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...what they don’t like about other airlines and answering these concerns clearly...sure), or maybe a cowboy outfit for airlines serving the West. If there’s a me...

... Take the airline industry. Most airlines have received a lot of “heat” lately...that will continue to WOW them. For airlines, it’s easy to segment their custo...

...or customer service companies as airlines think they provide good service. One...uthwest gets top billing. The other airlines just don’t 'get it.' Southwest’s ...

...came president of the ailing SAS Airlines in 1981.Within one year, he turned t...

...lleher, former CEO of Southwest Airlines, one of the best-managed companies i...n of 'the competition' beyond other airlines to include private autos, buses,...

...eshaped the relationship between airlines and travel agents. Today travel agen... counterbalance the power of bigger airlines and global alliances. The exclus...

... It's human nature. There was no way to stop him. The only solid defense would have been to head off the problem before it became unmanageable. So what do you do? Even the best-run companies will occasionally create an unhappy client. When you and your employees face an angry and complaining client who threatens to take his/her business elsewhere, you can't afford to view the situation as bothersome or only as a headache. Dealing with an upset client offers you two opportunities: (1 ) To learn what your agency needs to improve; and (2 ) to make this client a raving fan. Saving clients, then, represents a real gold mine. WHAT YOU CAN DO Proactive Client Contact Studies show that a majority of clients do not complain. Consider this example from the airline industry. An airline lost all the luggage on one of its flights. Twenty-four of the passengers complained. The rest of the passengers didn't even let the airline know that they didn't receive their luggage. A startling 96% of all clients will not complain, and if they have four or five negative experiences with your organization, they'll simply walk away and you'll never know why. Regardless of whether they're trying to avoid conflict or they believe complaining will do no good, these departed clients will engage in the negative word-of-mouth advertising mentioned earlier. This means that your goal must be to increase the percentage of clients who are comfortable complaining to you when necessary. Transform unhappy clients who are non-complainers, and the least loyal clients, into complainers, who can become the most loyal. Your agency ...

... the insurance industry, clients seldom write their own consulting agreements unless they have special needs that the agreement does not address and choose to adapt the terms to their individual concerns. Exceptional circumstances aside, short- or long-form contracts should contain these essential elements: A list of all parties involved in the contract or agreement A description of the work to be performed Dates marking the duration of the consultation Fees, including complete description of time estimates, flat charges, hourly rates, travel expenses, and any other anticipated consultation-related costs A description of follow-up procedures to be performed after the consultation, such as a written report, contacting the consultant with questions, and any other services the client believes is important to implementing the consultant's recommendations successfully. The consultation agreement might contain a cancellation penalty, particularly relating to airline fees, since discounted airline fares are nonrefundable. Competent consultants usually book the lowest fares possible. The proposal can include the standard fee schedule with a budgetary breakdown of all the services necessary. This schedule helps the client calculate such expenses as cost per mile for driving and any charges for travel time, often referred to as portal-to-portal' consulting charges. See the consulting forms below for an outline of what goes into a complete contract. SOME WORDS OF CAUTION Exercise caution when reviewing any consultation document. If you, as a client, are concerned about or dissatisfied with the little details in the contract, you have the option to move on to another consultant. The consultant and the potential client should be sizing each other up during the negotiating process, deciding whether they make a compatible team ...

... ,000 incorrect drug prescriptions will be written in the nest 12 months. 114,500 mismatched pairs of shoes will be shipped this year. $761,900 will be spent in the next 12 months on tapes and CDs that won't play. 107 incorrect medical procedures will be performed by the end of the day today. 315 entries in Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language (unabridged) will turn out to be misspelled. Incidentally, 99.9 percent accuracy would be a remarkable improvement in the context of current performance levels. For example: A Hewlett-Packard study of 300,000 semiconductors from three American firms and three Japanese firms recently found the average failure rate of the American chips was more than 0.1 percent. The failure rate for the Japanese-made chips was zero. The U.S. airline industry, despite reams of advertising about improved performance, reported last year that just 80% of its flights departed on time-and only 74% arrived on schedule. The airline industry also assumes 5% to 10% of all luggage will be mishandled and 3% of all checked baggage will be lost en route. And don't look to the heavens for salvation: The Office of Technology Assessment recently published a report stating, Of the more than 20,000 objects fired into orbit since 1957, fewer than 5% remain operational. Natalie Gabel compiled this report while working as an intern for Training Special Projects. Reprinted with permission form the March 1991 issue of Training, The Magazine of Human Resources Development, copyright 1991, Lakewood Publications, Inc., Minneapolis, MN (612) 333-0471. ...

...groups of managers on commercial airlines has never been recommended. Now that...