Sebagai pelatih penjualan dan konsultan bisnis kecil, saya khawatir dengan apa yang saya perhatikan terjadi di industri perjalanan dan perhotelan selama beberapa tahun terakhir. Saya bahkan lebih khawatir dengan bagaimana publik bermain bersama. Entah publik sama sekali tidak sadar atau tidak peduli dengan apa yang terjadi pada mereka. Anda mungkin tanpa disadari mendorong layanan biasa-biasa saja atau mungkin Anda adalah pelanggan yang tidak sadar yang secara sukarela mengikuti gaya terbaru penyalahgunaan perusahaan. Saya percaya bahwa inilah saatnya bagi pelanggan untuk melawan dan menuntut rasa hormat lagi.
Anda mungkin berpikir bahwa karena saya seorang pelatih penjualan dan konsultan bisnis di http://194.156.98.15/ kecil, saya akan benar-benar sejalan dengan bisnis. Tidak ada yang bisa lebih jauh dari kebenaran. Saya percaya dan mempromosikan keseimbangan dan integritas di dalam pasar. Saya percaya pada bisnis yang berkelanjutan dan suasana saling menghormati di mana pelanggan diperlakukan secara adil. Saya sekolah tua dalam hal ini. Saya percaya pelanggan harus diperlakukan dengan hormat saat mereka menerima produk atau layanan yang mereka butuhkan dengan harga bersaing. Bisnis yang menyediakan ini kemudian akan mendapatkan keuntungan berkelanjutan dari pelanggan tetap yang bahagia.
Ketika resesi baru-baru ini mengacaukan industri perjalanan dan rekreasi, sebagian besar bisnis berjuang keras untuk menarik dan mempertahankan pelanggan. Senjata utama mereka dalam pertarungan ini adalah memotong harga mereka. Sayangnya, meningkatkan pengalaman pelanggan secara keseluruhan bukanlah bagian dari daya tarik pelanggan dan proses retensi. Faktanya, dengan harga yang lebih rendah datang erosi lebih lanjut dari layanan pelanggan dasar yang telah menderita jauh sebelum keruntuhan ekonomi terjadi. Tampaknya banyak perusahaan telah meninggalkan layanan pelanggan sepenuhnya dan menganggap pelanggan mereka sebagai kawanan domba yang perlu dipelihara.
Sekarang ekonomi telah sedikit pulih, banyak bisnis di sektor perjalanan dan rekreasi telah mendongkrak harga tanpa memulihkan tingkat kualitas layanan pelanggan. Mereka telah melupakan landasan dasar bisnis. “Itu adalah pelanggan yang membayar mereka” . Mereka tidak mengerti, jika pelanggan berhenti mendukung bisnis, bisnis tersebut harus memenangkan klien mereka kembali atau mereka pasti akan gagal.
Sebagian besar bisnis besar saat ini melakukan sesedikit mungkin untuk mempertahankan pelanggan. Mereka melihat ke lautan orang yang bersedia berpisah dengan uang mereka tanpa berpikir dua kali. Jika Anda diperlakukan dengan buruk, dibohongi, atau secara umum tidak dihormati oleh sebuah perusahaan, namun terus membelanjakan uang dengan mereka, Anda adalah bagian dari masalah. Mengapa perusahaan mencoba meningkatkan pengalaman pelanggan mereka ketika pelanggan terus menyerahkan uang tunai mereka tanpa berpikir, tanpa pertanyaan dan tanpa menuntut lebih baik?
Saya akan menyentuh tiga segmen industri perjalanan dan rekreasi dan menunjukkan sedikit tentang apa yang sedang terjadi. Jika Anda menghargai uang dan kualitas layanan Anda, waspadalah dan lawan kapan dan di mana Anda bisa. Beri suara dengan dompet Anda, temukan alternatif, dan beri tahu manajemen bahwa Anda tidak senang dengan kebijakan kasar mereka yang muncul.
Airlines: Most North American airlines have been abusing their customers for years. Flying used to be a pleasant experience. Today, with people being bigger, airlines provide smaller passenger seating space, they have eliminated food service and charge fees for every little thing. All the while, they are pretending to offer low fares. The fees and surcharges can now eclipses the actual price of the ticket. With security issues and regular cabin staff fear and attitudes, flying is no longer a pleasurable experience.
If time permits, I always find alternatives to flying. If you must fly, do not tolerate bad attitudes from airline staff. Make them and their managers aware of any abuses that exist. Just remember to be calm, polite and professional. Whether you are on an airplane or in an airport, remember these are not places to become obnoxious.
Car Rental Companies: Book a car and hope for the best should be the mantra when dealing with car rental companies today. Service varies greatly from one rental location to another. It has become difficult to become forwarned of potential problems. “Trip Advisor”, the online review site to help travelers plan their business and leisure activities doesn’t even accept car rental agency reviews because service has become so bad, the majority of reviews would just be complaints. If you book a specific type of car or class of car, you have no guarantee of what you will actually receive. Half the time I have booked a specific car, I was given something else because of no availability. I was given a choice. Take it or leave it! From personal experience, corporate customer service is non-existent if a problem arises.
Some rental companies are now offering small discounts for prepaying at booking. Don’t play along. You are a customer, not a bank financing their operation. Do not provide them with operating capital when they haven’t provided anything except a vague promise in the future. If you play along you are not a victim, you are a volunteer.
Hotel and Resorts:
There are a couple of relatively new abusive practices being tried out in the lodging sector. If people don’t push back hard immediately these money grabs will be entrenched and hotel stays will increase by thirty to fifty percent in some properties within the next year or two. The first is the hotel charging a full payment at booking for a standard reservation.
This is trick is an extension of the practice for prepaying for special discounted packages. The difference is that there are no discounts, simply prepayment. The industry standards, for many years, has been to secure the reservation with a credit care and charge the card for the night if you do not arrive. Fair enough.
I travel regularly and sometimes for extended periods of time. I book several months in advance for some of my travel. I have no intention of paying in advance for a multiple part trip that is five or six months away. I will never stay in a hotel that insists on pre-payment. Once again, these businesses need to understand that if they need a line of credit or a cash advance, they need to see their bank manager, not their hotel guests.
The second abuse can be found in the Casino Resorts in Las Vegas and, I suspect, in other cities as well. This is the daily “resort fees” which is added to the cost of your room. It can range from $10-30 per night. When you inquire about these fees you are told that they are to cover the cost of the resort facilities such as the pool, the in-room coffee, the business center, fitness center or the shuttle bus, all the things that actually make it a resort in the first place.
Nothing screams capitalism like a Vegas casino, so why has Vegas gone socialist? When governments levy taxes or fees to pay for things people aren’t using, they tend to complain and label it socialism. Isn’t socialism charging everyone for the needs of the few? Why would I pay for a pool, a fitness or business center, etc that I may not want to use? Charge for the pool as a separate item for those that want to use it. That applies to the other facilities as well.
The truth is, resort fees are a room rate hike by another name. I have negotiated these fees away on several occasions. Every property trying to charge it doesn’t make it right. It simply makes it an attempt at price collusion is the so-called free market. Be aware and fight back. Don’t surrender your hard-earned money to under-handed business practices meant to exploit you under false pretences.