F But it’s not just AA…
D Oh gosh no… [F: oh, just to be clear] …it’s the whole industry has changed…
F …absolutely … I think (all) the airlines generally should work on re-branding that because is still [D: right] elegant, and I was noticing that, there’s a caché about, I mean, even when the first subways hit New York the first passengers came on board with suits and top hats and that sort of thing and that was the case with train travel when it first showed up, that was the case with plane travel when it first showed up, and yeah, and everybody’s like, and more than half the people getting on board are wearing jeans and they’re very casual, and that’s actually, in many ways, a good thing, but what’s also true is, you’re right, there’s a diminishment of, y’know, we begin to take things for granted. But I think American Airlines is one of those institutions in the industry that still goes out of its way to … [D: right, and that was my…] … we’re not going to buy into that, we’re still going to project the elegance.
D …point about all that. And we still want to promote that the customer is first, and it doesn’t matter what’s happening as far as … there’s a lot more problems at home nowadays, there’s a lot more financial, but when you go out that door you’re still American Airlines and we want this customer service that you provide, whatever, y’know, set aside from everything else the customer, we do try to go out of our way and do what we can for the customer.
F Do you folks do any kind of metric, any kind of customer survey or metrics, I am sure you guys do…
D Yes, Absolutely, yeah.
F And is that at the corporate level, or at the regional level, or…
D It’s the surveys that you get as you’re boarding the plane, they’ll pick certain flights and the flight attendant will give you the survey… [F: where do they end up?] …in headquarters, in Dallas… [F: okay] …and then every month they come out how we’ve ranked against the other airlines, unfortunately I don’t know… [F: no, no, no, I’m not gonna hold you to anything, I’m just lookin’ for conversation, feedback light, open ended…] …and then actually we get a small bonus if our metrics are met… [F: oh nice] …oh yeah, so there are incentives out there, we have a quarterly newsletter that they send to all the employees and any of the customer, some of the letters will come through acknowledging certain agents and managers and that [F: nice] sort of thing, there’s employee week, locally here, we have like an employee appreciation day, every couple of months, the GM at TPA, he’ll be out there grillin’ for everybody and … [F: Grillin’, wow!] …so, food all day and for the crews and for, and just anything boost the morale and keep ya going and any little thing – every little thing counts, so yeah, it’s a tough industry nowadays.
F …and this is an industry that knows every little thing counts.
D Yes, absolutely.
F …every little thing. And I do want to honor your precious time. Aside from any last thoughts, I had one other thought myself – and, of course, if you do want a copy of this I would need your card or an e-mail address or something. [D: yeah, uh huh] With regards to training I imagine that these kinds of listening skills and communication skills… [D: right] …are really hammered home in training, is training an ongoing, periodic, or that sort of thing?
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