Add show notes here!

Episode 434 – Airlines and omotenashi

• Welcome to another week of episodes
• It has been hectic for me
• Last week I stepped of a delayed plane in San Francisco at 9pm, was home by 10.30 and in bed by 11.30
• Then got up at 3.30am to drive to Oakland airport for a 5.30am flight
• I love Southwest Airlines
• I have to say – I love them
• After so much travel in the last few months – I have to take a minute and let out my feelings about airlines
• American, United, I flew them all – and yes, I bought the cheapest tickets
• But I get less and less
• The fares are not any cheaper than they always were but they have been stripped to the bare minimum
• There are fares out there that make you pay for a carryon bag
• Yes – I know – its crazy
• These economy fares wont allow any changes to flights, no seat selection, no upgrades and charges for everything extra
• I don’t understand this trend to be honest
• In a world where the customer is king
• Where companies bend over backwards to make customers happy
• The airline industry somehow is an exception
• I have never seen the differentiation of class and status so clearly defined as when I am in the airport
• From the time you are allowed to board to the leg room you get – there are differentiations between people who have either money to purchase themselves to the front of the plane or have status that earns them the extras
• You see them boarding first, they hold a cocktail in their hand as you pass them in the plane and then you never see them again because they are guarded off in their own section and they are out before you even get up from your seat
• Except at Southwest Airlines
• At southwest everyone is the same
• They have a business class but it doesn’t look a ton different
• They send out drink vouchers pretty much after you fly with them once so you too can drink alcohol for free if you wish
• You can sit anywhere you want and the earlier you check in, the earlier you are on the plane
• Its not about class – simply time
• First come first serve
• But that’s not even what matters so me
• Here is what matters
• Emergencies – changes
• After my LA trip I had planned to go to Vegas
• So I had booked 3 one way trips with SW
• Oakland to LA
• LA to Vegas
• Vegas to Oakland
• Unfortunately – my climbing partner who was also flying in, cancelled
• There was rain in the forecast and climbing on wet sandstone is not a safe idea
• It also takes a while for sandstone to dry out
• So – here I was – 4.30am on the way to Oakland airport without a return flight back that same day and 2 flights I didn’t need
• With any of the other airlines, I would have paid hundreds of dollars on a new tickets
• With SW, one of the flights was simply modified and the other cancelled and the credit for the cancelled flight remains on my account – accessible for future use
• I paid a 23 dollar difference for the new flight and I was set
• Talk about customer service
• 2 carry-on bags and nobody cares how big they are
• 2 free checked bags as well
• For everyone
• This is what I call customer service
• I never appreciated SW until now
• This company sets an example for me on how I want to treat my customers if I ever have them
• I don’t ever want to create classes between people
• We are all the same
• So some of us work harder? Travel more than others?
• Sure
• Do they deserve more as a result? I don’t know
• Instead of catering to just a selected group of people, why can we not cater to all?
• Why can we not all get enough legroom, a secured overhead space for our luggage and a decent food option?
• I know the answers are not simple
• Companies want to make money
• People like to be treated special
• But I imagine everyone benefits from an easier cancellation policy
• I ahvent seen an empty plane in a long time
• But people have things come up
  • Some need to cancel flights
  • And others need last minutes tickets
  • My cancelled Vegas flight probably benefited someone else who needed to get there and got my seat

• But I think, most airlines don’t care about people
• They care about making money
• Securing their seats and locking customers in
• They don’t care if the people sitting on their planes are happy or frustrated
• Southwest seems to care
• I studied them in college but I had no idea they still are such a great airline
•  
• Most airlines create are creating classes and separations between people through their strict rules on fares and inflexibility with changes
• I have travelled a lot before and had status on airlines
• I know how good it feels to board the plane in Group 1
• Everyone stands there looking at you admiringly
• Your carry on is secured to get a space in an overhead bin and you don’t have to wait forever on the bridge
• Its easy
• And as a business traveler who had to work that same day, I certainly appreciated any ease of travel I could get
• But I think we are taking it to far
• I believe there is a middle ground that can be found between the AA and the SW of this world
  • Where I still matter as a person, not because of my status – Gold, Platinum or whatever
• As I wrote this episode, I thought that Seth Godin might have an opinion on this and searched his blog
• I came accros and interesting post titled
• Omotenashi and the service split
• I want to read it to you because I have never heard about Omotenashi but I am glad I did

Omotenashi and the service split

It is possible to deliver amazing service without being servile.

Omotenashi is the Japanese word for treating people the way you’d want to be treated, for a posture of customer service that builds long-term trust and loyalty.

Why the split?

In a self-service world, the person who provides the service is us. We get what we want precisely because the system has been built to make us our own provider of service. This is why most people would rather order from a menu, pick our own travel itinerary or brush our own teeth.

When done right, self-service is a great option to offer customers. When done to merely cut costs, or when done with a poor understanding of the user, it’s mostly annoying.

The alternative, then, is to provide actual customer delight via service. To bring Omotenashi to the table, to offer human service that’s even better than the customer could provide for herself.

One way to think about this is to consider the airlines. In almost everything they do, the airline experience today is inferior to what it was on Pan Am in 1972. Every time the airline gets involved, their efforts to cut costs exceed their commitment to service.

On the other hand, in the ways that the airlines have given passengers control of their choices (seeing available flights, for example, or choosing their own onboard pasttime), satisfaction has had a chance to increase.

If you’re going to do it for us, do it beautifully.

• According to an article that Seth links to in this post
• “Omotenashi” is hard to define, but the Japanese use it to describe what they believe is their unique approach to hospitality.
• “Omotenashi” is about anticipating the needs of the customer without being them having to be asked
• Maybe we can compare it to the very undescriptive word WOW, that we often use when we cant find a better word?
•  
• Maybe SW didn’t “omotenashi.”me but they certainty wowed me
• I thought I had to call someone or seek out a service desk to figure out my 2 flight change and cancellation dilemma
• In fact, when I got to the airport, I actually looked for a service desk
• But I was short on time, and in the coffee line near my gate, I thought oh what the heck, lets see if I can do it all on the App
• And there I was, ordering coffee, paying, with my phone next to me and within a couple of minutes I had it all figured out
• I was so relieved
• What if more companies made it easier for us?
• What if we could all create a little bit more peace of mind in the lives of others
• As bosses and leaders of others
• As providers of services and sellers of products
• As parents, roomates, as friends
• What can we contribute to this world that helps people relax, get some peace of mind instead of creating more problems and more worries and more stress?
• We already have so much of that
• And we all have a part of it
• We put money first
• We put our own needs first
• And we consume the products and use the services of those that do the same
• It starts with us
• We can be more conscious of our own priorities, our behaviors and our choices
•  
•  
• did I tell you that my flight to LAX was under 100 dollars?
• I cant even drive there for 100 dollars
• I would have to pay at least that if not more for gas
• I love Southwest
• I wish there were more companies like that
• If we can all incorporate a little bit more omotenashi into our life, maybe we can help make this happen

Much love