As customer centric strategies are given more attention by global brands, efforts to place a value on the customers themselves will evolve. There is recurring talk of building a customer equity model that could be factored into evaluation of a public company’s stock price. After all, customer value is the baseline from which incremental value can be measured and the success of the customer strategy evaluated.

Flying Southwest Airlines recently, I learned a lot about my perceived value to the airline.

Arriving in Tampa on time despite blanketing fog, I realized that I could catch an earlier connecting flight and, in doing so, cut my waiting time in half and possibly avoid a weather delay. I approached the check-in counter and inquired if I could get a seat. “Not if you’re on a restricted fare” was the bland response from the gate agent. Barely containing my sarcasm, I commented that my $500+ round trip fare was not likely to be restricted in any way. “Oh no sir, the agent replied, you have a full fare on the return but not on the way out. If you want to get on board, it will cost $258.”

Not giving up, I tried another approach. I suggested that the airline would not lose anything by putting me in a seat that would otherwise depart empty. The gate agent’s response cut me to the quick.

“We make more money on freight and mail…we’d send the plane out empty if we had to.”

So, there you have it – while Southwest may go through sophisticated mathematical calculations to determine customer value, I was instantly made aware of my perceived value to Southwest – somewhere south of a piece of mail or pallet of fillet knives.

Customer Loyalty is the derived result of blending multiple factors. Quality, convenience, service and price are 4 commonly cited ingredients. Enduring Southwest’s open boarding process, paying a fare equivalent to a legacy carrier, and then harshly learning my value to the airline left me wondering just how good Rapid Rewards would have to be to influence my choice of air carrier in the future.

Remember that even a well constructed loyalty program cannot always outweigh negative aspects of 4 factors mentioned. Based on this customer experience, I am inclined to view any rewards received from this program as closer to combat pay than an aspirational reward.