The head of the Jacob Zuma Foundation who now also runs SAA won’t give a toss. But last year after our national airline debased my Voyager miles by something like 90%, I finally quit. It came after one too many times of paying the full economy fare in the forlorn hope of converting those hard-earned miles into an upgrade.
This week, my newfound loyalty to competitor British Airways was sorely tested. I joined long queues on Tuesday after a faulty installation of the new computer system required tickets to be manually produced. Wednesday was little better – with no record of the previous flight, instead of being checked in I was sent to queue at the ticket office. To top it all, a clerk then decided to pick a fight about the weight of my hand luggage.
But here’s the thing. Despite those irritations, I arrived home after a testy roadshow feeling pretty good about my new favourite airline. Because apart from that officious young lady (who was calmed down by a supervisor) the BA staff remained calm and kept their sense humour. That despite having every excuse to join the wave of grumpiness all long, slow queues produce.
By Thursday, even the computers seemed to be playing ball – the self-service check-in seemed faster than ever before. While a complaining customer is a business’s best friend, un-cooperative computer programmes provide an even bigger opportunity to impress. Which is precisely what BA did for me this week.
PS We’re holding our first Easy Equities Webinar today at noon. I’ll be putting share price valuation into language everyone can understand and share tools you can apply. It’s free and easy to join in, but you’ll need to register – details on the Biznews home page.
