Bad Customer Management – The Best Way to Grow Your Competition

As I stepped on my Delta airline flight today, I felt aware and alert.  Through 20 years of flying the airline, I have learned to watch my wallet at every turn.  This trip was no exception.  But, before I begin, I want to tell you why I am going to elaborate on my experiences with the airline.  Building lasting relationships with customers requires that you care.  Of course, we as businesses are here to make money.  However, the best path to making money over time is a loyal set of customers.  Loyal customers will suffer through pain and frustration if they believe they are a part of your team.  One of Delta’s main competitors in the United States is a good example.  Airtran, now Southwest, was loyal to me for many years.   Their rates were far and the service was good.  Most of all, I felt they wanted my business.  For that reason, I would often choose to fly them, even if I had to pay a few extra dollars.

Delta used to care.  As a young traveler, I used to enjoy flying them.  I built my way up to Silver Medallion for several years back in the late 1990’s.  One year, I even made Gold status.  As I flew for business and personal, I felt I was getting the benefit of many painful miles.  Then, back in the early 2000’s Delta got greedy.  They stopped caring about anyone but the most elite travelers.  It started with changes in their loyalty and rewards program.  One day they decided that all tickets were not equal.  If you paid less for your ticket, you got fewer miles.  This may have seemed like a great idea at a high level, however, it felt awful to me as a traveler.  I have and continue to fly a lot.  One year I made elite on Airtran and Silver Medallion on Delta.  As an entrepreneur, however, I am very price conscious.  I am very unlikely to pay more just to get more miles.  And, I am going to enforce the same for my employees.  Given that all passengers suffered through the same number of hours in an iron tube in the air, Delta’s changes seemed wrong to me.  Further, it convinced me that I would not win at Delta’s new game.

Delta did a few other things to make me feel on guard as a customer.  They made you pay more to get the benefits of any elite status.  For example, you had to pay more to have the opportunity to upgrade.  Further, they were giving out tons of free miles through credit card rewards with the promise of free flights.  By contrast, they made it twice as hard to find free seats on flight.  As I accrued benefits on Delta, I was denied the ability to use them every time I tried.  Miles tickets were either not available or cost twice to three times the points.  Transferring points was cost prohibitive making combining points with my wife impossible.  The advertised benefits I worked so hard to accrue melted into a useless pile of empty promises.

By contrast, Aitran made it simple and easy for me to both get credits towards flights as well as use those credits.  For a long time, I was accruing about one flight every few months.  I used these free flight regularly to fly to visit friends or to fly my family in to visit.  The process was painless and easy.  Further, free flights were available on most routes.  Overall, I felt Airtran was fair and reasonable with their free flights.

Other examples of the ease of using Airtran were their standby policy.  They allowed for standby within the same day.  Delta, by contrast, required a $100 fee to go standby (now $50).  Further, there web policies are all about maximizing the money they can take from me.  I have found that they raised the rates they present to me just because I search a particular flight multiple times.  Another thing I noticed about 5 years ago was that the width of the seats were smaller.  When I sit in a Delta coach seat, I feel more cramped than on other airlines like Southwest.  Overall, I feel Delta cares only about collecting as much money from me as possible at every opportunity.  My relationship with Delta has been adversarial and hostile for about fifteen years now.  Engaging with Delta raises my blood pressure.  It makes flying with them stressful.

Now, Delta is in my home town.  I live in Atlanta.  My neighbor is a Delta pilot.  Many of my friends have worked for Delta at one time or another.  Because of Delta, I can get just about anywhere in the world without a layover.  For many reasons I should be wanting Delta to thrive and survive.  However, their unwillingness to see my relationship with them as anything more than a revenue stream makes me frustrated and angry at their existence.  The bottom line is that I use Delta because I have to, not because I want to.

Even today, I had yet another annoying experience with Delta.  I carry on luggage 99% of the time I fly.  I like to spend as little time as possible in airports.  Waiting for baggage at baggage claim is frustrating for me.  Today I was instructed to gate check my bag as I boarded the plane.  To my major annoyance, several of the baggage bins where empty when I got on the plane.  Once again, Delta has made my life more painful than it has to be with no proper explanation for why.  More than likely, they had some revenue generating reason for me to check my bag, and a complete lack of concern for my discomfort.

As entrepreneurs, what can we take from my experience with Delta?

1)      If you can understand pain, you can find opportunity.

Airtran and Southwest realized that average customers wanted to feel accepted and appreciated.  They viewed all customers equally and treated them fairly.  They were honest about what they were going to deliver and their rates where fair and transparent.  They accepted all customers with open arms.  Over time, their fleets and services were comparable to the major airlines.  They built trust and understanding with their customers by properly managing customer expectations.  They treated their customers as partners, not just revenue streams.

2)      Partnering with your customers creates loyalty that may allow you to overcome well-funded, larger competitors.

As you look at your customers and prospective customers, always keep in mind the need to create loyal followers.  Your customers, if properly incentivized and directed, can become your army against your competition.  They can help you overtake the eight hundred pound gorilla in your industry.  Show them you care about their needs, and they will care about your success.  See your customers as allies.  There are many times I will pay a bit more to fly Southwest (who now owns Airtran) because I can trust they care about my needs.  By contrast, Delta has taught me time and time again that I must buy their trust.

3)      Loyal customers will suffer through challenges if you show them respect and loyalty in return.

Airtran and Southwest are by no means perfect.  From time to time, I have had experiences on these airlines that were less than optimal.  However, given that they are flexible with me on rates and benefits such as free flights and standby privileges, I am willing to work with them when they falter.  Honestly, most of the experiences that have frustrated me with Airtran and Southwest are long gone in my memory because I feel they want my business.  Many of times, I have been able to book a flight on these airlines within days of a trip and the rates presented where tolerable and fair.  The seats I usually get on these last minutes purchases are business class allowing me extra benefits and perks.  On Delta, I am often paying two times the price to get a coach class seat where I may not even get to store my carryon luggage due to my lack of status.

As a final note, I thought I would add my thoughts on what Delta could do better.  I realize that I may not be Delta’s target customer due to the fact that I don’t pay full price, and that I do not travel a 100,000 miles a year.  However, Delta could at least show me that they care in the form of some flexibility.  Tricks like changing fairs based on how many times I search Delta for pricing on the same flight make the customer feel distrustful.  Delta could be honest about their pricing and their benefits program.  Tricking me into thinking that my Skymiles are valuable, then making it impossible for me to use them just makes me angry as a customer.  Just the act of traveling is exhausting.  Knowing that I not only have to build up the energy to make my trip, but also knowing that I have to be prepared to battle my airline at every turn makes traveling a miserable experience.

When I was a rower at Cornell, I was in the top boat all four years.  I was a leader on the team.  I realized early on that every person on the team helped make me stronger and faster.  I would spend time talking to the slowest rowers on the team.  I would tell them that they mattered.  I emphasized that every time they got faster it pushed the top guys to get faster as well.  I made sure they knew that I cared.  As a whole we ended up with some pretty amazing results over the years.  I also created some very loyal friendships in the process.  You would be surprised at how little it can take sometimes to show people you care.