“There’s something wrong with your character if opportunity dictates your loyalty.”
– Unattributed
Give or take, I’ve flown 881,000 miles on American Airlines. Platinum status for 7 years running. My loyalty was clear, demonstrated and predictable.
I’m not naive, and I “get it.” But, after a year of dramatically reduced travel, and the loss of “status” on American, in the past 24 hours they’ve provided me a painful and clear reminder that loyalty ought to be a two-way street, that it ought to be protected and maintained with fervor and that it has to be earned, again and again.
Yeah, I “get it.” They don’t.
Three hour delay on first flight, because the crew was late. Not connecting late. Just late. Realizing that I’d miss my connection, the ticketing agents in DSM (Kelly and Victoria — as good as their employer is clueless), gave me a certificate for a hotel room and breakfast at DFW.
Upon arrival at DFW, no hotel, no honoring of the food voucher this morning (you see, it was issued in Des Moines, and couldn’t be used at any other airport…..because they evidently didn’t realize that the plane lands in a different city than from which it takes off…) and, rather than a “we’re really sorry, Mr. Heston, we appreciate your loyalty, and the several hundred thousand dollars you’ve spent with us in the last 22 years. Let me find you a room and make sure you get an Egg-a-muffin in the morning” I got “Look, it’s not my problem,” said Steven (pretty sure his last name was Chronically Unhappy and Should Never Interact With Other Humans…) Just sleep over there by the gate, people do it all the time. And, what do you want ME to do, issue you another food voucher?”
Yep. And get me a room, Mr. Congeniality.
Our clients expect us to honor their loyalty, and we ought to work every single day to earn it, to maintain it and to re-earn it. Every. Single. Day.
They have other options. Lots of them. We’re not indispensable or irreplaceable. But if they feel like they’d be harming a loyal, trusted friend and advisor by leaving — they’ll consider those options on a much deeper level.
Just as I will. Booking on United, Southwest and Delta every chance I get, starting as soon as I hit “publish” on this post.
Here’s the part we need to digest. It’s SO EASY to do the right thing. It’s SO EASY to simply honor the business we worked so hard to win in the first place. It’s SO EASY to show our loyalty with our actions, instead of just our words. In fact, it’s actually more difficult to think of surly, stupid, selfish things to say.
Which path will we choose, as Difference Makers?
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