Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

Smokin' Hawaii

Hawaii has launched a new campaign targeting Japan that assures consumers there that they can smoke during their visit.

Naturally, the "Smoking With Aloha" campaign has been chided by Patrick Reynolds of Smoke-Free America. He recently laughed that it was a dumb idea and,"it seems odd and regressive to Americans anyway."

Uh, hey Pat? The ads are targeted to Japanese travelers that might not choose to spend their money in our country if they thought Hawaii was smoke-free. It doesn't matter what Americans think.

Much as you'd like to control that...

 

On the Other Hand...

Talking with a colleague the other day about blogs, she said she doesn't read them because they are all so snarky and negative. "It's just so easy," she said, "to bash others without knowing the full story."

Agreed. Lots of blogs do. And I looked at mine. Sho' nuff, there are some pretty damning posts...but there are just as many highlighting truly cool and innovative thought leaders, destination innovators and cool examples of web break-throughs and customer service. And, after yesterday's indictment of a couple airlines (which, admittedly, is easy pickings these days), I gotta take my hat off to United's Denny Flanagan.

Profiled in the Wall Street Journal this week, this is a pilot that takes a page from the Southwest playbook and amplifies (can you say "turn it up to 11?"). This guy (without encouragement or training from United) mingles with passengers in the gate area, awards passengers with bottles of wine, snaps pictures of animals in the cargo hold to show owners their pets are safely on board, orders 200 McDonald's hamburgers for passengers if his flight is delayed or diverted...etc. etc. etc.

Is this guy as rogue as Jack Bauer or what? Even United's Chief Customer Officer "doesn't know what to do with him" (that's just sad...'cause I sure do).

In the Church of the Customer blog, Jackie Huba tells the story in much more detail...and closes by saying, "If I were in charge of United for a day (a scary thought, I know)..."

No, Jackie...it's a sensational thought. If you could replicate Denny Flanagan throughout the fleet, there are tens of thousands of frequent fliers that would agree to once again fly United as their carrier of choice. There would be tens of thousands of frequent fliers that would allow themselves to be routed through O'Hare.

Oh sure, there are plenty of air travelers that only look at the price tag. But, to fly with a pilot that clearly cares about their customers...that's worth a premium price to more travelers than you'll ever know.

The Worst Airline Story Ever: Follow-Up

While the ill-fated Continental Flight from Caracas to Newark last month (and, that's my son-in-law's mother asking the question on the video) rated our "Worst Ever" post...a commenter on that post shared an even grosser story about an 32-hour Amsterdam to Newark run that had excrement flowing down the aisles.

It took Continental a full month to respond to the passengers on the Caracas flight (no word yet on the stinky Amsterdam experience)...and they compensated the victims (for that's what they were) with just what they didn't want. A $300 voucher for a future flight and 10,000 Frequent Flier Miles.

Now...let me get this straight. You're attempting to apologize for a HUGE customer service gaffe. They've asked for a refund. A refund that would cause some to believe you were truly sorry for your horrible treatment...and encourage them to forgive you and try them again.

And you're offering them, er, dollars off another risky experience? An experience that they'll likely have to come up with their own money to complete the transaction? And Frequent Flier Miles that they'll simply laugh at (since they're never honored the way the consumer wants them to be...thus, they are next to worthless)?

Where in the world did this airline find its PR Team? Or, more troubling, is this a smart PR team that thinks the aggrieved are morons?

Which, of course, most airlines do. Simply refer to the story of Spirit Airline CEO Ben Baldanza's e-mail goof that shows what he really thinks of his customers (courtesy of Chris Elliott).

It's All About the Label

I love a good shiraz...but am far from a wine snob. And, I have no problem admitting that about 95% of my trial of new wines is based on the label.

Indeed, when placed in charge of picking up the wine for an extended family Thanksgiving feast a few years ago in New York City, middle daughter Liz and I made all of our ten choices based on names (like Woop Woop) and funky, funny and artful labels.

My friend Linda Abeldt from the Manteca CVB pointed me to this story that includes a new (and well-reviewed) wine from one her destination's wineries.

Joe Blow...gotta love it!

Pissing Off the Media

I'm about to a point where I'm going to refuse future media requests for an interview. The only reason they call is to get me to reinforce their story...whether I agree with their direction or not. And, I'm almost always misquoted. So, WTF...

But, for many, that isn't an option. Which is why I'm referring you all to a great piece I discovered through MarketingProfs.com by Andy Marken on 13 ways to piss off the media.

And, just to be sure you get Andy's wit, do NOT follow his 13 suggestions.

Ever.

The Ironic Fallout of Vick's Hobby

Atlanta Falcons QB Michael Vick has admitted involvement in the killing of several pit bulls that were under-performing in a dog-fighting operation that he helped fund for the past seven years. Jail time is fairly assured and the NFL has suspended him indefinitely.

Does anyone else see the irony that, while Vick goes to the big house for killing dogs...the 60 surviving pit bulls will likely be euthanized?

More Signs

My friend Gary Knowles sent this photo from Northern Wisconsin in response to our post last weekend about the confusing signage on the approach to the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Too funny (click on the image to enlarge).

Thanks Gary!

Brand Extentions: The Goofy and the Good

Great post last week from Bill at NameWire about brand extensions that work...and those that go pitifully wrong (like Crisco Extra Virgin Oil).

Fly Vatican Air

Following in the footsteps of other visionaries that have developed niche airlines, the Pope (or, perhaps more accurately, those around him) have announced plans for a new airline dedicated to transporting true believers to sacred sites. First flights: Rome to Lourdes. If successful, future flights could target the shrines of Fatima and the Madonna of Guadalupe.

According to the Times Online, the headrests in the cabin will be emblazoned with the airline’s motto – “I’m searching for your face, Lord"...apparently to remind passengers why they booked the flight.

And, as our Air Laws are all about bringing grace and civility back to air travel, we fully expect all ten to be enforced on Mistral Air.

There Goes My Life

We dropped our little girl off at college yesterday.

Lots of thoughts swirled through my head on the drive back home. Remembering the times spent playing in the autumn leaves. Holding her afloat for her first swim...and cheering her on in her last race. The moments of pride as she defied gravity in dance...and the times that her fearless abandon landed her in the emergency room. The nights tracing falling stars across the sky and the father-daughter afternoons at Miller Park. The moments of discovery and the instances of shared awareness. Like the evening last month that we both realized that we shared the love of the same song.

The lyrics to Kenny Chesney’s “There Goes My My Life” coursed through my mind on the drive back last night...as did the lyrics to Paul Simon’s “Father and Daughter.”

It's a weird mix of feelings as I attempt to get something accomplished today. But, most of it is anticipation...as I can't wait to see who she becomes next.