FlyWorld

I used the process and nominated an agent who was very helpful dealing with the shares-created mess during my last irrops situation (lih-sfo, reported here).

It was annoying and hard to use, but not awful, and I sure made her smile.

But, I guess I wasn't selected as the right kind of nomination b/c I heard nothing back from UA.

y2k1jetta

He means kettle loyalty, call on us first, not WN.

Lurker1999

I've nominated 1 employee in the past 3 years of 1K traveling. It was a pain to get his employee badge number. There's got to be a better way of doing that.

Fredd

I still have some "going the extra mile" certs in my little bag of miscellaneous certs.

I guess I can dump them about now.

harryhood

There is no doubt that, all other things being equal, good customer service (smiles from agents and FAs, good cheer, empathetic attitude, "bending over backwards" when IRROPS or glitshces occur, transparency, good and consistent communication) can help improve one's impression of an individual flight. And yes, it does help loyalty a little bit.

But it is the total package of interactions -- FF benefits, hard product, soft product, custoemr service, value for money, etc. -- that generate loyalty. The kind of loyalty that makes me pay a little more for a flight on UA vs someone else because I want the EQM's, want the benefits my status affords, want to be a special customer.

Smisek is probably looking at the Virgin America's and Frontier's and JetBlue's of the world and thinking that what differentiates them is the improved personal interactions with customers. And yes, those airlines usually do offer customer service that is more flexible, more endearing and less cattle-herding mentality than what we so often see on UA. And yes, they (and even Southwest) have stolen travellers from UA and the other legacy carriers because of that consistent customer service.

So I don't want to pick apart a blurb in Hemispheres as a purported comprehensive statement of Smisek (or UA's) philosophy on what generates loyalty -- I doubt that is what is intended by that blurb. But I do agree with those who note that the best statement of loyalty is how many MP members you have and how many miles they tend to have and how often they requalify year after year for FF status. Those are the people who are true loyalists. Those are the people on whom extra attention should be lavished.

In this world of air travel being like the Greyhound of the sky, good customer service is no longer a given; we measure airlines not by which excel but by which suck less. Good customer service should be a given in any customer-focused business, not some "new thing" you implement to gain loyalty. To me, getting from point A to point B, with minimal fuss, on time as much as is practical, in as comfortable a setting as is economically feasible, while smiling and keeping custoemrsd happy should be the basic mission of every airline. From there, the level of service should escalate significantly as you get higher into FF tiers.

In short, Smisek is right that good customer service is a differentiator nowadays (althogh I feel it should never have been that way -- good service should be the default, not some added benefit...but nevermind), but hopefully he also knows that it is far from the only differentiator.

channa

It's part of the CO-speak that came from CO. All official communication always uses it.

That said, I often address staff as "Jeff's co-workers," and it usually brings a smile to them or makes them laugh. So overall, it's a positive thing.

Fredd

I didn't know that. I suppose it sounds better than Comrade or Tovarich but it reeks of that same kind of false equality that puts me off.

Good on you for brightening the day of employees, er, co-workers.

bob_the_d

or peons. i like peons.

SmisekEra1K

He absolutely can. To Smisek's credit, the new United has been, for all of its faults, markedly less obnoxious and antagonistic to most of its customers compared to the last time United was a 500+ airplane airline (in the early-mid 2000s). The last time United was this big it was great to fly for 1Ks and Premier Executives, decent for Premiers, and various iterations of h*ll for the majority of its customers. A corporate culture where good customer service is expected under all circumstances is a new concept in the world of United, but I'm confident the management team will devote the necessary resources to make it a reality for 2013 and beyond.

Dieuwer

Maybe UA should go into the lottery business and quit being an airline

fivevsone

I like minions.

uastarflyer

Serfs

trainman74

Doesn't seem obvious to me, and, in fact, I'm positive this was written well before the January 16 grounding of the 787s, based on the normal production/distribution schedule for a monthly magazine.

halls120

i found the following statement very interesting:

Back in October 2010, when the Smisek welcome was added to the safety video, he said "Continental and United are combining to form the world's leading airline."

In 2010, it was was a given that United would be the world's leading airline. In 2013, Smisek is admitting they aren't there yet. I don't know if they intended to admit they have fallen short, but even if it was a slip, it's a lot more accurate.

uber1K_Flyer

Although this was likely printed before the 787 issue, but seems pretty sad that he's still focused on the grounded 787 as a key feature of keeping our loyalty.

spectacular new aircraft like the 787 Dreamliner

From what I've hear the loyal fliers have some beef with the layout questioning how spectacular it is. And if it isn't flying, its not gonna pull the loyal crowd to it (if anything, push us away until we are confident that its perfect).