired" customers. And rest assured that if NWA had made these kinds of changes to WorldPerks before the merger, you would have seen the exact same acrimony you see here today.

So, how to make us forget about WorldPerks (and NWA)? It's not as easy as simply re-branding everything as soon as possible (which Delta has proven to be very proficient at). The way to make us forget it to make the transition as smooth as possible. Don't slash benefits in the loyalty program, in the airport lounges, and shift nicer aircraft from one hub and replace it with sub-par ones (I'm looking at you MSP-CDG, PDX-NRT, etc.).

Instead, you are touting the huge route network and flat-bed seats that many of us will never be able to get into with almost worthless upgrade certificates and astonishingly high rates on award tickets (if they can even be booked on delta.com, which is a whole 'nother story altogether).

Delta, to make us forget about NWA (and WorldPerks), you simply needed to change very little from WorldPerks and continue what you're doing with the hard product. That would be a best in class airline, that would make everyone happy (including pre-merger Delta customers!), and would really solidify your place in the market. As it stands, you've got people seemingly jumping ship every day to UA, AA, CO, and heaven forbid, Southwest.

Just my two cents from someone who's had just about enough. And the thing is, for every one of me, how many more are out there that aren't speaking up, or aren't even on Flyertalk?

N522US

Just to further the o.p. thoughts...

They teach you in Marketing/Business 101 in college that you never promise what you can't deliver. I can't speak for pre-merger Delta Medallions but I can for Northwest Elites and when we started hearing "Best In Class" followed by frequently used phrases such as "combining the best of both airlines", we fell for it.

There was an immediate expectation on behalf of the NW Elite that the combined program would retain the (best) benefits on WorldPerks and we would reap the (best) benefits of SkyMiles. The only people to blame are the executives who either signed a letter or who were quoted promising the best.

We argue back on forth on whether the current program is "Best In Class"...For me personally, Delta's frequent flier people failed miserably in promising something they never delivered - a failure of basic marketing principles . I know this because many of my most appreciated benefits as a 10 year Platinum on Northwest no longer exist.

Hopefully this helps some people understand the psyche of many former Northwest fliers. Had Delta not touted "Best In Class" from the first days of the merger to today, I doubt there would be so many frustrated posts.

pmaddock

Interesting concept - actually implementing what 'best in class' would imply from a common sense/intuitive perspective.

Amen brother!

avidflyer

+100.

Probably the most important rule in business:

UPOD Under Promise Over Deliver

apados

While they may teach that, in every single industry I have been a part of, the marketing and sales departments always overstate the scope and features of our product(s) (mostly software, but sometimes hardware). Healthcare, Telecom, Education, Government and others... there will always be a vendor(s) who overstate what they can deliver. Many if not most were the 800lb gorilla's.

cjzhang2000

Delta, to make us forget about NWA (and WorldPerks), you simply needed to change very little from WorldPerks and continue what you're doing with the hard product. That would be a best in class airline, that would make everyone happy (including pre-merger Delta customers!), and would really solidify your place in the market. As it stands, you've got people seemingly jumping ship every day to UA, AA, CO, and heaven forbid, Southwest.

I already got a match from CO, and I am very happy with it. I already booked more than $5k of flights with CO for next couple months. I made 155K miles with NWA/DL last year, and I am going to be a Diamond. But as all you said here, I am not happy with DL. They raised the prices on all the M, B, Y and business fares, they raised mileage for award tickets. Plus, I called the DL platinum line a few times, I never got a happy answer.

So what mattters, as I try to keep my Diamond, if DL does not care about me? Anyone tell me a reason, I should stay with DL?

Thanks,

Charles

mhart11

Maybe Delta is trying to drive certain "high maintenance" customers away. Why can't they take a hint and just leave already?

TheMoose

That's illogical and doesn't make any sense. No business would drive away customers of any ilk, especially an airline that needs every dollar it can get.

mersk862

There have been many cases, both in the airline industry and elsewhere (cell phone carriers) where the company essentially fired the customer. At the end of the day, the whining of the customer and attempts to placate them (that never worked) just got to be an annoyance that they didn't want to deal with anymore.

There is a thread from 1-2 years ago on the United forum where a poster came on saying that he was "fired" from United (and told to take his business elsewhere) after sending in complaint after complaint and getting around $10k total compensation from them over a short (3-4 year) time period over a lot of trivial matters.

mikeef

Okay, on-topic:

TheMoose, it's very important to remember that the vast, vast majority of travelers are not FTers. They don't sit there and figure out which program offers what. They just collect their miles and hope for the best, having read somewhere something about how hard it is to redeem miles on any airline.

Thus, every airline makes a decision about the perks that it will offer. By eliminating X dollars in perk costs, it knows that it will lose Y dollars in revenue (not counting the revenue that it gains from someone switching from another airline). You and I may be careful enough to think about these perks, but the 99.9% of travelers who are not FTers just don't spend that much time thinking about it (and shame on them). Thus, the number Y won't be very large. As long as X>Y, DL will cut perks. The phrase "best in class" is a marketing phrase that nobody could define anyway, and I'm sure if we asked every airline executive, each would lay claim to it.

Bottom line: The airline has made a conscientious business decision to run the program this way, and my guess is that it's probably the right one from a cash flow perspective.

Mike

Denolloyd

I agree and feel this thread is indeed warranted. As an avid supporter of DL and the SM program, when issues are raised in a constructive manner, regardless of my stance, I support the discussion. This particular thread addresses the roots of the frustrations of exWP members in a new light. Perhaps DL will engage, perhaps not. But I do feel this is the way to go. Leave the ranting and whining behind(which is pretty much non existent in this thread) , and have a pertinent discussion in regards to the issues we face.

I'm all for it. If DL ends up changing policies, we ALL benefit. As we all know, the WP program was indeed far superior to SM. Cheers^

avidflyer

Every post you have made is about your amazment that not everybody is happy with the recent changes to the Skymiles program. Are you not doing exacty what you are compaining about?

FWIW, this is not a Delta Airlines cheerleading site. If that is what you want you can find it here:

www.widgetheads.net.



That is NOT what FT is about and I highly doubt (read I know) that Delta does not want anyone to fly another airline as you suggest.

BusTrav8yrs

You are getting as obsessive as redtailshark. It would do more good to channel this energy into something more meaningful like doing charity.

It's just an airline.

thepla

I do agree but one thing almost every person that flies considers is using miles for an award. My brother, sister, father, mother, friends, etc. use their credit card and flying to accumulate miles for free tickets. Once they realize that DL will require more miles for a trip the sooner they will look elsewhere for their flying.

IMHO DL is jumping over a dollar to pick up a dime. Their attitude does work for people that refuse to take flights that stop, and live in captive hub, but for the rest I believe it will backfire.

sxf24

Businesses purposefully drive customers away all the time. Why chase a dollar of revenue that costs two dollars?