TA

Back in 1998, I flew United for the first time in several years (first trip with my own money, as a just-graduated college student). On the way back from SAN-BOS, it was a hot, wet day, and they had to unload passengers b/c of weight. I worked it out with the gate agent to get bumped and routed through SFO, where I discovered that she had put me in 1st class on one the premium transcon planes.

It was great, and I have been flying UA ever since. Sure I have had some expectations deflated, but that small kindness and experience helped me to choose UA over the many other airlines I could have gone with. A smart move.

NickP 1K

How is the captain pi@#ing away money???

The meals are already loaded, no extra FA's needed?? Explain this to me? If the F class meals are short - so be it - I'm sure the 3 the captain upgraded would care less on NOT getting an F meal (assuming DEN-IAH had a meal?)

Would you have been happy if the captain hunted around the terminal looking for proper people to fly (e.g. NRSA's??)

Plato90s

I suppose the pilot who stands at the door to welcome his passengers on board with a friendly word or two is not doing what he's trained to do either. He should be positively dissuaded from attempting to take on a customer-service role.

For the pilot who banters with his passengers with messages not directly related to inflight instructions, some serious counseling is required to help him stick to piloting.

In fact, what we really need are crew members who act like robotic automatons that do precisely what they've been trained to do and not anything beyond.

The fact that successful companies like Southwest and Walmart tend to have company cultures which encourages employees to go "above and beyond" is probably a coincidence.

Stick to the rules!!!

ClueByFour

Last I checked, once wheels-up (maybe even once the jetway is pulled, but IANAL), the Captain can pretty much do whatever he wants .

United has already created plenty of brand erosion (or strengthened the Employee Class moniker) with its behavior upgrading employees over pax, for instance. Surely, doing something to erode that particular perception in this time of reduced spending is a good thing, right?

From what I've seen and heard from UA flyers, this guy did more for brand loyalty in one flight that much of UAs marketing and CS operation has been able to do, since, 9/11, let's say. Cut him a break.



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Saving the world, one clue at a time.

arturo

arturo es awl fore thes kindness theng. mebe won of thees deys arturo git pecked two bee en furst klas.

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Loving, Caring, Honest, Intelligent, Empathetic, Creative, and Giving.

BoulderHyattHopper

I hate to quote the First Line of Any Business 101 Text, but "It costs less to keep a current customer than it does to get a new one." Obviously this captain had an extra hour in a hotel room and learned this very basic rule, take the Status customer and keep him coming back!

[This message has been edited by BoulderHyattHopper (edited 07-03-2002).]

Rare

Only if the person on the receiving end says "You gave that to me for free once, therefore I will never pay for it again, and if you refuse to give it to me for free henceforth I will never do business with you again." That is incredibly selfish and ungracious, and, unfortunately, is an attitude held by too many in this world.

On the other hand, if that person appreciates it for what it is--an unexpected and undeserved gift--both the giver and receiver are rewarded. And perhaps others too, as more "gifts" are given down the line.

One specific business example: A relative of mine liked a certain brand of peppers, and was fairly loyal to that brand. On one occasion, a jar of peppers was of lower quality than usual. My relative wrote a nice letter to the company, telling them how much she liked their product but that this particular jar didn't meet the company's usual high standard. Much to her surprise, she received not just a letter in response, not just a coupon for a free jar, but an entire case containing an assortment of the company's products. Since then, I don't think she has bought peppers from anyone else.

Finally, to bring this back to UA, my personal experience. We used to fly whoever had the cheapest fare. One time, that happened to be United. For whatever reason, the agent gave us no-status fliers Economy Plus seats. The difference was so noticeable--particularly when compared to another airline's 737 seats that we had recently flown in--that I resolved to at least get Premier status so that we could reserve E+ every time. For that, and other reasons, United continues to earn my business.

BoulderHyattHopper

I know it has been a FEW years since I graduated from Business School, but how exactly does someone upgrading a person minutes before takeoff affect yield??? Shy of walking through the terminal asking someone, "Hey do you want to go to IAH?", this plane is taking off and his hope was to make 3 unexpected passengers choose United again over Continental to go directly from DEN to IAH.

[This message has been edited by BoulderHyattHopper (edited 07-03-2002).]

techgirl

It is much cheaper to do small things to retain existing customer business than it is to gain new customers who might not have the same loyalties.

UA gives me a bottle of champagne or wine from time to time. Do I appreciate this? Absolutely.

UA has given me an operational upgrade before... did this make me feel valued? Without a doubt.

I have a far better example of something an airline did once, however, that touched me even further.

One day last October (back the day when the security lines were still LOOOONG and concourses crowded), I was waiting in a packed SAT terminal for an oversold AA flight home. I was balancing my laptop on one knee while trying to use a pay phone to dial in to retrieve a file I desperately needed to review on the flight home.

My frustration must have shown on my face because an airline employee approached me and told me he could "help make my life easier". With a smile, he handed me a one-day pass to Continental's club and offered to walk me down there himself.

Guess what? If I actually lived in SAT and not DFW, CO might have won some of my business that day. That decision by that employee really didn't cost the company a cent but it told me that (at least in that city at that club) they valued their customers.

BoulderHyattHopper

It didn't cost them anything, but potentially could have even turned into buying drinks in the club, therefore turning into an immediate profit without even diminishing the yield. Great story, techgirl!

1K-SFO

Um, what airline are you flying?

mdtony

Unfortunately, it appears that some folks here fall into the former category. They get a free upgrade here and there, and maybe a bottle of champagne here and there, and then when they don't get it, they scream and ***** about how horrible the service on UAL (or, I am sure, AMR, DAL, CAL, or NWAC) has gotten, and geez, doesn't that gold card of theirs mean something?

That's not right. Just take it as a bonus -- you got more than you paid for -- and enjoy it instead of letting it set the floor for your expectations!

Andrew Yiu

I haven't flown on UA for a long time prior to April 2001. I then did a SFO-HKG trip on them on April 2001 because my usual carrier AC was sold out, they gave me a comp upgrade for the return HKG-LAX segment. I really enjoyed it and thought it was a really nice gesture. I've been flying UA even more than AC this year even though I have top status on AC. I don't expect a comp upgrade everytime but that single nice move certainly made UA a lot higher on my list of airlines to consider while flying to Asia. Whoever expects a comp upgrade everytime just because they got it once is pretty stupid.

Kudos to the captain. I'm sure his only intention was to help UA let the customer know that they appreciate their business.

Catman

My feelings on Flying any airline: get me to my destination safely and relatively on time.

Don't expect any more but when I get a bonus (upgrades, wine, etc) I think I am more shocked, say thanks and keep coming back to UNITED

United Flyer: 11 years and counting! :0

Indurain

Some of the responses here surprise me more than the act of "Captain Wise."

It is precisely these responses that is keeping me from publicly saying more about random acts of kindness I've seen, but privately encouraging them so they'll continue.