In our country, development is everywhere. Buildings are being built in the major cities, tourists are flocking to our vacation spots, and investors are flying in and out of the country. Development has brought a lot of people traffic in our country and our airliners are modernizing their services to keep up.
Over the years that I have been travelling within our country, there were 2 airline companies that I preferred. Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific. These two airlines are considered the most advanced carriers in the country because they have a huge budget for upgrading and maintaining their fleet. Philippine Airlines being the country's flag carrier is considered the best airline we have boasting the best aircraft pilots in the business (which is technically true by the way) Cebu Pacific on the other hand boasts the cheapest flights and empowering the average Juan to travel for as low as P1.
When Cebu Pacific started, Philippine Airlines had trouble because Cebu Pacific was giving really low rates almost half of what Philippine Airlines was charging, this caused a lot of people to switch carriers and patronize Cebu Pacific. Because of this bold move, the other airlines started lowering their prices to ensure that they will not be left behind. Of course there is a limit to everything, and some of them were still a bit more expensive than Cebu Pacific.
Every major change in the business has a trade-off, there are some things that will be left out and not worked on so much. Besides the fact that there are no more snacks in Cebu Pacific, there are no check-in allowances as well, and everything has to be paid for. It's the only way they can make the airfare cheaper after all. But one thing that people sometimes take for granted is the fact that most of the time their service is hideous. All they want is your money, and they don't care if your flight gets delayed or if you miss a meeting because of them.
Case in point, we went to Palawan earlier this month. On the day that we were supposed to fly back to Manila, due to some issues we arrived at the airport 30 mins before the flight. The check-in counter was still open when we got in the terminal and we were rushing to get to it. Before our professor was able to reach the counter, the staff closed it. Our professor asked if they can still accommodate us since the plane is still there, but they wouldn't. The professor asked why can't they do it for us considering the fact that they only closed the counter seconds ago, and they only said that it's policy and their usual spiels. So what happened was an endless "conversation" between our professor and the staff and eventually the manager as to what steps we can do to alleviate the situation. After all, we paid for our tickets already. We just wanted to ask if we can take the next flight or whatever option they are willing to give us. They had none, all they said was sorry but you missed your flight. You have to pay a penalty, and the cost of the difference between this ticket and the next one. (Which amounted to nearly php7,000) Naturally there was no way we'd take that. So we asked for other options, the staff were not even paying attention or even concerned enough to help. They gave us looks as if we were stupid people and that they're more superior. They weren't even looking straight at us. Of course being students of DLSU, connections were used and eventually top management was contacted. They found out about their situation and were trying to do something about it. However, we found a better alternative. Airphil, which is owned by Philippine Airlines now. Needless to say, we got a better deal and flew back to Manila the next day.
What saddens me with the situation is that because of profit, some airline companies are neglecting the core of their business. Customer relations. There are news all over the world about airline companies having bad service like Jet Blue in the states. Bad customer service will eventually translate into loss of customers, and if that yellow airline doesn't do something about it. They will eventually lose customers. I for one, and all my friends are never riding Cebu Pac if we can avoid it. The cheaper fare is not worth it compared to how you are treated as a paying customer.
There are a lot of people who are flying into the country these days and if we give them service the way some companies do, then we are painting a bad image to other people. It wouldn't be so bad to get charged for everything and get a low fare, if your service was as good as the promos that you are advertising.
The key to the success of the biggest carriers is their commitment to quality service. Qatar Air, Singapore Air, Delta, etc. Are all known for their great service. That's also the reason why people prefer them. In a more globalized world like what we have, there should be no more discrimination between classes or races. And one of the people that are at the forefront of dealing with the world are airliners because they transit people everywhere. Service plays a major part in development, it should not always be about profit but about making your customer feel valued. Because if they do, they will always come back. And from a business perspective, that's one of the things that you want to happen.
No comments:
Post a Comment