"DELTA sucks" - Customer experiences

I definitely believe that if a company increases their value the more the customer will want to continue using and spread good word of mouth for the company. The more features and benefits the more the customers see value in the product or service. Of course these features have to be with in limits because it could be too much for the customer. It could actually do the reverse, decrease the value and deter them away. I believe that Southwest airlines have been great at giving their customers great features, and benefits for a well-priced ticket. I found out about this great company through a bad customer experience with Delta Airlines. My friends and I flew to Las Vegas for the weekend for friend’s birthday. My friend had never flown before and I had not flown since I was seven. I had forgotten the feeling so it was like I was flying for the first time again. We were pretty excited and scared at the same time.

Once on the plane and over the first adrenaline rush of taking off we starting noticing a few things. The flight attendants were not very friendly, not accommodating, and did not seem like they enjoyed their jobs. They were too direct when customers asked questions and were very strict on what we could and could not do while on the flight. They made you feel like you were not capable of understanding, and we didn't feel comfortable even getting up to go to the bathroom. It kind of put a damper on how excited we were and it changed the mood of everyone on the plane. I mean we were going to Vegas! All the people were excited and ready to have fun. So that was our first encounter with Delta Airlines and we had our weekend fun Vegas.

 On the way back to Austin we were also using Delta. My friend and I take a taxi at around 3:00 since our flight left at 4:15. We get to the airport and we get there like at 3:15. We waited in line to use the computers to check in and once we got to them we tried inputting our information. It would not work and we tried several times. We ended up getting in line to talk to the Delta representative at the counter. She inputs our information and tells us that it’s too late check in and that we are going to have to wait for another flight. We looked at our watches and we said its 3:30 the flight does not leave until 4:15. She was like your too late you have to be here forty five minutes in advance to check in. Of course we told her that we were but that the computers were not taking our information and its still 45 minutes until check in. She did not want to hear it, all she kept saying was it is policy and you will need to contact Delta to find another flight. We kept telling her that we needed to be back because we have school and work the next day. She was not helpful or even cared about our situation. We ended up crying and begging to be let on the plane but she kept referring us to the phones they had on side. We were so mad, frustrated, and did not have a flight home. Other Delta reps come over and tell us the same thing to go to the phones because they have other people to check in. They had no sympathy at all and did not try to help us find another flight just referred us to the phones. Once on the phone, the representative let us know there are not any flights available till the next day. They were also telling us that we would have to purchase another ticket at that! We asked if there was any way that we could just pay the difference and board the flight the next day but no. We were stuck in Vegas we thought.

So we gave up on Delta and went over to Southwest Airlines since one of our friends was taking them back to Houston. We checked with them told them what was going on. They were very understanding and told us they will help us out. They went out of their way to accommodate us by finding us a direct flight that night, gave us discounts on our tickets making it way less than what Delta was offering, and we took advantage of the free checked bags service they offer. We were so relieved! They really made our day, with the way they handled the situation. Even on the way down to Austin on the plane the flight attendants were so much nicer, and even the pilot was enjoyable. There was a very different vibe on the plane. They really won us over and we are now customers for life. Once in Austin we called Delta to complain and see if we could at least get some kind of credit because of the situation. We talked to the customer rep and he notifies us that we could only use the credit on a flight from Vegas to Austin and we would have to use it in 3 months. It was a ridiculous offer since we were not planning on going back to Vegas in 3 months. We were college students with barely any money to go in the first place! I now use Southwest whenever it’s available and refuse to use Delta airlines. Southwest airlines so far have been great. They have fair prices, free checked bags, offer great discounts and promotions. “More than a way to fly-A way of life” is what they say the Southwest Difference is. I made sure I voiced my opinion on FB about the horrible service I had with Delta and many seem to share similar stories. I was surprised I never thought I would care to think of what airline to fly. I would always just choose the cheapest flight and I guess you get what you buy. Customers are more likely to become and remain loyal if they have positive experiences and this was a very positive experience. They continue to be every time I use them and do create that customer experience through relating, and feeling aspect. I definitely identify myself with the brand, they relate to those who want fair priced tickets and feel free to bring what they can on the trip. That service gives the customers a feeling of no restrictions since they have the option of two free checked bags. For me Southwest conducted an emotional strategy and they saw an opportunity to win a customer.

Thinking about those who are like me in creating a persona...

After reading the articles and getting familiar with creating a persona, I began to think about what segments I tend to be grouped that usually don’t describe me at all and also about what makes me different from others that could really help marketers gain insights about those who are like me.


My first thoughts are about being a student. I thought about how most students are between the ages 18-21 and typically take 4 years to complete their bachelors. What stands out the most to me is how most of these students only focus on their studies and have nothing else to worry about. They might have a part-time job for “spending money” (drinking money) as an option but not as a requirement. Their priorities are school, graduate, and then find a job. These students have their parents as a cushion that provide for them and do not have to worry about any responsibilities. Their only responsibility is school. Most of these students have at least one of their parents who attended college and know about the college process or life which can be of great help. They understand what you are going through and are willing to help you succeed. Most of these students are also pretty well off and come from good high schools. Their families prepare for college since their kid is young and is at times a rite of passage in the family. It is necessary to go to college. In my career as a student, it is not like this for me and this is where my persona derives from.

I would like to call my persona the "Juggler" because of the different roles they hold. These people would be those who have a job but are also going to school. People like me are single, non-traditional, first generation students that must work to take care of their responsibilities. There is constant struggle between having to juggle a job and school, especially when you have to be on point with both.
I belong to the Hispanic and female groups which are not really well represented in college, it is predominantly white males. Hispanics have the highest percentage of first-generation students since most of the parents do not have any higher education experience. They believe that work is priority and education will get you nowhere because of their lack of understanding. These pressures can be seen in the juggler’s life because they must provide for themselves and sometimes their families (like helping with the rent at home for example) but have grown up in the U.S. knowing that a formal education is required by most jobs. Most of these jugglers also pay for their own schooling because either there is no support from their families or cannot afford to help. The focus of education is not possible with these circumstances.
Another hindrance to the juggler is high school preparedness. Our families do not prepare for us to go to college and we do not even hear about the idea of college until high school. A juggler notices once in college, I might not have been preparedness as I thought I would be. This has to do usually with the areas that minorities usually live in which are low-income areas where the high school is usually an underperformed high school. In my case, I attended Lanier High School a HB 400 school. This means it is among the high schools that have the lowest amount of students that go on to college or university. I did not know this then of course but I only bring this up to make a distinction between me and other students who may have gone to better high schools. The lack of preparedness makes it tougher for us the jugglers to focus on school and may at times focus more on making money. Like these situations...
As the juggler, you often find yourself making decisions between going to school or work. You think you cannot afford to miss days at work for school because you need the money to pay for the car that transports you back and forth from school to work but then again you need time to study. In addition, you cannot miss school because of work related reasons since you will be really behind or miss something important but you need the extra money to make a payment. From a marketers perspective after seeing the jugglers strive to become successful they may take this information and create special services for these people. For example I think CAR 2 GO could really benefit the juggler, juggle between going to work and school. This could also help budget wise for some. I am not sure if there is any insight on a product that could make the jugglers life better but most likely, I see a service.

Guest Speaker: Jeff Mulhasen from Upstream Consulting Firm

The history of design philosophy and the various examples of products throughout the years were most intriguing to me. I thought that Jeff’s presentation was really eye opening and it will definitely be of great benefit to me. I did not realize how much thought is put into the design of products or services. It is unquestionably necessary and important to do so in order to create a successful product. We see that Apple Inc. has embraced this aspect in heavily investing in an excellent design team. The team has a huge influence in the development of products. These high tech products have not only changed our habits but have created a need for them. I can go as far in saying that some people need to have this product in order to function. After seeing and talking about various successful products it has lead me to be sure of conducting and spending more time on the design aspect in my future business ventures. The importance of the design stems from using customer insights to create a better product or service. These insights can solve problems or really make an experience for a customer. For example Kodak‘s customer insight of photo quality being different when taking it far or close resulted in the two lens camera. They produced a camera that could be switched from far to close view. He also mentioned a shoe designed to have the feature of it tightening using a cable in order to provide more support in tougher terrains. This would have never resulted if the research on customer insights had not been conducted.. We also see that Scion, which is the sub brand of Toyota, took a chance and allowed young industrial designers to develop a car. This was smart move because they were designing a car for themselves that was then used to be marketed to those around their early twenties. This resulted in the Scion Xb that has many features but is still very affordable. Jeff stated, “Good designs start to become iconic” which we see happened in some of these examples. These product designs and features become “must haves”. They are mimicked by others because of the popularity, and are needed in order to compete. From this presentation, I have gained new ideas that have refined my thinking process. I really apply this new knowledge to my aspiration of owning a bar business. I have tons of ideas on what to provide in terms of design and services in a bar. I want to be able to take this bar and make it into a successful chain. I want to provide an experience that will keep the customer coming back. The main idea or philosophy that has definitely influenced me and has me re-thinking my ideas is Dieter Rams. He states “good design is as little as possible”. I totally see his point and agree because people do not want things to be complicated. I will be more attentive to customer needs by conducting research in order to gain new insights on what customers really prefer. I would not want my bar to be something like the Swiss army knife that has every tool in the world because it becomes too much for a customer. Customers want options but not bombarded with many and simplicity is the key. I remember that our professor talked about the “Paradox of Choice”. He informed us that it was believed that the more stuff there was to choose from the happier people were which is not the case. It actually leads to becoming unhappier because we do not feel like we made the right choice. We are happier and more certain in making a purchase when there is lesser options. The professor provided an example using a company that provided 32 flavors of jam or ice cream (he could not remember which one it was). Customers often picked up a jar but put it right back. When there were only sixflavors a customer was more likely to purchase the jam. The less options or services in my case would create happy customers. It was also very cool to see how Dieter Rams transistor radio is very similar to the first IPod and how his calculator is similar to the calculator on the I phone. We can see that apple believes in this philosophy of no over designing and keeping it simple. I also agree with the grandfather of design Raymond Loewy philosophy. “Most advanced, yet acceptable” which to me means to push the boundaries and bring something different to the market. This will help differentiate your product or service from the rest.