When the best get worst

When they lose touch with loyal customers, even the best companies will start to lose to the competition.

by Richard Flint

I’m confused. I thought taking care of the customer meant taking care of the customer. I thought the mission of every company in the people business is quality people doing a quality job of customer care. Shame on me for believing that people in the customer care business actually care about taking care of the customer’s needs.

For more than 20 years I have been a loyal customer of Delta Airlines. I am one who has gone out of his way to fly Delta. Recently, I have found myself questioning my loyalty. It seems Delta has become like the majority of airlines. Taking care of those who are loyal is a concept that is spoken, but not delivered.

What happens when any company or organization forgets about those who have been loyal? What do you think the loyal customers start doing? They start looking at other companies with a like product or service. Here is what I am learning. Competition is not the result of those in second place getting better; it is actually the result of the leader getting worse.

That’s an interesting thought if you really think it through. In any industry, there are competitors and there is competition. Competitors are those with a like product or service. They share the customer base of people who have a need for that product or service. All organizations have customers who are loyal to them. Their commitment is to do business with that company anytime a need for their product arises. Companies can count on these loyal customers for business.

The tragedy is these loyal customers are often overlooked and taken for granted. It seems companies forget quality is always defined by the customer, not by the company. In any company, the top priority should be to take care of those who have a loyal commitment to you.

Let me go back to Delta. Over the past years I have spent almost $750,000 on airline tickets with them. I would say that is more than 90 percent of the people who fly in their planes. Some time ago the airline started a program called the Frequent Flyer program. This was designed to reward those who were consistent with their loyalty to the airline. When the program started, they delivered a quality response. Over the past few years the program has grown to the point where there is a constant demand for the free tickets. Recently, I called to request a reservation using a Frequent Flyer Award. I was told by the reservation agent I could not book the flights. I asked why and was informed that all the frequent flyer seats were gone. Now, I’m calling for flights that are three months in the future. I asked how many seats were blocked for frequent flyers. I was informed she didn’t know. So, I asked to talk to the manager. I got Pete. I explained the situation to Pete and asked him to check my flying status. I have never had restrictions on my booking flights. Pete informed me I could not book the flights I wanted. I asked if there were seats on the flight and was told “yes.” If I wanted to buy a seat, I could, but there was no way I could use my frequent flyer miles. I then asked to talk with someone with more authority than Pete. I was informed that “he was as high as I could go.”

Now, I understand the need to control seat inventory. The airline is in business to make money. What confuses me is why would you penalize a person who, for more than 20 years, has been loyal with their business and their money? Here is what I think is happening at Delta and with most companies.

• Making money has become more important than taking care of the customer!

• Delta has added so many part-time people and has contracted out so many services they have lost that inner family feeling of customer care.

• Leadership has turned to management and are spending more time looking at the bottom line, rather than their internal and external customers.

Do you understand the question that keeps racing through my mind? Why should I be loyal to a company that doesn’t care about my loyalty? If my commitment to do business with a company is not rewarded with quality people doing a quality job of taking care of my needs, why should I continue to give them my committed loyalty? Delta’s behavior has caused me to do something I never thought I would do. It has caused me to look at the competition. The competition hasn’t gotten better; the company I thought was the industry leader in quality care has gotten worse.

Study this question carefully. What causes loyal customers to look at the competition?

Caring decreases. When I feel I don’t matter, I’ll search for someone who makes me feel important.

Offers excuses, not solutions. I don’t want reasons. I want my loyalty to create results.

Messages contradict actions. Actions are the real message a company delivers.

People aren’t polite. There is no excuse for rudeness. People who represent the company are the business.

Extra effort is not there. Going beyond the normal shows me my loyalty is appreciated.

The spirit is not upbeat. A person’s smile is not as important as the way it is delivered.

Inconsistencies prevail. Don’t treat me one way one time and another on a different occasion.

The bottom line is the focus. When you look only at dollar signs, you punish me with your presence.

Internal customer isn’t happy. Those you put in front of me tell me what is happening above them.

Opportunities to reward me are mismanaged. Moment of touch is where I form my perception.

New policies punish loyal customers. When my loyalty makes me the enemy, I won’t be back.

I wonder if Delta will see this as Richard Flint being angry because he didn’t get what he wanted, or as Richard Flint, a loyal customer for 20 years, deciding his years of loyalty really don’t matter to Delta? When a company doesn’t listen to loyal customers, that company doesn’t deserve their loyalty.

Richard Flint can be reached at or on the Web at www.RichardFlint.com. 

This article originally appeared in the 2003 I.D.A. Business Expo issue of Progressive Distributor. Copyright 2003.

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