Question of the day: Are you more loyal to your airline or to the snacks they serve?

If you’re a frequent flyer, there is a new game to play while waiting for your next boarding announcement. Have your traveling companion run through a list of favorite snacks and see if you can guess which airline offers it in-flight.

These days, there is not much to differentiate the air travel experience for business travelers and, just like you might look forward to watching some tube on JetBlue, there are people who find the roots of their airline preference in their favorite snack.

Here’s the quiz. Which airline offers the following?

1.
Animal Crackers

2.
Peanuts (old school style)

3.
Biscoff

Look below for answers……

If I were able to listen in on 100 airport conversations and tabulate answers on this little quiz, I’ll bet that Biscoff would be the most easily associated with the airline that put it on our radar.

This little cracker originated in Belgium around the 1930’s and was known by other names until acquired by Gourmet Center, an American company that supplies food to airlines. Renamed Biscoff, it has become a favorite of many travelers. The Grinder describes the cookie’s taste as “Crunchy, sweet with a lovely caramel and butter finish, this is a cookie worth booking a flight for!” I would tend to agree, and when I discovered that I could earn airmiles for eating Biscoff, I was predictably excited.

On a recent flight, while opening my Biscoff, I flipped the package over to read a message “Earn Skymiles with Biscoff….please see www.biscoff.com/delta” (oops, I gave away the answer!).

Wondering about the offer, I visited the web site to learn more. Unfortunately, the URL would not load and after some Google searching, it seems that the Skymiles partnership with Delta may have come to an end. If I discover differently, I will post further.

I was already skeptical that I would have to eat so many Biscoff, at 60 fat laden calories each, that by the time I accumulated enough points to earn a free flight, I would need a seat belt extension to accommodate the new me!

Before you scoff at my Biscoff premise, remember the “Pudding Guy”, David Phillips, a 35 year old engineer who earned 1.25 Million American Airlines miles through purchase of Healthy Choice pudding products that offered 100 miles for each cup. In the end, he earned enough miles to exchange for 48 free domestic tickets by spending about $3,140 on 12,000 deserts, a pretty good return.

I understand that fare, schedule, and many other factors influence the choice of airline. But with the industry moving to menu style pricing and lowering service quality by the day, the door is opened for travelers to latch on to the most granular of factors as the purchase decision tie-breaker. I may have missed my shot at Biscoff frequent flyer fame, but I still like ‘em.

Did you ever consider that crackers could be a key component of your loyalty program?

……. Bill Hanifin

Quiz Answers!

1. 
   JetBlue
2. 
   American
3. 
   Delta Airlines

My earlier post, “Finding a cure to digital myopia” offered the thought that while people are consumed with keeping the pace with the introduction of new applications synonymous with Web 2.0, we stand in danger of missing the bigger picture.

The offline version of the same story started in the late 70’s when during the first gas crisis in the US, consumers learned how to pump their own fuel. In the name of cost and time savings, consumers embarked on an era of self-service that continues today.

Low cost delivery of customer support services was first made possible by automated voice response systems (IVR) and got better with web based applications. In the midst of all this “progress”, consumers nearly lost the ability to speak to a human being if that was their preference. That alone has to hurt Customer Loyalty. Try finding the “cancel account” contact information on web based services like Vonage for instance and you’ll see what I mean. Like it or not, you’re forced to go on a digital treasure hunt that does not pay off consistently.

Over the past few years, we’ve also learned to swipe a credit card, enter a pin, and check out our own groceries, office supplies and home improvement goodies. It seems that every step of progress we take to save time and move more quickly through a line comes with a learning curve.

George Carlin captured out plight in one of his NEW RULES FOR 2008 “I’m not the cashier!  By the time I look up from sliding my card, entering My PIN number, pressing  ‘Enter,’ verifying the amount, deciding, no, I don’t want Cash back, and pressing ‘Enter’ again, the kid who is supposed to be ringing me up is standing there eating my Almond Joy.”  I would only add, “Why do I have to pay full price when I am doing part of your work?”

Flying on JetBlue recently, the announcement was made that the airline had gone to a “cashless cabin” meaning that only plastic could be used to pay for drinks and sandwiches. We were also encouraged to participate in cleaning up cabin trash as a means to “keep air fares as low as possible.” Interesting how the airline has reduced consumer choice and shifted responsibility while spinning it like a step towards air travel nirvana.

How far our new self service society will progress is up for debate. I have been used to helping myself around most big box stores for a while as store associates are not only scarce but lightly trained. I can tell you that I don’t want to make my own sub at Quiznos or have to start checking stock on shoes at Sports Authority.

Owners of businesses that are high touch and offer personalized service should be encouraged. The more retailers shift their daily chores to customers, the greater the backlash by those hungering to be treated with some TLC.

The 64 dollar question is what motivates this trend in the first place. Retailers are pressed by operating costs and plagued by high employee turnover. Shifting tasks essential to the shopping experience to the customer helps with both issues, but does it serve consumer needs? A by-product of the new paradigm will be less need for trained associates while the ones that remain are, by definition, less valued by the retailer. Bottom line: the longer this trend continues, the more frustrating the shopping experience will become.

Businesses that craft their in-store experience based on what consumers want will increasingly stand out from the crowd. Personal service is always in style and knowledgeable staff makes the shopping visit something to remember.

Consumers should step back from their silent acceptance of this self-service avalanche and ask themselves if they like the purchase experience better today or 5 years ago. Businesses should have a finely tuned ear poised to capture the responses and make changes in their front lines to recognize what consumers really want. The good listeners will benefit from higher store traffic, more sales, and highly satisfied customers. >>>> Bill Hanifin

6am Miami International Airport: Oil prices are near record highs and American Airlines grounded a slew of MD80’s last week due to maintenance shortcomings. Regardless, my flight is full and standbys number more than 40. The slug of people around the check-in area makes me feel late, though I am not. Another passenger asks what group is boarding. “Must be open to everyone” is my reply but quickly we hear that only Executive Platinum and Group 1 are invited to board. The crowding of the gate does not make sense, but then again we’re in Miami…

The Middle Seat is one of my favorite columns in the Wall Street Journal (it often addresses frequent flyer programs and loyalty programs) but not my preferred seat while experiencing travel first hand. With nearly 3 hours of flight time and gawking tourists on each shoulder, I am relegated to catch up on my reading. Only a Cirque de Soleil performer would dare boot up the laptop under these circumstances.

10am DFW Airport: The cabbie is unsure of how to find the Westin Stonebriar Hotel. When I refer to the “Westin”, he asks “It’s a hotel, right?” I give him the phone number and he obtains directions.

Since the Westin was booked for the conference I am attending, I guide the cabbie to the nearby Comfort Suites where Corporate Travel has booked me. Arriving at the desk, I observe literature on hand describing Choice Privileges and realize that it might be the only hotel loyalty program that I have yet to join. Before I can complete the application, the friendly desk clerk provides a bit of local knowledge, suggesting that I will save significant bucks by renting a car instead of cabbing it during my stay. Budget is the recommended choice and I am lucky to be offered a ride to the nearby office.

Pulling up in front of Walmart, my driver tells me that we have arrived. My quizzical look prompts her to tell me that the Budget office is inside the store. This is what I call winning “eyeballs” brick and mortar style. Just as web sites were judged by their ability to capture eyeballs during Web 1.0, Walmart is apparently the catalyst to build audience for nearly any business to succeed – at least in the sprawling suburbs of North Dallas.

After signing my rental agreement, I ask the counter person for directions to the Westin. “It’s a hotel, right?” is his response. I am starting to realize that Walmart owns higher brand recognition in these parts than does Westin. Maybe I’ll drop by the Marketing department at the Stonebriar if I have a chance. They need help.

11:30am The Westin: The conference I am attending is the first annual Customer Loyalty Summit, and the agenda is full of presenters from highly credentialized loyalty sponsors including Harrah’s, Wachovia, Neiman Marcus, Best Buy, and JetBlue. The unintentional theme for Day 1 is examination of approaches to linking customer satisfaction data to profitability while improving customer experience. It is refreshing to hear about the gritty details of program execution rather than the usual theoretical pabulum.

5pm The Westin: The highlight of the day is the final session given by JetBlue. Bryan Jeppsen delivers a folksy talk detailing how the airline interprets responses to open ended survey questions (known as contextual data) and arrives at actionable strategy to increase customer satisfaction. He closes with a video that he admits “I really like but am not sure what it has to do with loyalty”. The video is clever and draws a surprised response from the attendees. Funny stuff, but Bryan was right, it had nothing to do with anything on the agenda.

11pm Comfort Suites: Offering feedback on the accumulated customer experiences I encountered today would overflow the space allotted to answer survey questions from American Airlines, Budget Rental, Comfort Suites, and Westin ……. if only I had been given the chance.

Didn’t I say it was April Fool’s day in Texas?

Bill Hanifin