The Daily Telegraph reports that last weekend, supermodel Naomi Campbell, already infamous for her temper tantrums around the world, was heard to say, “I am never flying Qantas again,” after her arrival in Sydney.
There is no evidence that the airline mistreated her or did anything improper. In fact, from Miss Campbell’s track record, we’d say it is more likely she did something improper.
But it brings us to an interesting thought. Why do passengers blame the airline for one bad experience? How often have we uttered or heard the phrase, “I will never fly [insert airline here] again.” We think that a single bad experience is too little to base condemnation on. We’ve all had bad experiences. But the question is, of course, consistency.
On the same airline, we’ve dealt with surly flight attendants, and ones who took good care of us. We’ve dealt with flight delays, information issues, and so on. Expecting perfection from any individual or corporation is impossible. If you search the internet, you’ll find complaints about every carrier…even Qantas. The question is how you and they deal with it. Did you write them a letter? Speak to their customer relations department? How can you expect a company to rectify its failure to satisfy you unless the appropriate party is notified. These departments are set up to address these issues.
We wouldn’t suggest that the airline isn’t to blame. Cutting salaries, dated equipment, etc…It is no surprise that things aren’t always up to par. It takes more than one bad experience to induce a permanant ban…although next time…if the price is comparable, you might take the competition. Something to think about though…
