I don’t like traveling.
That said, my trip the other day set a new record. I chalk it up to the new "We don’t care, we don’t have to" economy. In many segments, so much profit has been squeezed out that there’s no room to hire and train great people. And there’s not enough competition to harm the bad actors.
I got to JFK with plenty of time. Good thing, too, because the parking lot next to the terminal is closed. The signs are optimistic, though, and point you to the relocated short term parking. Same crazy pricing, of course.
Well, it turns out that it takes half an hour on the bus to get from the parking to the terminal. They have half as many buses as they need, and at $24 a day, it’s not because they can’t afford it. It’s because they don’t have to care.
Got to American, an airline that gave up a long, long time ago. The line for security is 30 people long. But wait! there’s a sign that says, "Business class, Gold, Platinum, etc." I walk over to the sign. The harried woman checking boarding passes says, "Go to the end of the line."
"But there’s a sign."
"I know there’s a sign. We ignore that."
As I stand in line for ten minutes, I watch this act repeated with no less than ten people. It never occurs to the TSA or to American to take down the sign. They don’t care. They don’t have to.
I get on the plane. It hasn’t been refurbished in a decade or more. The seats are creaky. The flight costs more than ten times as much as JetBlue, but nothing about it remarkable in any way. The amazing thing is that I recognized the staff from past flights. Good people. People capable of trying. But they don’t care any more, because management gave up a long time ago.
I get to the Avis counter at SFO. The two women behind the counter have no other customers. I am not making this up–they literally are cackling with glee when my paperwork is messed up. The best thing that happened to them all day. And then when I present my credit (not debit) card, they cackle that they don’t take debit cards, and engage me in a spirited debate about whether or not it is a debit card after all. They don’t care, they don’t have to.
June 3, 2005
The good news:
Dragging my butt, disheartened by the new "we don’t care, we don’t have to" economy, I showed up at the W hotel in San Francisco. Other W hotels hadn’t blown me away, but this place was across the street from my speaking gig and the booking agent put me here, so no big deal.
I walked in with diminished expectations.
Two extremely attractive people behind the counter looked up. The guy said, with a genuine smile, "welcome." And it all started to change.
These people were actually trying. Because they wanted to, not because they had to.
I got to my room. The turn down person handed me a crisp fortune cookie as I walked past her on the way to my room. My room had an etcha sketch on the desk, a tres cool CD softly playing on the stereo and very neat toiletries in the bathroom. Extra cost, maybe $3.
I called for a wake up call. A truly nice person answered the phone, not a computer. They also asked if I wanted breakfast (at 4 am!!). I did. Net profit for having a person answer? $15.
There is no perfect experience. But this was great storytelling, storytelling with authenticity from caring people. It restored my faith (at least a little) in what organizations can do.
Your prayers are answered:
svt.se – 24.
click on Se senaste programmet. (a realplayer will opend up)
And then click on:
24 Nöje
Tisdag.
It’s about one minute in, after some unusual footage of a guy on a bike and then David Bowie (of course).
June 2, 2005
Nick Usborne has a great deal. You get his permission-based newsletter and a free ebook too. Writing for the Web: FREE Guide with your Newsletter Sign Up.
May 31, 2005
Link: acleareye.com: Oscar Wilde on liars.
"The liar at any rate recognizes that recreation, not instruction, is the aim of conversation, and is a far more civilised being than the blockhead who loudly expresses his disbelief in a story which is told simply for the amusement of the company."
Last chance before they fall off into the depths of May:
1. you can sell my knock knock ebook on your website if you want to. I’m surprised that only 1% of my sales so far have come this way: Seth’s Blog: Affiliate sales of Knock Knock.
2. I thought this post would really generate a lot of discussion: Seth’s Blog: The Placebo Affect*.
3. And last, if you’re interested in the $1,000 bounty or the internship, I need to hear from you by Tuesday: Seth’s Summer Intern Project.
May 29, 2005
When I first encountered this restaurant in New York, I was excited. Look at how authentic the bronze plate fitted into the granite appears (sorry if it’s sideways..). It had just the right tone. It was easy to imagine the meditation bells and the wholesome asian food.
Then I looked up and saw the banner and the name. It’s all wrong. Franchia is not the right name for this place. Something was wrong. Are they trying too hard? Don’t they get it? Why does it sound like a french-italian hybrid?
First impressions are everywhere, and they matter.
Everything about the packaging is perfect. The matte finish. The old fashioned roll top. The colors and more.
The only problem is that these cookies are no healthier than most of the others on the shelf. The reason to buy them is that they make it easy to lie to yourself when you feed em to your kids.
Is it only my supermarket that is now filled with stuff like this?
At the end of LIARS, I give you a list of further reading.
Thanks to Todd, I don’t have to type it in!
Link: 800-CEO-READ Blog: More Reading from All Marketers Are Liars
May 27, 2005
I’m riffing with Jennifer today. It’s the end of the tour. What’s Your Brand Mantra?.
