Tuesday, September 22, 2015

And The Winner Is.....

First of all, if you think I know who won the GBTA elections from last week, you are wrong!  Second, if you think I paid attention to the Emmy's, you are wrong there too.  I was busy tearing out a bathroom vanity that night which made my husband come home and say, "WTH?"    

I am talking about who is going to win in this era of airlines throwing down the gauntlet on customer service.  Delta, owning that space for a long time now, has basically said to United and American....BRING IT!  They are so confident that both of these carriers will not catch, much less surpass them in the area of customer service that they put their money where their mouth is.  If United AND American both surpass Delta's numbers, they will make a payout to corporate customers who are performing.

Back to the title about the winner....the Customer, for once, should be the winner here!  United and American aspiring to be the better versions of themselves will help the customer.  If they improve their customer satisfaction, on time arrival, bag handling, yadda yadda yadda, the customer wins.

For someone who wants all suppliers to understand the importance of the customer, this is like the Superbowl and America's Cup Racing tied in a bow.  I will be watching this space closely to see how it plays out.  I think as American and United make gains, Delta will keep pushing the envelope.  Again, customer wins!

Congrats to Delta for pounding their chest on this and for setting the bar high.  As a traveler and corporate customer, I applaud you and ask you to keep going! 

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Hear Ye, Hear Ye, The Polls Are Now Open!



Starting this morning, all GBTA members will have the opportunity to cast their ballot.  On the ballot, there are three contested races.  They are, noted in alphabetical order:
1 – Vice President of GBTA – Jeremy Gardner and Mark Ziegler
2 – Allied members will vote for one of three candidates for GBTA Board Member – Billy Boss, Kelly Christner and Dick Nabors
3 – To pass or not to pass the bylaw amendments.  – Yes or No

There is also two uncontested races.  They are:
1 – President GBTA – Christle Johnson
2 – Direct Member at Large – Cindy Shumate, Bhart Sarin and Karin Thompson

You have 10 days to cast your vote.  10 days to let your voice be heard.  10 days to help shape the direction of GBTA.  Each of the elected officials will speak with your voice within the Board Room.  Like I tell everyone about any election, if you don’t vote, don’t complain!  If you complain long enough, you just might run…like I did! 

If you are GBTA member and you did not receive your voting information, please call Election Services Corporation at 1-866-720-4357 between 9a-5p eastern.  You can also send an email to GBTAhelp@electionservicescorp.com.  

With one year left of my term, I keep going and looking forward to welcoming the new members of the board to be with me! If you did not receive you ballot, please contact



PS - Not that anyone has asked, and probably no one cares, but in the contested races, I will be voting for Mark Ziegler and yes on the by-laws.  (Note, I cannot vote in the allied election, so best of luck to all three.) 

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Watching Lufthansa

On the heels of Lufthansa's implementation of a 16 Euro fee to all tickets issued on LH Family ticket stock, this weekend, their pilots announce a strike on long haul flights.  Then, today, in their ongoing quest to be the world's top airline, they cancel numerous short to medium haul flights this week.  Over 100 flights cancelled in just a few days. 

In a survey recently posted, already over 50% of travel buyers in the US are looking to change how they are doing business with the Lufthansa family...then, this!? 

I get it that Germany has different rules around employment, unions and bankruptcy.  What I don't get is how pilots think they can impact people's ability to do business time and time again and still people will chose them!?! 

Someone tell me how this 16 Euro fee is going to make up for all these cancelled flights! Someone tell me how 100+ cancelled flights make the airline reliable, profitable and the airline of choice of people in the region!  Someone tell me how this timing (many Europeans coming back from holiday) could have been worse! 

I have friends who work there and I know they are shaking their heads over this.  They are coming back from a vacation to this...crap!  What will it take to fix their financial issues?  With many already saying they are selling away from them, I, like the rest of the industry will watch how this will impact them moving forward, or not.  Should I say, their ability to keep going, or not....

Friday, September 4, 2015

Cold Call Email Etiquette



 Last week I received an email that said, “Hello Mr. Turner.”  I had to look to ensure it was meant for me and yes, it was!  It was sent to my email address and not in BCC fashion.  

In this world of automated cold calls and auto email distribution lists, I get that this happens, but the impact can be treacherous for the person sending the note and the company that they represent. I get it that most of the time, these are being sent by an automated tool, but what happened to being diligent and testing these tools?

I didn't reply to this email because it wasn't addressed to me.  I also looked at the company website and made a mental note about it for the future when we are looking for suppliers in that field so I can make sure they are not involved. 

So, when you are out cold calling, make sure your tools and products are doing what you ask them to do, create a positive experience for the recipient that it leaves them wanting to know more about you and your company, as opposed to getting put on a list of another sort.  

Keep going folks, its worth it!