Everything About Business Except The Bottom Line: FunnyBusiness

Travelers Beware:Shortage of Airport Runway De-Icer

In case you weren't following the Canadian Potash Miners strike-- it lasted three months --and has resulted in a world wide shortage of airport runway de-icer. The de-icer used for planes comes from a different source and is not in short supply. But then, what could is a de-iced plane if the runway is a sheet of ice? Airorts are warning the shortage could " thwart ( I love that word) runway cleanup" which of course is code for delay, delay,delay.

About 500 workers walked off the job on Aug. 7 after contract talks broke down over union demands for a greater share of the company's profits.

The three mines, located in the potash hotbed of Saskatchewan, account for about 6 percent of world production and 30 percent of the company's annual output.

At the time of the walkout, the company was reaping record profits due to soaring world demand for fertilizer to boost crop yields, leaving the company essentially sold out of potash at a time of sky-high prices.

But since then, the global financial crisis has prompted hedge funds and other investors to sour on commodities in general, and has raised concerns that farmers will cut back on fertilizer use as crop prices retreat.
                                                                                                                          Mineweb

Miners are now back at work but airports throughout the world are going to a Plan B. From the StarTribune in Minneapolis: where a lot of de-icer gets used:

..the MAC, which runs Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport, said it does not expect flight delays. It will exhaust its current de-icer supplies, then turn to alternatives. The airport authority can use a urea-based chemical, which is effective and costs the same as potassium acetate, but it is harmful to the environment. Or it can use a newly introduced but expensive test chemical, Hogan said. Potassium acetate costs about $3.50 a gallon. The new chemical, which still must be tested for effectiveness, costs about twice as much. The effect on the MAC budget depends on how much snow falls.

Anyone want to place a wager on flight delays?

Southwest Airlines MastersThe Business Apology: Throw a mini-skirt sale, ignore the injured party

It's being called the "Southwest Apology."  But what Southwest  Airlines is calling  an "apology" is nothing more than a mean-spirited dig at Kyla Ebbert.

Here is the so-called apology by way of Upgrade:Travel Better

From a Company who really loves PR, touche to you Kyla! Some have said we’ve gone from wearing our famous hot pants to having hot flashes at Southwest, but nothing could be further from the truth. As we both know, this story has great legs, but the true issue here is that you are a valued Customer, and you did not get an adequate apology. Kyla, we could have handled this better, and on behalf of Southwest Airlines, I am truly sorry. We hope you continue to fly Southwest Airlines. Our Company is based on freedom even if our actions may have not appeared that way. It was never our intention to treat you unfairly and again, we apologize.

For a statement to be an actual apology there needs to be an expression of regret.

Beginning the press release implying that Kyla Ebbert is PR Whore would not fall into my definition of a sincere expression of regret. The airlines comes off as smug, arrogant and definitely not  remorseful.

It's a read my lips, wink , wink, wink, excuse for an apology.

In fact, the airlines never actually apologizes to Ms. Ebbert. They apologize for not having apologized. That's right . No where in there pseudo-apology statement is an actual "mea culpa" to  the way Ms. Ebbert  was treated. Why is the airlines having such a tough time admitting and or believing they did anything wrong?

No where  in  this statement is their reference to how customers should expect to be treated by their airlines.

Instead they focus on the fact that they could have handled this better (that's code for we got some really bad press on this and were definitely not on our game.)

If it were a real apology Southwest Airlines would be offering Kyla Ebbert her own personal  a mini-skirt sale by giving her a year of free flying. If they are doing that , they're not promoting it. So it's fair to say Ms. Ebbert isn't getting free fares.

Instead, they are running a "mini-skirt" sale after realizing even their  most loyal  had "Lost That Loving Feeling" for the LUV airlines.

Will a 'mini-skirt" sale help restore their reputation and image as the airlines flyers love to luv? 

Probably, but the key question still isn't answered? What is your dress code and how can flyers comply?

Notes From The Road: Caution: The Moving Walkway Is ending

With a six-hour layover in between my Southwest Flight from St. Louis to Chicago,and my Northwest flight from Chicago to Minneapolis, I was anticipating a frustrating afternoon of dead computer batteries, uncomfortable seats and bad muzak. . But a to Chicago's Midway Airport for having those little extra amenities that serve as a great reminder that its the little things that can make a huge difference in any experience.

I love the rocking chairs !  They're comfy. They're relaxing and that make passerbys smile.

They are part of a permanent art exhibit from La Rabida Children's Hospital. A 2004 press release announcing the art exhibit explains that the rocking chairs

"are meant to provide a soothing place for travelers to relax.  Sitting in the rocking chairs, travelers will transported to destinations imagined by La Rabida’s kids -- from the tropical rainforests of Brazil to the magical land of Oz, or even back to Medieval Times. La Rabida patients collaborated with over 30 reputable artists from all over the Chicago land area , organizations including Gallery 37 and the Chicago Children’s Museum and sports teams such as the Chicago Bears and Chicago White Sox.  All children who participated are treated at La Rabida, which specializes in care for chronic conditions and disabilities.  Most of the children are residents of the South Side of Chicago."

The Rocking Chair Airport Trend began 10 years ago in Charlotte,North Carolina. According to USA Today, Philadelphia, San Diego, Boston Logan, Nashville, Newark Liberty and New York's LaGuardia also provide rockers.

Imagine my delight that strategically located right next to my very comfy rocking chair right  was  an electrical outlet.  A couple of months ago I was frantically searching for an electrical outlet in JFK airport. JFK doesn't like to share its juice.

Finally, I found one that I thought was an open area. Evidently a store claimed ownership of the outlet and were not amused that I was using their electricity. After begging that I would only use the outlet for 5 minutes they agreed to allow me to plug in my dead Blackberry.

But Midway doesn't stop there. They have a plug in station - compliments of the City of Chicago and Clear Channel.

I have no idea how much money it costs the airport to share electrical outlets with travelers. I can't imagine that its a high ticket item.

In the event that adding free plug-in stations would be an astronomical fee,it is such a coveted commodity for travelers who are dealing with drained computers,
iPods, cell phones and Blackberry's that few would flinch at being asked to pay a couple of dollars to get a charge.

Of course, it's not  completely a day at the beach rocking away in my rocker on Concourse A. The rocker is located right near the end of the moving walkway. And so every five seconds the automated sound system reminds you :"Caution The Moving Walkway Is Ending."

Once again, it pays to be a hare aka The Story of a Sun Country Flight Attendant

When she decided to become a flight attendant 17 years ago she could have as easily applied at Northwest Airlines. 

Instead she opted for Sun Country-- a smaller , privately owned airlines also headquartered in The Twin Cities  that offered lower pay and fewer benefits.

" At the time we were flying to Oslo Norway and I am fluent in Norwegian," she explained.

She stayed with Sun Country because these days the airlines doesn't have lay overs.

" We do turnarounds. I leave the house in the morning and I'm often home before the kids get back from school."

She says she started as the same time that one of her friends started at Northwest Airlines. At the time the friend was making more money. She had more benefits.

Today, the flight attendant at Sun Country makes more than her friend---Northwest has slashed attendants salaries by nearly 40%. Morale is horrid.

Most importantly, the Sun Country flight attendant likes her job.She said, " we have fun." Of her friend she says, " she's not having much fun these days." Then she shudders.

Image Credit: Hare and Tortoise Sculpture in  Boston'sCopley Square . Created in 1995 by Nancy Schon as a tribute to all the runners who have participated in the Boston Marathon. Click here to read about the inspiration behind this popular Boston sculpture.

Northwest Airlines encourages employees to "Dumpster Dive"

I kid you not.  Northwest  Airlines hired an outside firm to create a booklet "Preparing for a Financial Setback" to help financially strapped employees who have endured massive pay cuts. Northwest is also planning on cutting more jobs.

One of the sections of the booklet included "101 ways to save money". For a time, the advice was posted on their website and about 50 employees received the booklet with the incredibly offensive advice.

'Northwest spokesman Roman Blahoski said some employees who received the handbook had taken issue with a couple of the items. "We agree that some of these suggestions and tips ... were a bit insensitive," Blahoski told Reuters.

     

The four-page booklet, "Preparing for a Financial Setback" contained suggestions such as shopping in thrift stores, taking "a date for a walk along the beach or in the woods" and not being "shy about pulling something you like out of the trash."

While this was reported on FoxNews.com on Tuesday, neither the StarTribune or the St.Paul Pioneer Press had any coverage of this bizarre story.

A couple of thoughts. If someone in Northwest's communication department approved this dribble, shouldn't they be accountable? 

Oh, and its not a " bit insensitive" It's egregiously offensive.

How did such an offensive, outlandish, insensitive and idiotic idea get approved?  Chances are, no one in the Northwest Communications area actually  proofread the copy in the booklet before it was printed or put on their website. ( you won't find it there now) One can only assume that on a list of priorities, a booklet providing financial advice to employees who are facing lay offs just isn't high on a priority list of a communication department dealing with potential strikes, bankruptcy, and general unhappy customers.

Then there's the consultants who came up with the advice in the first place. The Reuters article said it was an outside firm. Just who is this firm and why would they include a recommendation to rummage through the trash?  Is there another side to the story that we are just missing?

The employees of NWA deserve an apology from the Douglas Steenland, president and CEO of NWA.

In fact, he should have to spend a day dumpster diving.

You can't make this stuff up.

Oh, and the tag line for the photo is " So I went dumpster diving and all I got was this lousy lice."

Image Credit: Flickr member Thomask

On The Road at Blogher06 -- Signal Strength Low

If you can get over the fact that the hotel doesn't have an elevator and you have to drag your oversized suitcase up the stairs (yes, I could have asked the bellman for help), the rooms are fine. In fact, they are lovely.  The bed is comfy. I have a bathrobe and slippers. There's a  balcony.The air conditioning works. It's San Jose. It's delightful.

The price is definitely right .Since I am here to attend Blogher 06, I am paying the conference room rates. They are very reasonable. I'm happy  with everything--except the one thing that really matters -- THE SIGNAL STRENGTH..

At times very low , at others non-existent, this is the most unreliable Internet  access that I have experienced in years.

Did I mention that there are 700 women bloggers attending this conference--that would be 700 women with laptops who expect to use them  on a regular and frequent basis?

I wouldn't call it a disaster-- people are having way to much fun to allow a little thing like technology ruin the conference, but it's definitely a strain particularly for the women who are trying to "live blog" the conference.

Signal Strength Matters.

Even before the random access, I was less than pleased with the wireless setup at the hotel. They still charge for Internet access.  I am  not amused .My expectation is that free Internet  access is an amenity. I am not alone in my expectations.

 Last October, Wi-Fi NEWS reported on the situation, sharing links to articles in both the Wall Street Journal and New York Times. The two papers had different takes on the situation. While the WSJ ( subscription required -when will they ever learn?) reported on the trend to offer this as a free service.....

"Robert Mandelbaum of PKF Hospitality Research, an industry adviser, estimates that from 2000 to 2004, hotels lost 55% of the revenue they used to make from telecommunications. One of the only areas where they're turning profits on in-room technology is from Internet fees.

In an attempt to win and retain customers, hotels have recently pushed hard to upgrade their rooms with everything from flat-screen television sets to pillow-topped mattresses and 350-thread-count sheets. Complimentary high-speed Internet access is just the latest move in the hotel industry's amenities arms race.

The NY Times (subscription required --when will they learn?)  business columnist Joe Sharkey wrote about the tendency for the "big hotels" to charge for wireless access.

...the pricier the hotel, the more likely you are to pay an extra fee to check your e-mail from your room, said Bjorn Hanson, the head of the hospitality and leisure division at PricewaterhouseCoopers. That is because three-star chains like Hilton's Garden Inn, Hampton Inn and Homewood Suites and Marriott's Courtyard, Residence Inn and Fairfield Inn cater to price-conscious travelers, while the swankier names figure you won't much care about the extra few bucks.

Corporate travel managers are now trying to negotiate with four-star and five-star hotel brands to include Internet access in the room charge in future contracts, Mr. Hanson said

If the hotels are smart, they will concede the point. While baby boomers still outnumber them, Generation Xers spend more per capita on business travel, and have little patience for either dial-up connections or the general idea of paying for high-speed Internet access, which they have been accustomed to having free since college.

Moreover, with two-thirds of business travelers now using computers in their hotel rooms and with those in sales and training jobs often juggling big download files, the fees are becoming more of an irritant to just about everybody.

After a day of getting kicked off the Internet at the most inopportune times, I went to the front desk to discuss the fees. The women at the front desk indicated that they could not remove the charge from my room because it's billed to an outside service. She agreed to leave a message for the manager.

This morning, living by the motto that "hope runs eternal"  and thinking that the hotel technical staff had to have spent the entire night figuring out what was wrong, I again paid my $9.95 for a day of access. I was just getting ready to hit the submit button for my reservations at the Metropolitan Doubletree in NYC for a trip next week when I lost signal strength--again.

So instead of making my reservations on line, I called and talked to a very friendly reservation assistant Parochial for sure, but it worked.

 Oh, and it looks like I will have to pay $10.77 for Internet  access in New York....unless I go to a coffee shop or park--it seems like you can get free access just about anywhere you want--except where you need it.

Powered by QumanaTags: Hyatt, Blogher, Wi-Fi, Internet, Blogher06, business, travel

On The Road To BlogHer-First Stop Atlanta aka What's with all these supersized electrical plugs?

On any given business trip there are a certain amount of electronics that accompany me. Can anyone explain why we have to have such big honking plugs? Unless you travel with a power strip ( which didn't occur to me until this very second)   you have to use a divide and conquer strategy for plugging in all your stuff in the hotel room because  these plugs --or are they adapters ( and what is the difference?)won't share a standard two plug outlet...they're TOO BIG.

A few months ago I purchased this iGo adapter.    I use it for my blackberry. The idea is that you you can use I adapter and then change the tip for your various electronic devices.Which is a great concept except when you need to charge two devices at the same time. Say when you need to charge your blackberry at the same time you want to listen to your iPod.

Along for the trip is my adapter for my Sony mini recorder. I detest this adapter/plug. It will only fit in the bottom outlet. The prongs fold when its not in use.I guess the idea is for easy packing but it takes a tool to pry out the prongs from their resting position and then when you think you have it good to go, it snaps back into the resting position. Who has time for this?

And, then there is the  plug for my RAZR(so I could take these pictures). I can charge my blackberry with this charger but I can't  charge my RAZR with  my Blackberry  plug.

Last but not least the plug/adapter for my laptop. It has stuff coming and going from both ends.

If I hadn't lost the plug to my portable speakers to listen to my iPod  when I moved in October I would have brought that along as well.

In the short-term since hotels can't offer more outlets,  I want hotels to offer powerstrips.  In the near future I want everything to go wireless. No more plugs. No more long cords.  I want to take one standard Bluetooth mega charging thing ( that is small and cute and easy to pack) and then I want to be able to charge everything from that one source.

Where are the Jetsons when you need them?

Notes From The Road- Planes, Buses, Cars & Trains

The gate agent explained that the new boarding procedure saves 10 minutes --After years of boarding from the back to the plane to the front, NWA is now practicing the CHAOS theory of boarding. As soon as all their ELITE passengers are save and sound in their primo seasts, the rest of us board en mass.  While it may save money it doesn't feel right--yet.

Monday was "Spare The Air Day" in San Francisco-- all BART and muni rides were free.Monday was my third day riding the BART-- a system I found confusing at best. 

They don't make it easy for out of towners. The signage is awful. The confusion starts from the gitgo and doesn't leave until you get off the train

After purchasing my ticket, I looked for a sign telling me which platform I should take to get downtown. There was no sign.--that I could see. There were a lot of people on one side of the track and so that's where I decided to go but if there hadn't been people around I certainly wouldn't have known.

It doesn't get better on the train --the sound system was so poor on the car that there was no way of hearing which stop was approaching and a few of the stops had signage so understated that it would have been easy to miss the name of the stop unless you were really looking for it. Net Net-- if you are traveling on the BART take a map-- you'll need it.

As to the MUNI -- the one I was supposed to take to 3200 California Ave  broke down  by the Embarcadero. The driver had no idea how long it would take for the next bus to get there. So instead of Sparing The Air-- I got to spend  $15 dollar for a taxi cab.

Finally, the next time I need to rent a car ,the chances of  getting lost will be greatly reduced-- just saw a commercial that I can now upload Verizon's  VZ NAVIGATOR on my phone. For those of us directionally challenged, the $9 month fee ( plus airtime) will be well worth avoiding the wrong turns, stops to gas stations and that pit in your stomach that you are lost--again.

Image Credit:  Flickr Member The Emersons

Honey, I shrunk the World

While I still love my frequent flyer miles as much as the next person, I have not been diligent about monitoring them. My friend Nancy White has and what she has discovered is something that Northwest Airlines is apparently not sharing with their customers---in its world  the distance between two location is a lot closer.

I was checking my frequent flyer miles on Northwest Airlines and thought, hm, the total qualifying miles seems low, considering I flew from Seattle to NY, to Austin back to Seattle. Only 3,346 miles. That didn't seem right. So I went to the Flying Distance Calculator. Hm, quite a discrepancy. Considering the lower nautical mile figures, NW is crediting me about

NW Says LGA to IAH - 709 miles
Flying Distance Calculator says - 1229

Sea to Newark NW says 1201
Calculator says 2080

Houston to Seattle NW says 937
Calculator says 1626

Now if Northwest raises prices because fuel is going up, yet they are actually flying LESS miles due to some crazy math, something is wrong here. I'm losing 2088 miles (and, with my elite status, another 50% on top of that.)

This is the 25th anniversary of frequent flyer programs. There are some that say, there is now a chink in the chain of brand loyalty that frequent flyers have for their airlines. Prior to 1981 when people wanted to fly somewhere they would call a travel agent and say,

"I'd like to arrive in San Francisco around 4:00 p.m." 

However, after airlines launched frequent flyers, consumers completely changed their behavior. Instead of selecting an airline that met their schedule, they would say (still to a travel agent).."how close to 4:00 can Northwest Airlines get me to San Francisco?"

What used to be a 25 minute window of tolerance now opened to up to over 3 hours.

Dan Reed, at USA TODAY recently wrote a comprehensive article on the status of Frequent Flyer Programs.
Some of his findings:

The world's 180 million frequent-flier members - many hold memberships in multiple programs - are earning miles faster than ever. Their accounts are brimming with 14.2 trillionmileage points, up from 6.6 trillion at the end of 2000, estimates Randy Petersen, publisher of InsideFlyer magazine and WebFlyer.com. Frequent fliers earned 2.7 trillion credits in 2005 alone.

Reed also reported that while people are earning more points, airlines are giving fewer away.

Henry Harteveldt, an analyst at Forrester Research, says only 26% of North Americans who buy their travel online - and most of them do - profess loyalty to one carrier. Harteveldt says that frequent-flier programs have become "golden handcuffs" in which "elite status becomes a disincentive to change rather than an incentive to stay."

What went wrong? Well according to Rolfe Shellenberger, the marketing executive who brought the first frequent flyer program to American Airlines, they got "greedy."

Their purpose now is to generate more revenue" in the short term rather than maintain and build customer loyalty that will financially benefit the company over the long term, he says.

Indeed, U.S. airlines generated $4 billion in additional revenue last year by selling mileage points to partner companies at prices of up to 2 cents per mile. The partner - a credit card company, a car dealer or a mortgage firm, for example - will then use the points to reward their customers for purchases.

 

As it turns out Northwest is not the only carrier who sees the world as a much smaller place.According to Lilia Eflimora sharing a comment on Nancy's blog.

Nancy, could be legitimate reduce for the cheaper tickets. KLM resently changed to that: e.g. most of my latest flights to Russia were credited with 25% miles just because I had cheapest tickets. No gold wings anymore :(

Bus Break

Riders Beware: If the bus route goes past a casino, don't be surprised if your bus "suddenly breaks down"-- at least that was the case for Brent Usry's son . Now, if I hadn't had my own terrible customer service experience with Greyhound, I may have looked at this claim with a bit more skepticism...But as Chris Argyris maintains in the Ladder of Inference, our beliefs often short circuit reality. in this case, nothing that Greyhound does would  surprise me in the least.

Here's what we know. Brent Usry's son took the Greyhound. from Las Vegas to California.

Fourty Five Minutes Later.... My cell phone rings. It is my son he was ranting about the stupid bus driver and air conditioning. I said "What are you saying, it is 107 degrees and he is not running the air conditioning?" He said no "he is running it full blast and we have over heated 3 times." I said "Is it hot in the bus" he said "No it is freezing".

"Why is he running it so cold?"  He said; "We had Just past Whiskey Petes Casino and he called and said the bus was having problems and they sent him back to whiskey petes to wait an hour for a new bus."

He said; "Now he is joking about everyone having some gambling time, and I think he did this on purpose. He said it has happend to him a lot." My son stayed outside while everyone else headed into the casino. (he is only 17 and there is not much for a 17 year old to do in a casino.

According to blogger Usry, in checking with other folks, "stateline casinos give a lot of perks to bus drivers who bring in big loads of people."

As blogger Usry says in his post, he doesn't know what really happened....maybe it was a bad bus --maybe it was a bus driver who wanted to spend the afternoon at the casino.

The reason people suspect that the technical problems could have been human induced is that Greyhound has a culture that invites its customers to think the worst of them. how proud they must be.

So, do Greyhound buses regularly break down at casinos? Or was this just a case of a bus driver joking around and feeling thankful that they broke down at the casino instead of the Barnes and Noble.

Image Credit: Flickr member Ian Fuller