“Has there ever before been an industry that’s so actively tried to piss off their entire customer base?”

Guess which industry Kevin Drum was talking about in his column?

No, it’s not credit card companies since they probably have a few wealthy customers who aren’t getting gouged by 29% interest rates.

The answer is: the airline industry.

Drum does an excellent job of summarizing how the airlines have behaved:

1. First, they hassled customers about carry-on bags and convinced them to check their luggage instead.
2. Next, they started charging for checked bags.
3. As a result, customers stopped checking their bags and started fighting for space in overhead bins.
4. American Airlines saw a new opportunity, not to improve customer service and alleviate the bin shortage on planes, but to make a few bucks by charging for “select” coach seats that gives those passengers willing to pay for it dibs on the bin space.

Same crappy seats. Same lack of any amenities. Just peace of mind that your bag will travel with you.

It won’t be long before other airlines follow American’s lead, and it won’t be long after that before airlines start charging for every bag whether you check it or not. And we’ll pay it because we don’t have a choice if we want to fly.

There’s a reason no airline has won the Baldrige Award: Their behavior contradicts one of the Baldrige core values called “customer-driven excellence.”

To read more about customer-driven excellence, click on these articles:

• Creating a Unique Customer Experience
• System Failure
• Do You Trust Your Customers?
• Be Careful How You Measure Customer Satisfaction
• Walk in Your Customer’s Body Armor
• 9 Ways to Get Closer to Customers

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