Companies pay millions of dollars each year for market research. They do customer surveys to find out the likes and dislikes of the public, and they try to spot trends as well as figure out the next "in" product. I have a less expensive suggestion that is probably a lot more accurate and gives "real time" feedback across a broad section of the public: just ask our Flight Attendants what's hot and what's not.
Some of our Flight Attendants work 4-5 days per week flying up to 7 flights per day with as many as 137 Passengers on each flight for an exposure to nearly 4,800 very diverse people. Want to know the most read book? Ask a Flight Attendant; they could have told you how popular The Da Vinci Code was going to be. What is the hot puzzle? Flight Attendants knew it was Sudoku before the rest of us did. What about the latest fashion color or most popular magazine or laptop computer? I know some great people that can answer these questions.
I have spent many evenings having dinner with the Men and Women who are in charge of our cabin safety and service, listening to their thoughts about what they have noticed during their flights. My advice to marketing people and manufacturing gurus...forget the focus groups and instead focus on what our Flight Attendants are observing each and every day. I think you would be amazed at what they could tell you.
Comments
Cynthia: When you book a flight on Southwest, there is a "Disability Assistance Options" screen on which you can note that your daughter has a peanut allergy, and an alternate snack will be served. Complete details are available here:
http://www.southwest.com/travel_center/disability.html#peanut
I find a way to avoid flying SW because of the ridiculous cattle call seating. It is much more relaxing to arrive at the airport without worrying about where you might end up on the plane. Besides, most people check in 24 hours before hand to ensure that they receive the A boarding pass. This defeats the purpose "first come first serve".
There is nothing more annoying when you travel in a group to board a plane and find every other seat empty. Cattle calls are horrible and it definitely makes the airline much less appealing. I may as well ship myself FedEx in a large cargo plane.
You stand out as an airline. Why assign seats and be like all the other "losers", you are a winner, stay that way. Are you losing business? If so do what you feel is
necessary. Don't seek mediocrity!
A loyal and happy customer with the status quo!
I have been traveling on Southwest for several years and I find it troublesome with the non-assigned seats. I would prefer having my seat assigned ahead of time, instead of spending hours at the airport - in order to get a good seat. Please reconsider having assigned seats. It's a real "cattle call" getting there early, then having screaming kids and familes "camping out" in order to get the preferred seats ahead of someone who really is in need of an aisle seat, or whichever they prefer. You would make many of your existing (and future) customers much happier to be able to get the assigned seats ahead of time.
I have noticed the pre-boarders have gotten a lot more lately, everyone is in wheelchairs when we leave for our destination and miraculously only a couple needed them when we got to our destination. I think that seat assignments are necessary, you can still have a fun and friendly airline at a lower cost, what would it hurt to assign seats? No matter what time we get to the airport, we always arrive very early, we're not in Section A. Don't change anything else, but please assign seats.
While I can appreciate your peanut gimmick, I think you should know and probably do that many people are severely allergic to
peanuts. My daughter can never take advantage of your wonderful fares, nor us when we travel with her,
because she is severely allergic and will go into
anaphlayctic (sp?) shock even from the smell or touching something that has had peanut oil on it. Please be sensitive to people
like my daughter with this disability. Yes, there are other airlines, but she should have the option of flying yours if the rate is
better, just like everyone else. Please consider getting rid of peanuts on your flights just like other airlines have done for the same
reason.
Advocate mother in New Mexico
Please DO NOT change the seating system on your fights Your boarding arrangements work!
I have one suggestion for the pre-boaders which would speed up the entire boarding process:
Have ALL preboarders go to the rear of the plane when they board - they take more time getting into
their seats as they board and also take more time deplaning . If they were moved to the rear of the
plane, all the regular passengers would have an easier time boarding and deplaning , thus speed-
ing up the entire boarding process
Thanks for running a great airline and keeping your fares low!!!
Captain Evans --
You are quite correct, and I applaud you for being astute enough to have noticed this. Many companies in hundreds of different industries overlook their most valuable source of information, feedback and awareness of the marketplace, when they ignore their own people and pay big bucks to some outside consulting firm to tell them what many of their present employees already know. This is not a condemnation of consultants, who can provide a helpful and fresh outside perspective, but our "front end" employees usually have a better finger on the pulse of what is happening.
If you really want to know what is going on in the trenches, ask the people who work in them every day! Your attitude also reflects one of SWA's best traits -- they value ALL of the people who work for them because they recognize the worthwhile contribution that they each make.
Keep up the great work up front and let your fellow teammates keep up the great work in the main cabin!
Best wishes,
Kim
I have noticed a similar phenomenon in the education "industry." If anyone wants to know the best, latest techno-gadget, the next new Brittney Spears, the next hip new fashion statement, etc., one of the best places to go to for such information is the classroom. This information is communicated to teachers (whether thay want it to be or not) on a daily basis. I believe that marketers would do well to focus on these and similar high exposure micro groups in their consumer input searches.