PB: Now: Will you write another opinion piece that expresses the sentiments you stated in your last post?

http://talk.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

I travel because I'm required to for my job. It means anywhere from 3 to 8 days away from my wife and kids.

I am seeking Elite status so I can travel more comfortably.

I am collecting miles so that there is a reward for my family to make up for the fact that Daddy can't be home every night for dinner.

I'd be willing to bet that a vast majority of frequent fliers fit my profile vs. the article's zealots/villians.

As far as the companies go, they don't need to "wish it goes away". If they were truly losing money on their programs, they'd cancel it in a heartbeat. Instead, they brag about how their program is better than others, presumably to entice more people to join. Why on earth would you want more people to join in an effort to lose money?

Customer satisfaction is not high on their priority list - look at what passes for a "meal" on most carriers. They realize that people love "something for nothing" deals. A friend of mine was shocked to discover that it would take her 8 round-trips to Florida before she'd qualify for a free ticket. Of course, she only discovered this after receiving her first statement!
Ka-ching!

I wonder how others feel about this comment.

Personally, I have experienced many instances of airline personnel going out of their way to keep me satisfied.

Switching my business to a primary carrier that is more customer focused greatly increased my level of satisfaction with business travel.

Not all airlines have the same philosophies towards customer satisfaction, and not all airlines execute equally well in this area.

As far as the importance of customer service, it isn't always consistent within one airline but often times, depends on individuals and their own attitudes about customer service. I have come across individual representatives of airlines, car rental companies & hotels and service has run the gambit of really superior to "you're lucky I give you the time of day, let alone service". In general, I've been fortunate with service from the companies that have won my loyalty & have stopped using companies that were dreadful.

To sum up, even though it may seem like the travel industry as a whole sometimes doesn't seem to give a gosh-darn-dang http://talk.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif about us, I can't honestly generalize that all people in the industry don't. Just my $0.02.

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Regards,
- Anna

It's interesting to compare the discussion here with the thread on rating FT members, in the Randy Petersen Only forum. Seems Richard may be closer to the mark than originally appeared.

Regards,

Ken Hamer
(I'll be heading for cover now. http://talk.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif )

That's twice in a year that you've gotten me to http://talk.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif, Arturo.

Just goes to show that a thousand arturos each making a thousand posts really CAN come up with a gem or two...

Its too much of a headche trying to read Arturo's posts and I've given up. Someday I will post a request for a filter in the FlyerTalk suggestions (similar to Usenet newsgroup readers where one can specify which posters one wants to bypass completely).

[This message has been edited by pgupta011 (edited 06-07-1999).]

Beckles reminded me about this thread in New Orleans, and I forgot that I had meant to throw in my worthless opinion:

I do indeed find miles to be a guilty pleasure. Just like an ice cream sunday or that third martini, I know I shouldn't be enjoying earning miles this much.

But then I travel with my wife or a non-frequent flying colleague, and I remember why I do it and why it feels so good. The lounges, the upgrades, the free travel, the special check-in and other treatment make United feel a little more like home to me. I feel more appreciated than the average traveller, and for one who spends as much time away from my real home as I do, the value of such a feeling cannot be overstated.

Do I go out of my way to collect miles and stauts? Of course. Doesn't everyone want to maximize thier investment (of time, money, whatever)?

Does the time I spend doing it justify the gains? Sure. Even if that just means concentrating my travel to specific airlines and hotels (wouldn't call that being "going crazy for miles", would you?) I gain an amazing array of benefits that someone who spreads their loyalty around would not get. Is this a slippery slope? Sure! You can go from concentrating your travel to taking extra layovers to taking non-work or vacation related overnight flights in a heartbeat. Then again, maybe some people enjoy the journey even more than the destination (hey, that sounds like a cool airline ad slogan).

So, from my perspective, and from the perspective of the airlines, I think the programs work. Are they addictive? Yeah, but no more so than any other work-related hobby (eg, the race car driver who collects cars; the postal clerk who collects stamps).

Anyway, that's my rambling on the topic. Thanks, Dick, for challenging our thesis with your antithesis. I for one, have gained a refined synthesis from the process.

arturo sea yu use werd wif thesis on bac of et. es amniosyntesis lik eny of thes werds?

I agree! - Aturo - what's with these silly posts? - Try ENGLISH! (Just my opinion-Renee)

arturo = http://talk.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

no arturo = http://talk.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

Been waiting to chime in on this thread for awhile..I have to hand it to you, Richard. Five books! On THIS kind of stuff! I hope you'll forgive me, but I'm wondering what's new about this sort of slant. The question you ask in the last paragraph regarding whether collecting ffmiles is "the most valuable" way to earn status, security, etc. really just begs the larger question, pointed out already, about how such determinations of value are to be legitimated. What has intrinsic value? Nothing, of course. That's not to say that all things have equally NO value, only that they have the value ascribed to them.

The question of the "intrinsic good" of a practice is already a hot topic in Aristotle's time, and in recent times Alisdair MacINtyre takes up the question in "After Virtue" in his discussion of internal vs. external goods.

Perhaps I've judged prematurely (I haven't read your books). If you haven't already, let me encourage you to take up the question of the ascription of value, and how those ascriptions are justified. Fascinating subject. As for your comment:

Sometimes it's interesting to consider if we have unconscious motivations that conflict with what we consciously strive for...

Well, sure it is, and no doubt we all do (you, too). But that's a dangerous game. It's often used to discredit the things people say and believe about themselves in favor of some expert's opinion of what's really making them tick.

What is almost never considered is: what could be the motivation for looking for a person's unconscious motivations, and then holding those to be somehow more primary or important than their conscious ones?

I've never heard a good answer to that one.

[This message has been edited by bryan at webflyer (edited 06-08-1999).]

Bryan... I would also read Richard Brodie's post under the "Most Embarassing thing I did to get Miles." His is NOT Embarassing but shows that deep down, he's ONE OF US!!!

And I agree with all you said. May I add: "value is subjective" like I think coupons are very valuable while the lady in the designer outfit behind me on the supermarket checkout line whines "OH WHO has the time to deal with stupid Coupons."

10-20 dollars a week in savings, that's what baby!

Bucks for steak, beers, fun, cat toys, etc.


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MEOW! MEOW! MEOW!!!