103 mil loss

[luvn737s]

The basic issues here are FEAR and CONFIDENCE.

US operates out of reaction to fear: Fear they will make a mistake that costs them ALL their cash and they run out of money and go out of business. Fear of the employee backlash to change. Fear that they will do something to increase labor costs and have to negotiate them back down later.

Successful airlines have confidence in their decisions to expand, to hedge, to invest in their employees, to do whatever it takes to be excellent in their chosen area of business. Often that confidence comes from having a set of core values that they build from, and that leaders, employees and customers embrace and support. Those who misintepret the concept of "Agility" to mean that you make immediate knee-jerk responses to the tides of business, regardless if those changes run counter to your values (if you even acknowledge you have any) and confuse your customer, soon run out of confidence in their ability to make decisions.

Confidence (not hubris, or cockiness) built on a strong foundation begets confidence. Confidence is for winners, fear is not.

 

[EastUS]

The basic issues here are FEAR and CONFIDENCE.

US operates out of reaction to fear: Fear they will make a mistake that costs them ALL their cash and they run out of money and go out of business. Fear of the employee backlash to change. Fear that they will do something to increase labor costs and have to negotiate them back down later.

Successful airlines have confidence in their decisions to expand, to hedge, to invest in their employees, to do whatever it takes to be excellent in their chosen area of business. Often that confidence comes from having a set of core values that they build from, and that leaders, employees and customers embrace and support. Those who misintepret the concept of "Agility" to mean that you make immediate knee-jerk responses to the tides of business, regardless if those changes run counter to your values (if you even acknowledge you have any) and confuse your customer, soon run out of confidence in their ability to make decisions.

Confidence (not hubris, or cockiness) built on a strong foundation begets confidence. Confidence is for winners, fear is not.

Regardless of the depth of our manifest differences elsewhere; I completely agree with your post here. Well said!

UPANAWAY: "I agree with this but how do you do it? PB thinks we just need some training and a CS focus. I agree with this but how do you do it? PB thinks we just need some training and a CS focus. But no way the old crowd that hates their job will do anything different." I've just ONE little question to offer on that, ever-so-predictable, "It's ALL the employee's fault" BS = What's ever been actually tried by this alleged "leadership" to effect any real and significant changes in employee morale and performance?

"But no way the old crowd that hates their job will do anything different." Well...it certainly appears that the management paradigm is firmly established therein. Perhaps that explains not having any interest in positive action of any kind?

 

[john john]

Tempe has done a better than average job , they've done MAGIC ... right now i think we should all be happy just to have jobs ...

How long have you been employed with US/HP and what/who are you comparing to

 

[USPHX]

Has little if anything to do with being pampered and that's the point. It has to do with basic Customer Service. I don't recall mentioning anywhere in 5 pages of posts anything about amenities or perks for that manner. Since you're not picking up upon this I guess I'll have to spell it out.

• Responding to e-mails from customers in less than a month.
• Responding with an actual answer that is on point and not cut and paste.
• Prompt resolution to customer concerns
• Resolving issues that arise at the gate without having to:

A: Miss Flight while waiting for the agent to make multiple calls and get approval for a simple change only to get denied
B: Not having to elevate said issue to the Director level to get a favorable reply only to have some functionary overide his decision
C; Having to have a one hour plus conversation with the Station Manager who gets some moron in Tempe to comply with the above noted Director's decision.
The above was my most recent experience with US and I promised my contact at US that I would never mention specifics on line and that the issue would remain "Between us girls"

• Consistency of InFlight Service - If you say you have pre departure beverage service DELIVER IT or stop the service.
• Having IT that actually works. Sometimes I think the airline is run on a Commodore 64.

To me a Premium Carrier is one that under promises and over delivers. Even lowly Spirit does a better job in that regard. The offer next to nothing free and make no bones about it. He!! if Spirit could sell the seats in the boarding area they would and you know that going in. I fly Spirit not for the low fares out of ACY, I fly them to avoid US out of PHL. ACY is 25 minutes from my house, PHL is an hour. Generally speaking Spirit is about $50 MORE per R/T then US at similar booking windows. Planes are usually cleaner then US, F/A's are warm and friendly and they deliver exactly what is promised and the "Big Front Seat Up Front is worth the minimal extra charge and frankly hard to come by, so people see a value in paying for it. What you get is your assets in the seat to the destination. Nothing more, nothing less and they do it with a smile on their face and a song in their heart. Who can for forget the Many Islands Low Fares promotion

Back to Midwest for a minute and their famous fresh baked cookies. Again the difference here would be that Midwest delivers that cookie on every flight come hell or high water. If US decided to over fresh baked cookies on board we as customers would see them about half the time if they perform as they do with pre departure beverages in F. Then because they've lost the trust of their elite customers you'd see a thread on Flyer Talk wondering if some horses arse in Tempe decided to only offer them on longer flights to save money. Of course nowhere in the equation would would there be any communication or concern over customer reaction, because at the very top the customer is viewed as self loading cargo.

As for my "Prop" er Stepson, he may be lazy and unmotivated, however he is not stupid. So imagine my shock wen he asked, "Bob when we go to see Grandma and Grandpa why do we take US Airways? There is always a hassle" FOURTEEN YEARS OLD and he has it figured out. He shocked the life out of me when he said "They tried to charge me 2 bucks for a freaking coke Bob, I can't freaking believe it" FOURTEEN YEARS OLD Notice we're not talking amenities here we're talking basics. On a side note he does like the US Airways Club, he thinks they are in his wards "The Sh*t", so it's not like step dad is brain wshing him. I frankly thought he was oblivious to most of what was going on when we fly as a family.

So I guess my question to you is if a 14 year old lazy, foul mouthed kid can grasp this after 5 or 6 flights then why can't you?

PB, here are a few quotes from a letter out new VP of Inflight, Hector Adler, sent out to the flight attendants:

".......I believe we must discard the concept of management in the traditional sense with its images of cop, referee, or dispassionate analyst."

"My job will be to create conditions that make service excellence possible and to remove the barriers that get in the way of delivering the kind of customer service we all want"

"....we must devote out focus to customer service--to greater consistency and to delivering things that customers truly value" "...we will need to focus on three key components: 1) the material product itself; 2)policies and procedures that are customer friendly; 3)personal service with an attitude to serve."

After reading his entire letter I had tears in my eyes. We all want to be proud of the job we do, proud of our company and have customers like you sing our praises and keep coming back. You can't turn an ocean liner on a dime but we have a new captain at the wheel and I think we have a very positive new course ahead of us.

 

[Travelpro72]

Where is this letter from Hector Adler? I'd like to read it but don't believe I ever came across that letter nor an introduction of himself to the flight attendants he is VP of. Just curious.

 

[USPHX]

Where is this letter from Hector Adler? I'd like to read it but don't believe I ever came across that letter nor an introduction of himself to the flight attendants he is VP of. Just curious.

It is the cover page of the Inflight Services monthly newsletter for April 09. You know, the one that has "What's Going on in CLT", "What's Going on in PHX", "Dining and Cabin Updates" etc.

 

[NoMoreKoolAid]

They stopped printing them here on the East for us some time back. If your introducing yourself to your employees as the new VP then it should be a manditory read in catcrew. i had no idea he wrote anything. Was wondering why he hadn't.

 

[Travelpro72]

So there is information being distributed to PHX based flight attendants but no other bases? And we are all to be on the "same page" as each other? Ummmmm OK. The letter while great to know Hector wrote one should have been distributed to all flight attendants through catcrew or the HUB. Does this come as a shock to anyone?

 

[N903AW]

So there is information being distributed to PHX based flight attendants but no other bases?

Does this come as a shock to anyone?

No it does not. By all appearances it seems like another tool the Company probably uses to keep East and West crews divided. Pathetic!

 

[nycbusdriver]

"My job will be to create conditions that make service excellence possible and to remove the barriers that get in the way of delivering the kind of customer service we all want"

Okay, Hector. Pretty words.

Out here at the front lines we've learned the hard way to watch what they (i.e. YOU) do, not what they say.

It would be refreshing to have someone from Tempe actually deliver on the pretty rhetoric.

We're watching.