I bought a coach ticket on US Air, but last night I flew First Class. I don’t know how it happened; I suppose it could have been luck, randomness or even Christmas cheer.
I tweeted my thanks to @USAirways and as of the time of this writing, there’s been no response (update: they did respond a bit later).
That should not be a surprise since 16% of businesses don’t acknowledge comments on social media — good or bad. And that’s the part that makes me think my hour-long flight in luxury was a mistake and not selflessness on behalf of an airline.
And we see this all too often in business: every change, be it to pricing, terms of service, or the space in between seats on an aircraft are made for the convenience of the business and not the customer. I have a hard time reconciling this with the very reason businesses exist: to solve problems.
The first thing an investor will ask a new entrepreneur is this: what problem do you solve. Usually, young startups do well at solving that problem, at least initially.
It’s when a startup begin to scale that it starts skimming on the costs associated with solving that problem. Often those cuts begin with customer service.
“Bad service costs less and that’s why it continues to prevail,” wrote Greg Sterling in a post titled, Why Do Companies Need to Be Shamed into Providing Good Service?
The train of thought led me to thinking: what are some of the good extraordinary things brands are doing this Christmas? And though I’ve searched and searched, I’ve found, to my surprise, very little:
- A pub chain in the UK will open for lunch on Christmas.
- It’s been 28 years since “Feed the World” – gosh I feel old.
- It’s become cool to wear Christmas sweaters.
Tell me about a brand that is doing something magnificent this year for Christmas. Are there any?
Please do share; I’d love to write about a brand going above and beyond.
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