Dear Joe,
Today was one of the first (and hopefully) last times that I plan on flying Delta Airlines. It's funny that I'm writing this to you, because as my Blog gains in popularity and our Digital Marketing agency, Twist Image, continues to grow, I swore that I would never speak ill of any brand/corporation. I did not want to use this Blog as a customer service complaint channel plus, you never know how things will change, and I would hate to know that Twist Image lost business because I Blogged about something while in the heat of a bad moment.
The truth is, I think your airline, Delta, is beyond repair.
I just spent eighteen hours flying from Bangkok to New York City on Thai Airways. It was an amazing experience from check-in to baggage pick-up. As I transferred over at JFK Airport into what-I-thought-would-be Delta's capable hands to get me back home to Montreal, I was truly let down.
When I first left for South East Asia about two weeks ago, my luggage was lost on Delta. Imagine that, my first flight on a three-flight connection trip (over twenty-four hours of flying) and the luggage was lost before even leaving the U.S. It took the kind people at Thai Airways to not only hunt the bag (that your airline lost) down, but they physically sent one of their reps to pick up my bags at your terminal so it could make the flight. Delta could not even let me know when it might be shipped to my hotel in Singapore. Thankfully, the bags arrived on Thai Airways with me, specifically because of one Thai Air customer service rep, Dan, and his dedication to making flying on Thai Airways a great experience. Ironically, when I thanked Dan, he asked that I thank the whole Thai Airways crew. Humility and team work always build the best brands.
So here I am (on my trip back home), after an eighteen hour flight and all I need to do is get from JFK to Montreal (a one hour flight) on Delta. As I headed over to the Delta terminal at JFK (Terminal #3) I wondered what country I was in. Having just been in airports from Singapore, Phuket, Bangkok and Montreal, I could not believe that this was a United States airport in New York. The dreadful heat (only made worse by these huge fans at the terminal blowing hot air), an actual pigeon walking around in the adjacent food court and into our terminal gate looking for food (at last check, JFK was not an open-air building) and the overall dirtiness of everything from the carpets, to the seats to the burned out light bulbs to the smell emanating from the washrooms made me wonder if I was in a third world country.
The listing for our flight at the gate was only posted five minutes prior to boarding. Our gate was crammed with four other flights, and nobody at the gate knew if the plane had arrived. Your staff was not helpful in this regard as they were too busy trying to load four other flights through this one terminal gate.
When it was time to finally board, the Delta staff member taking my boarding pass asked where my "green card" was. I'm from Canada Joe. I don't have a green card. I had been through customs, your Delta check in counter and security. Nobody had mentioned anything about a green card. When I informed your staff member of this, she just shrugged her shoulders and let me pass (that made me feel confident about your security measures).
The flight was equally disappointing. From seats that would hardly be comfortable for someone who is five foot five (let alone my six foot plus height) to the condition of the interior, the entire experience could only be described as "embarrassing." And here's what really inspired this letter: I picked up the August 2007 issue of your in-flight magazine, Sky, and read your Perspective piece titled, Seeking Smarter Skies:
"Hello, and welcome aboard the new Delta! I hope by now you've had a chance to see some of the changes we've made to make your travel experience simpler and more enjoyable. In our airports, we continue to upgrade our branding and signage and implement changes to make your trip from check-in through security as hassle-free as possible. We're also investing in much-needed facility and infrastructure improvements in the concourse and on the ramps in New York and Atlanta. Finally, we're making a significant investment in our people to ensure we're prepared to handle all your travel needs."
You might want to start with having "your people" actually be friendly and smile versus the constant flow of "you're such a sucker" vibe that they give off to your clients.
Imagine what I thought about when I read your "perspective" after going through all of this? The days of talking the talk are gone Joe. Delta has to walk that talk.
I also don't think this is an isolated incident. In fact, my good friend, Joseph Jaffe, author of Life After The 30-Second Spot, Blogger over at Jaffe Juice and Podcaster at, Across The Sound, had this Blog posting today: We Realize You Have NO Choice In Airlines. And it has Delta insights like this:
"From a marketing perspective, why are airlines not turning this huge negative into a positive. Take my current experience with Delta today. As a Platinum customer, I expect to be treated a little differently (I just do). Instead of taking some responsibility, they just shrug their shoulders and say, 'not our problem. It's the weather'."
That only further inspired me to let you know that if your new branding campaign is based on "Experience Change" you can't just say it_ you have to live it.
At this point, the fifty dollar low-budget flight I took from Phuket to Bangkok on Air Asia made them look like Virgin Air Upper Class compared to your full-fared, unchangeable Delta ticket.
Please take a more serious look at what you're offering. The brand is not just getting me home on time. It's everything from the experience I have at the airport to the people who take my boarding pass to what the other customers are saying on the flight. It's also a lot harder to take when your are making claims like the quote above in your in-flight magazine.
Branding and Marketing are about the full experience. I know it's not easy. Delta is a big company. But big changes happen when the little things are done right. Get your people passionate about their work. Get your business excited about getting people to where they need to go. Get it done well and get it done right, and you'll never have to lead the charge behind an "Experience Change" campaign again. When things are done right, there's never any need to change.
Comments
Posted by Peter O'Connell
From the sublime to the ridiculous:
http://audioconnell.com/blog/?p=132
Mitch, the truth is all airlines, Delta, Air Canada, US Airways have evolved or devolved into flying Greyhound buses. Pricing wars to that have encourage more people to fly, fuel costs and union wages that have made it increasingly more expensive to run an airline and passengers who show more respect for a public bathroom than an airplane have all contributed to this sad chapter in our flying history.
Delta won't acknowledge your complaint, valid as it is...nor would any airline. They have to pay people to REALLY handle complaints (they won't) and they'd have to make restitution (they don't, very often anyway).
So the experience for ANY air traveler, even guys like you and me who have frequent flyer numbers and miles and points and club memberships....we really all get the same lousy experience because it just boils down to airlines getting us from a to b.
Whether or not its on time or friendly or clean isn't important. Sorry you had to learn that the hard way.
The good news is there ARE some nice folks at airlines, American Airlines was very helpful to me last week. So don't give up on the people....just the industry.
Best always,
- Peter
Posted by Mitch Joel
With all the hassles I've had on Air Canada flights, I'm still happy to have Elite status and I could not say that the service and quality of the lounges/airports in Canada are not impressive, because they are quite good.
I've actually had great experiences on most airlines... I guess Delta REALLY shocked me, considering my perception of what their brand (and American airports) "should" be - in terms of comparison to Canada and abroad.
Posted by Steve Giles
What I find so interesting about this posting is that no one at Delta has responded in 6 days.
One of the toughest lessions traditional marketers are going to need to learn is that they have lost control over the discussion of their brand.
Imagine if someone senior at Delta had responded to this post, honestly, tried to explain what they could hand appologize honestly for what they couldn't. It wouldn't change Mitch's experience, but it might alter your feeling's about the brand. Just my $.02 Cdn.
Steve
Posted by Mitch Joel
My guess is that it's hard to respond when you're not listening.
Sadly.
A response - of any kind - would definitely shift my feelings and, more importantly, open this up to a conversation.
Posted by John A. Davis
Hi Mitch,
A very interesting open letter and frustratingly similar to an experience I had earlier this summer on Delta when flying from DC to Santiago via Atlanta. I discussed it in my July 20 blog, pasted here in case you are interested. http://johnadavis.typepad.com/brand_new_view/travel/index.html
Suffice to say that your visit here to Singapore and the regional travel you experienced, from great airports to great airlines, is not likely to happen in the US anytime soon unless there is a credible effort made by airline executives to practice what they preach. Sadly, most US fliers travel only within the US and, therefore, do not fully appreciate how bad airlines are in the US. Much of the rest of the world is far ahead of the US when it comes to airline management, airport design and customer service.
Cheers...JD
Posted by Mitch Joel
Thanks for adding color to the conversation John.
Being from Canada, I guess I might be spoiled a little bit and used to a certain level of better services and quality. Though, there are some Canadians who are equally unhappy with the airline carriers here.
Ultimately, this is a branding and perception issue that is impacted by the overall experience. It's a big Marketing challenge that is only overshadowed by the actual operational challenge.
Posted by Sulemaan
Having worked in the airline business for 7 years in a variety of positions, I can honestly say I'm not surprised.
While there are a myriad of factors for airlines suffering in terms of levels of customer service, I think the biggest issue is staff.
Let's face it, airlines are a customer service business and not a bus. The plane may not be painted properly, the signage in the terminal may no be up to date and the onboard food may suck - but if the staff treat you well, it makes up in many cases.
I've never been a big union person but companies ultimately get the unions they deserve. And airlines (both Canadian and US) have for the most part treated their staff like crap in recent years.
Look at what United did to their pensioners: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7804770/
Air Canada employees have taken pay-cut after pay-cut while their CEO and Chairman make millions in salary and stock options.
If you look at truly successful airlines in North America (Southwest and Westjet) their employees share in the growth and equity in the company. They have a stake in its success. That's not the case elsewhere including the likes of Delta.
Posted by Mitch Joel
Funny how running a business as intense as an airline like a community works best.
Posted by joe blow
Funny how everybody is an expert at running an airline. Face it, when the airlines were deregulated, you got cheap fares, and service suffered. Airlines run on ridiculously thin margins, so to blame Delta for poor facilities at JFK is stupid. Do you expect Delta to spend billions of dollars it doesn't have to bulldoze the place and start fresh? Guess what, NYC isn't ponying up any cash to upgrade, as many communities do.
Posted by Mitch Joel - Twist Image
Thanks for the comment Joe Blow (nice name). I fly weekly and I don't buy the cheap tickets, but let's put all that aside.
If you're going to suck, don't go around marketing yourself around innovation, change and great experiences. That's the crux of the Blog posting, not how desperate the industry is.
Maybe acknowledging the changes and thanking people for their patronage during these trying times would be more appropriate (and honest).
Posted by Chris
Mitch
You will be happy to hear that Joe Kolshak has now been hired by United. He comes with a truly terrible reputation from the pilot's at Delta. As a united pilot I'm expecting Joe to be used by Glenn Tilton as a hammer to attempt to reduce costs and sick time in their transparent attempt to get that one last bit of money out of our dying company via elevating the stock price just enough to make some hay from their newly minted 8M share executive equity compensation plan.
Posted by Michael
Thank you for not greedily and self-importantly demanding a personal letter of apology and free first class tickets. It makes your piece more effective (and readable).
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