I haven't done this in a while. I've been trying to be nice and positive and insightful and the like but there comes a time when I just have to rant about something. What's gotten under my skin is what I call the nickle and diming of the American consumer.
What am I talking about here? I'm talking about the practice in some industries, especially the travel industry, to sell a consumer a product or service and then tacking on all sort of little expenses that never seem to be much until they're all added up. The company usually advertises some great price for their service or brags that they haven't raised their prices in tough economic times. It could be a $99 round trip airfare or a $79 room rate. But then they find a way to charge you for every little semi-essential service they can think of. The round trip airfare was $99 but then you add the $15 per bag luggage fee, the fuel surcharge of $10, the ticketing fee of $5 and all the rest and you have a $200 fare to you destination. In the hotel industry it's a internet access fee, a gym usage fee, a parking charge, a pay-up breakfast buffet and your great $79 room is now over $150 per night.
Now, I don't mind if the business decides to use a pay as you go business model. There are a number of reason that might actually benefit a certain group of consumers. What really fries me is that the business usually does everything it can to hide their way of doing things. A hotel will proudly proclaim that it has shuttle service to the airport or high-speed internet access or a gym knowing that most of it's potential customers will assume that since those services are usually provided for free they will not be charged for them at this particular place. Once the room is booked and the customer has arrived, the surprise is sprung. And don't tell me it's in the fine print. That stuff's usually in 6 pt or smaller font tucked in a corner of the ad or shown for such a brief period time that only a person with stop action TV could read it.
Can you imagine if an engineering firm did something like that? They give a presentation to a client that says that they'll create the plans for a bridge or building for a certain fee but hide the fact that they're going to charge a bunch extra for the actual blueprints of the plan on the last page of the proposal in a bunch of legalese. Or what if my college charged tuition and claimed you'd have everything you needed to earn a degree but then required textbooks that you only learned about a week into class or charged a "desk fee" for each class or required you to have an email account but then made you pay a daily fee to access it. Sometimes I worry that things are trending that way in higher education but at least we tell you up front what your fees and tuition are going to be and that your tuition only covers the cost of your classes.
The travel industry is struggling right now and I think that a lot of the anger that consumers feel towards airlines and hotels stem from these practices. I like staying at Holiday Inn Express not because the beds are supposed to be nice or because they have a great breakfast buffet but because I know that I won't be nickle and dimed there. The rate I pay includes everything that the hotel offers-breakfast, internet, gym, pool, phone, etc. Delta would do well to learn this. The more frustration people feel about using their services the less likely they are to make an impulse purchase to take a quick trip somewhere. These folks would do well to remember that it's the details that keep people coming back. Of course your room has to be clean and the flight has to arrive on time but it's the little touches that will keep customers returning. You can kill the goose trying to get the golden egg and that seems to be be what the airline and upscale travel industry don't understand.
OK...I'll be done now. Thanks for Reading.