Always at the bottom of monthly DOT Complaints

[Frontier69]

Art, you are extremely correct. The problem here lies in the GREED of upper management. It has been the case for decades in the past with all previous mngmnt groups. The BOD can also share in the blame for not inputting your thought process. DP and others only care about the investor. The employee and customer come last all of the time. The only ones to benefit from a merger will be again mngmnt with their GOLDEN PARACHUTES! :angry:

 

[sharktooth]

The problem here lies in the GREED of upper management.

Our system is designed to allow greed to drive corporations, even encourage it.

One problem, lately, though, is that there is no accountability for failure. Executives are, in actuality, not accountable for their failures, though they seem quite quick to hold themselves accountable for success, whether they were the cause or not.

Adam Smith's invisible hand has been cuffed ever since the Reagan administration liberalized accounting rules and practices, leading with the S&L crash and subsequent government bail-out up to the latest and recent Bear Stearns taxpayer mitigated bail out. Keane took the fall for McVain and only the CFO of Enron has taken any punishment of note.

Parker/Tilton, et. al. are not doing anything illegal. If a "stacked" board will not hold them accountable, perhaps the employees should, a sort of administrative punishment.

 

[SS255]

One problem, lately, though, is that there is no accountability for failure. Executives are, in actuality, not accountable for their failures, though they seem quite quick to hold themselves accountable for success, whether they were the cause or not.

As the saying goes, "Success has a thousand fathers. Failure is a b****rd."

Doug was the Golden Boy while the economy was booming and US was making money hand over fist. He and his management team made alot of "business decisions" to reduce costs and generate revenue. While those decisions may have resulted in lowering the morale of the workforce and increasing the level of customer dissatisfaction, the point was that US was making money. I guess you cannot fault him for acting in the best interest of the bottom line.

But now US is losing money.....and to top it off, they are left with a battle-weary workforce and a ticked off customer base. The true test of Doug's mettle as a CEO will be if he can turn the ship around.

 

[N965VJ]

US Airways at the bottom of airline customer satisfaction survey

Pittsburgh Business Times, May 20, 2008 - 12:40 PM EDT

US Airways Group Inc. ranks dead last in a new customer satisfaction survey of airlines.

According to the annual American Customer Satisfaction Index by the University of Michigan, the Tempe, Ariz.-based airline's satisfaction number dropped significantly from last year. And the airline it may soon merge with -- United Airlines (NASDAQ: UAUA) -- ranked second to last on the list.

Link

 

[cynic]

A big part of it is the passengers themselves. I've been on flights with people complaining that the flight is on an RJ or turboprop, saying things like "this was supposed to be a big jet when I booked this flight." Despite the fact that there hasn't been a mainline flight into BGM or AVP in roughly forever. I've also seen a couple passengers who hand out cards with the DOT complaint number/website on board and in the gate area.

They're pissed that they can't get a row all to themselves, that there is a crying baby on the plane, that they don't get a hot meal on board and that their flight gets delayed when the weather sucks. At some point they have to accept that air travel has changed, on all carriers. WN never offered any extras, so their passengers don't complain. Legacies have to deal with what people remember from the good old days.

 

[phillyrules]

Art is exactly right-on

A very smart and successful CEO was asked exactly that question....how does he rank the three....employees, customers and share holders

His answer was employees first because a valued employee values their job and will enhance the customer experience which will bring that customer back which will in turn earn more for the share holder...

Seems like such a simple concept doesn't it????

Doug and company had a golden oppurtunity when they took over and they squeandered it

We had just survived 2 bks, Wolf sneaking out like a thief in the night and Dave Siegels arrogance so we were begging for good management.

I for one was cautiously optomistic and my hopes were smashed.

Now we have layer upon layer of management who rule by intimidation....if they can't find a reason to write you up they make up one....and so much for the VP's in PHL....I wouldn't know them if I fell over them.

Meeting your employees and shaking hands goes a long way towards improving morale but the followup is essential

 

[Dog Wonder]

A big part of it is the passengers themselves.

The customer is always wrong.

LCC needs to get some new customers.

 

[cynic]

The customer is always wrong.

LCC needs to get some new customers.

Never said that, simply that some of our customers love to ####.

A lot of people here like to trash our customers, calling them "kettles". We should be treating them all with respect since they are the ones footing the bill. There's so much negativity here and I find it hard to believe that everyone checks that piss poor attitude at the door every time they go to work. Given what I experience every time I go to work, I know it doesn't happen.

 

[SolidCactus]

Well, one thing I read here kind of scares me... I can't remember the exact wording, but it was something like "we don't want someone to make a career out of being a customer service agent". That is a tad creepy because the customer service agent is probably the one person who has the most influence on what a customer views the quality of the airline. Does anyone know what Southwest pays for the same position, and how they treat their customer service agents? I know in my company, we pay our customer service agents very well because we want our customers to come back. At least US puts good customer service agents in the clubs. Whenever I have a delay or cancellation, I dont even think to go to the gate agent, I go right to the club. I'm sure a lot of other FFs do the same thing...

I would think that FFs would have to be more profitable than the average vacation traveller. I mean, I know I have to be a pretty profitable customer. I buy tickets on the last day, and I change half my flights. I dont even use most of my credits. I would think that people like me would be a more average depiction of the frequent flyer... no?

 

[hp_fa]

I agree with what you say with one revision. The FA's probably have the most opportunity to make or break a customers experience, with the CSR's being a close second. Conventional wisdom is that regardless of what happens before the plane closes its doors, the FA's have a chance to remedy whatever issues may have arisen before departure. I've worked both ends of this personally and believe this to be true.

The problem is that is the beancounters remove the tools available to the FA's, then they have nothing to offer but a smile and kind word.

 

[N965VJ]

<SNIP> Well, one thing I read here kind of scares me... I can't remember the exact wording, but it was something like "we don't want someone to make a career out of being a customer service agent".

That phrase has been quoted here for some time.

For the record, who said that, and how recently?

 

[YVINTERN]

That phrase has been quoted here for some time.

For the record, who said that, and how recently?

I said it a while ago...

It was the former SVP Anthony Mule who said "This is not a career anymore, this is a J O B".

 

[InternationalShannon]

Didn't he get shown the door?

Cause & Effect perhaps?

HA HA HA this is the dead end job your parents threatened you would get if you didn't get good grades.

 

[NCFL]

This stuff was my job in the East before my department went East with the Geese (or I guess you'd say "West" with the Geese).

I just looked this info up on the DOT's web site. For 1Q08, the top complaints for US at the DOT were, in descending order:

Flight Problems (both the delay itself and the subsequent employee handling)
Rude Employees (beyond those associated with flight or other problems...just pure rudeness)
Lost or Damaged Baggage
Reservations Errors/Long Hold Times/Long ATO Lines
Oversales (including ATO handling)
Refund Delays
Nonrefundable Fare Rules
Mishandling of Customers with Disabilities

The old East office was very aggressive with managing customer rebuttals. Most were handled by management, and most of them (well, I can only speak for myself, really) were completely personalized and throughly investigated. I know of a few posters on this board, and on this thread, who I've spoken to on more than one occasion in my former life.

We studied every DOT complaint to figure out how we could prevent that sort of escalation again. I can't speak, obviously, for how the New US office does business. I suspect they have a similar process. I will tell you this, however, I know the old East US stood up and listened to every DOT complaint it got. Writing to the Feds has a lot of power.

Lastly - keep in mind that no airline is required to report its internal complaints to the DOT, with the exception of those related to customers with disabilities. The ranking above is only from those people who contacted the DOT directly.

 

[fmc]

I believe that Bronner or Siegel get credit for the not a career but a job comment, it was before HP.