American Airlines, Soviet Style
When I explain to my young friends tempted by the promises of Marxism why precisely a command economy is disastrous, I describe the long lines for consumer goods in the former Soviet Empire. I tell them about the lack of choice in those goods, their shoddiness, the sullen indifference of the government apparatchiks who provided them. Competition in the marketplace, I explain, ensures that most of the time, consumers receive good customer service. In a free market, a business that treats its customers with contempt will quickly lose them. All obvious to most of us, I'm sure.
By the same logic, when I see a business treating its customers with contempt here in America, it immediately occurs to me to wonder what kind of market distortion is allowing it to do this and stay afloat. What I saw yesterday at American Airlines really has me wondering.
I took my brother and my nephew to National Airport early yesterday morning. They were scheduled to fly back to Port-au-Prince, where my sister-in-law works for the United Nations. It's an arduous trip with a toddler, and my brother hadn't had much sleep the night before--Leo had a sniffle, and my brother was coming down with it. They had a ton of heavy luggage with them. You can't travel light with a baby.
When we reached the check-in desk, the clerk did none of the things one would imagine a company that wishes to stay in business would instruct its employees to do. She did not smile or make eye contact with us. She was loudly smacking chewing gum.
But the Soviet part was this. Apparently, American Airlines years ago entered erroneous information in its computer system that for some reason--one journey out of ten--causes a hassle to passengers. The system says you need a visa or an outbound ticket to travel to Haiti. You do not. It is not Haitian law. As my brother's passport clearly shows, he has flown in and out of Haiti some forty times without a visa. And as he explained to her--miraculously politely and patiently, given that he was standing there with a weeping toddler, a thousand tons of luggage, a flight to catch, and a long line of impatient people behind him--the United Nations and other customers have written to American to ask them to correct this mistake. He has copies of his own letters to this effect.
It was obvious that he was telling the truth: How could he have flown in and out of Haiti so many times without a visa if a visa was required? The proof was right there on his passport.
This story gets worse, and the details don't bear repeating; suffice to say the solution was ridiculous and patently irrational and ended up costing my brother a lot of money.
Now, the point is not that she was unrelenting. I fully understand that an employee of an airline has to follow the rules she sees on her computer screen, whether or not they seem logical, and I understand that the original mistake here was not hers. But what I cannot fathom was her attitude. No smile. No effort to be mannerly, gracious or helpful. No, "I'm so sorry, I can see that this is a terrible inconvenience for you, I wish I could help more." She instead told my brother it was his fault: "You should have written to tell them to change it," she shrugged indifferently, at which point my brother refrained from leaping over the counter to strangle her only out of a desire to set a good example for his son. The expression on her face when she said this was one I know well, but associate with communism, not with competitive economies in which consumers have a choice.
I asked for her name: She refused to give it to me. ("Jackie," she said finally. American Airlines management: This was the 8:50 flight to Miami, and if you ask me, I'd say you have a problem on your hands there.)
The strange thing is, consumers do have a choice on that route: They can fly Delta. And my brother surely will from now on, and he and his wife will advise their friends and colleagues to do so. Given how often they fly this route and the number of other people they know who fly it regularly, this actually represents a substantial chunk of change to an airline.
This isn't typical of America. I'm always boasting to my friends overseas about the marvels of American customer service, and generally, I'm right to boast. She may have been a bad apple, a rogue employee. But something tells me she wasn't. She had the attitude of an employee who for some reason was confident she would not be disciplined or fired.
Why is that? Does anyone know? What's going on in the airline industry generally and at this airline in particular that even during a recession, an employee of American Airlines would feel this certain that she can abuse a customer without losing her job?
I'll bet you there's a good reason. Now that I'm over being furious, I'm just curious to figure out what it is.
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May '10
Re: American Airlines, Soviet Style
I don't know the answer, but my father worked for American and he always said Delta was better.
BTW, you're lucky you speak English. You should see how they treat people who don't.
Oct '10
Re: American Airlines, Soviet Style
I'd guess that you ran into a person who 1) had a sense of entitlement about her job and 2) knew she had a high level of job protection through her union - much like many of our public employees.
A couple of years ago, I ran into exactly the same attitude with an Alaska Airlines agent. Because I was picking up a comp ticket arranged by a relative who worked for Alaska, the agent threatened to report her for my bad behavior, which consisted of expressing some mild frustration on my mobile phone to my wife..
Aug '10
Re: American Airlines, Soviet Style
Maybe the Union explains it. Delta just narrowly avoided having a union foisted off on their flight attendants.
Sep '10
Re: American Airlines, Soviet Style
I'm surprised the TSA hasn't scooped her up.
Sep '10
Re: American Airlines, Soviet Style
It has definately gotten markedly worse across the board with airlines.
One thing though that has to have a negative effect on things are some passengers' attitudes and rudness. There was a reality show on a few years ago about airlines and some of the customers were just atrocious; threatening, cursing, yelling and usually they were completely in the wrong. I know these were the worst cases, but still.
So what happens is some of these agents develop an us vs. them mentality. Not that there is an excuse for that, but these people aren't rocket scientists or even pilots, are they? Also the passengers who throw tantrums for no reason ruin the credibility of genuinely mistreated passengers with supervisors.
But do file that complaint!
Re: American Airlines, Soviet Style
Franco:
But do file that complaint! · Feb 13 at 4:55am
You know, I have to say that when I arrived at Dulles the other day--exhausted to the point of incoherence, with a blind kitten who needed a litter box and a cell phone that didn't work--the woman at the information desk was superbly helpful and kind. She truly went beyond the call of duty to give me a hand. I wish I'd taken her name so I could write to her supervisor and tell her how terrific she was. It's certainly not true that everyone who works in an airport these days is a jerk. (Not that you said that, I was just asking myself whether it's the whole airport culture.)
Feb '11
Re: American Airlines, Soviet Style
The most obnoxious treatment I ever got from an airline agent was also at DCA, from USAIR in this case. And the supervisor was worse than the original agent.
Sep '10
Re: American Airlines, Soviet Style
The airlines are a cartel that frequently file for bankruptcy protection and then while in protection launch price wars against their still solvent competitors. Combine that with a pricing strategy that puts 200 people in a flaming metal tube all knowing they paid a different price from their fellow passenger and reasonably assured that it was less than they paid.
"I'm in a cramped seat, with stale air, whiny kids, overweight members of the opposite sex, overpriced booze, stale peanuts, a thimble sized bathroom with a 6 person deep queue and a feeling of pending doom. Would you mind if I smoked?"
Yup. There's a winning customer service strategy Yuri Andropov would love.
Oct '10
Re: American Airlines, Soviet Style
American Airlines is to other airlines like the Feral government is to the state of Utah government. They are the big kahuna. And like much of what is really, really big, it has an uncaring, by definition, behemoth bureaucracy. Enough layers between that woman and anyone with enough authority to do anything, that the word will never get there, except your way, Claire.
Sadly, the TSA has has put travelers in this country in a rotten mood. I travel by air as absolutely little as possible these days. Another thank-you to big government. And by the way, isn't that what communism is also???
Feb '11
Re: American Airlines, Soviet Style
As regulations increase, people are punished for thinking for themselves.
One other thing that comes to mind is that the new rules for how long a plane can sit on the tarmac have cascaded and affected many other aspects of flying. The cost of making a mistake (that they have to pay the government in fines) is very high so they have a zero tolerance policy.
...just another feature of Soviet/Leftist thinking.
Dec '10
Re: American Airlines, Soviet Style
You began with the relative merits of Marxism. Your experience with American Airlines, although an anomaly, is not rare. Air travel in the U.S. has devolved to a Greyhound bus-like experience. Market distortions through governemt regulation and union involvement added to TSA Security have resulted in an often hostile attitude on the part of the flying public and airline employees.
Southwest, Delta, Jet Blue, and others are proof that a capitol market even under extreme pressure can survive. Bad apples at Southwest are quickly culled from the crop. There are even a few airline managers that understand why they are there.
By the way, welcome back. And also note that Washingtonians will exit their shelters when the temperature rises, kids included.
May '10
Re: American Airlines, Soviet Style
Most large companies have incidents like this. I work in a company with more than 300,000 employees and not all of us have customer first all the time. Why it is accepted? Why do they survive? Some of the reasons are:
1) not all customers provide feedback so it goes unnoticed by management and reward/penalty systems (if they exist) never kick in
2) not every clustomer vote with their feet the next time so repeat business happens. Particularly if the big company offers a decent price the next time and the customer takes a chance and prioritizes their wallet
3) common management wisdom is that the system/the process should ensure quality rather than the individual (this does not take human nature into account very effectively)
In the end, this is one of the reasons new companies can beat large ones. And big companies do not survive if they are bad (albeit they die slowly).
Furthermore, if we accept that there are limits on our capability to build huge human organizations that excel, we have found another reason to not construct more mega-systems like Obama care as it is clearly too big to ever work.
Oct '10
Re: American Airlines, Soviet Style
Much good mention of Delta above. Let me add my voice. My wife, Linda, has been disabled since she had polio as a toddler. She is in a wheelchair full time. Last September we traveled together to the East coast. The logistics of gate checking her wheelchair, helping me with a transfer platform to get Linda into and out of the isle chair and then the economy, bulkhead isle seat was complex and slow.
From our first boarding in Colorado Springs, through Atlanta to Philadelphia and our eventual return everything was handled by the entire Delta staff, from ground attendants to flight attendants and even a pilot who jumped into the effort, was handled with grace, efficiency and good humor, and even a bit of hilarity when the plan didn't go as intended.
Just a reminder that despite the downer experiences of all of us, there are still good people working in that industry. I've even met a few TSA types who were gracious in their attitude, and appeared embarrassed by their employers aggressiveness.
Re: American Airlines, Soviet Style
The real problem is consolidation. Since 9/11, there are fewer independent airlines and fewer flights, and the flights are nearly always full. In such a situation, there is next to no competition. And, in the absence of competition, the airlines can treat you as they wish. Every time I fly -- which is with tolerably frequency -- I am struck by the absence of options and the poor service. It is especially hard to get back to the Midwest from the West coast after noon.
May '10
Re: American Airlines, Soviet Style
I think Mr. Rahe has it nailed. There are airlines with excellent customer service -- Virgin America comes to mind -- who serve limited nonstop routes. (Alaska and Midwest Express used to be very good as well, though I have not flown them lately.) If you are able to find such a carrier on your particular route, you can enjoy a completely different travel experience. But outside of major markets where such a play is economically feasible, you have to fall back on the majors, who have a tight oligopoly due to consolidation.
That said, I have found US Air, particularly through their Charlotte hub, to be quite acceptable. I have to travel a few times a year to two smaller cities in Florida, and have found going through Charlotte much less stressful than taking Delta through Atlanta.
And of course stay away if at all possible from United Aeroflot -- I mean, Airlines.
Aug '10
Re: American Airlines, Soviet Style
I approach the airport as an exercise in meditation. The goal is always searching for the satori that must exist right below the surface. Nothing is wrong, just unfinished, or out of place. No one is irritating, just unbalanced. No food is bad, just uneven. No drink is unsatisfying, just the wrong choice perhaps. There is always a blowup pillow, a charged phone with lots of music and pictures and books, and often there is ambien. I have watched people melt down in a pool of amateurish profanity to the point of criminal abuse, and watched gleefully as they were led away. Watching a Kuwaiti try to jump a queue in front of Spec Ops guys was the most fun. Climb onto a C 130 in 130 degrees and you'll love every other flight from then on. And wear slip-ons, if the rest of you in the center seat feels cramped,wiggling your toes can be like an answered prayer.
Edited on Feb 13, 2011 at 10:29amSep '10
Re: American Airlines, Soviet Style
I think PseudoD was close above. When the airline was deregulated in the late '70s, I don't think it took as well as it could. Large airlines like United have declared bankruptcy more than once and will not go away despite offering an inferior product. The net effect is that the market will not clear bad operators as it should. Nor will it allow better operators to prosper as they should.
Most airports are municipal utilities of a sort that lease gates and counter space to airlines. I believe also that most cities view the airports as job creation projects with all the nepotism and graft associated with that. Couple that with a unionization and a general blue state attitude (you were at National right?) and you have trouble.
I think also the leasing of gates for use by specific airlines regardless of need has created a market distortion that helps to keep true competition at bay.
Sep '10
Re: American Airlines, Soviet Style
One more thing about DC versus Virginia. I worked in DC for a year around 2001/2002 time frame. Service in DC is generally horrible compared to Virginia. Once I went to a Mcdonald's where the manager told a patron in line "they did not have time to make shakes". I remember a Wendy's that ran out of ketchup and did not see why that was a problem for me. The drink machines in hotels that you push a button to buy a soft drink invariably did not have the buttons match up with the actual drinks dispensed. What I can remember from that year is a huge dose lowered expectations.
I can remember driving over the Potomac into Virginia (to Christmas shop or whatever) always struck me like I was crossing over into some "promised land" where the world worked as I remembered it.
In short the airlines may just be a symptom.
Nov '10
Re: American Airlines, Soviet Style
I have one horror story about American Airlines... The man next to me on one flight was a diabetic, and his glucose-levels were getting lower and lower. As he got weaker and weaker and closer to passing out, he begged the flight attendant for orange juice or sugar. She kept on ignoring him, saying that he couldn't be served before the others, despite the fact that he was a diabetic!
Re: American Airlines, Soviet Style
Ditto what Ross said: when I lived in DC customer service was usually rude and indifferent. We used to call People's Drug "State Cigarette Store #23" for its Soviet-flavored experience.
Northwest, which was our hometown airline until it was consumed by Delta, used to be friendly enough, but years of layoffs and contract disputes hardened the staff until they made Aeroflot flight attendants look like giddy fillies from the "Coffee, Tea, or Me" era. Now I try to fly Sun Country, a small local airline that seems to understand the importance of a smile at the counter. If only if wasn't such a rare idea.