There have been a number of Articles and blogs recently celebrating the merger. Some of them say this will create the world's largest airline. Others talk about taking market share from United and Delta.
Gosh, I am not an airline expert, though I have probably flown over two million miles. I am not an investment expert, though I purchased my first stock at age 14.
However, I have been a CIO and CEO for more than a couple years. Please let me be clear, what you are about to read is not a criticism of American Airlines, they were my go to airline until 9/11 when they cut the direct route to Kauai and closed the club at Honolulu airport essentially forcing me to switch to United.
Most of you have read about problems with the United Continental merger. And trust me, there were problems. Since I was on a plane almost every week as well as someone who follows investment analysts, here is what I think makes or breaks the effectiveness of the merger:
1) The merger of the IT systems. United Continental had some glaring and famous problems, but as an IT guy, I think they actually did fairly well. Trust me, at that scale it could have been a lot worse; think Obamacare, (and I am not being political, I am talking about large scale IT). If the IT systems do not work, then passengers will not get to where they need to go and United and Delta will gain customers.
2) Culture. With the United Continental merger, the Continental folks really seemed to have a chip on their shoulders. If American/US Air should lead to employees that want to abuse customers, they will lose market share. Make no mistake about it, travel today is about two things, the least pain and lowest cost.
3) Leadership. Say what you want about Jeff Smisek, but he is not a passive leader. And that is important. The American/US Air employees are going to need someone to look up to for guidance.
4) Cost management. This goes everywhere from reducing redundant routes and employees to fuel efficient planes, though I am starting to wonder about the success of the dreamliner.
The bottom line: I wish the merger the best, I really do. Competition not only helps with the cost of flying, but also can be a driver for better customer service. But I have to be honest, all of my instincts, observations and analysis lead me to believe this is going to be a very bumpy merger. They may start out as the largest airline, though if you made me bet, that will not be true 18 months after the merger.
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
An experience with Clearwire
Two years ago we were in San Francisco and the conference hotel had incredibly bad Internet. But one of the facilitators, Tim, had a clear modem and it was flawless. That sold me. Got one for Richmond VA and it worked great. When we moved to Seattle, I ordered another one and it had no reception, but they were very helpful to take it back. All that is the good news.
Now the bad news. The house in Richmond is up for sale. I wanted to close the Clear account so two months ago, I called them from Hawaii and customer service said you can only close accounts between 8 and 12 AM East Coast Time. Yes, I can get up that early in Hawaii, six hours later than East Coast, I have done it for business meetings, but I do not like it.
I could not find a way to do it by email. Finally, in frustration, I cut up the credit card. And that generated the following note:
= = = =
Now the bad news. The house in Richmond is up for sale. I wanted to close the Clear account so two months ago, I called them from Hawaii and customer service said you can only close accounts between 8 and 12 AM East Coast Time. Yes, I can get up that early in Hawaii, six hours later than East Coast, I have done it for business meetings, but I do not like it.
I could not find a way to do it by email. Finally, in frustration, I cut up the credit card. And that generated the following note:
= = = =
CLEAR internet service
Customer Number: 2993129
Service Name: RV1016347
11-02-2013
Dear Stephen NORTHCUTT,
We have been unable to process payment for your CLEAR internet service(s)and
your account has been suspended. Please contact us right away to update your
credit/debit card or electronic check payment information to avoid continued
suspension of your CLEAR internet service.
• Online: Log into My Account at www.clear.com to update your payment
information
• By Phone: Our Customer Care Support Team is also available to assist
you at 888.888.3113
We appreciate your immediate response and look forward to continuing to
provide you with CLEAR internet service.
Sincerely,
CLEAR
Note: Please do not reply to this message. This email was sent from a mailbox
that does not accept replies.
= = =
Called them at the 888 number. Spoke with three people before I received someone that might be able to resolve this. Miles said, "we only have one phone call from you, it was November 4 and from your son". That alone is interesting because my son does not know the answers to my security questions; I NEVER give a correct answer for a security question. I replied, that is not correct, I have called multiple times. And then he said "you owe us $75 dollars."
I offered him the opportunity to escalate this, but no. I will mail them a check for $75 dollars. There is no way on God's green earth I will give them a credit card number, they would probably charge my account until the second coming of the Lord or force me to kill another credit card.
The bottom line. Am I saying don't do business with Clearwire? No, look at the top of this post, I have had some good experiences. Am I saying watch your stuff? Yes. They do appear to have some deceptive practices. If you have had a similar experience, I would love to hear from you: stephen at sans.edu
Update: NOV 6, 4:46 EDT: I just got a phone call from the Clearwire "robot" asking about my customer experience. I was able to answer the first question, "How likely are you to recommend Clearwire). But the question, did the call solve your problems, However, after 15 tries I gave up pushing "1, 2, or 3) on my keypad, the robot would not accept either 2 or 3 and there is no way in heck I was going to push 1, solved all my problems. (Wonder if they used the same coders that did the Obamacare web site. Ooooh, that was mean, sorry. I will try to keep this clean. )
Update NOV 6, 5:04, EDT when I was on the phone with Clearwire, I asked for a local Clearwire store because I did not want to give them a credit card over the phone, they are just too screwed up. We called the number Clearwire gave us; I am not going to list the store, but they were wonderful. First she told me they do not accept personal checks, which I had already filled out and addressed the envelope since that is what I told Miles that is what I would do. But then the kicker, she said there was no way I could have a balance since they pre-charge. So what do I do?
Update NOV 6 5:35 EDT Ahhh, I think I understand a bit more about what they are going through. In September 2013, Sprint began the process of laying off 70% of the workforce. That will mess up any company. Word on the street is they only acquired them for their spectrum.
Update NOV 7 3:47 EDT Kathy called Clearwire and there is an escalation department. He said, "As long as we do not reactivate the account, he would waive the fees". My guess is they will not still be in business 90 days from now, so this is a safe bet. Despite all this, I will not be surprised if we do not hear from a collections department in a few weeks.
Update: NOV 6, 4:46 EDT: I just got a phone call from the Clearwire "robot" asking about my customer experience. I was able to answer the first question, "How likely are you to recommend Clearwire). But the question, did the call solve your problems, However, after 15 tries I gave up pushing "1, 2, or 3) on my keypad, the robot would not accept either 2 or 3 and there is no way in heck I was going to push 1, solved all my problems. (Wonder if they used the same coders that did the Obamacare web site. Ooooh, that was mean, sorry. I will try to keep this clean. )
Update NOV 6, 5:04, EDT when I was on the phone with Clearwire, I asked for a local Clearwire store because I did not want to give them a credit card over the phone, they are just too screwed up. We called the number Clearwire gave us; I am not going to list the store, but they were wonderful. First she told me they do not accept personal checks, which I had already filled out and addressed the envelope since that is what I told Miles that is what I would do. But then the kicker, she said there was no way I could have a balance since they pre-charge. So what do I do?
Update NOV 6 5:35 EDT Ahhh, I think I understand a bit more about what they are going through. In September 2013, Sprint began the process of laying off 70% of the workforce. That will mess up any company. Word on the street is they only acquired them for their spectrum.
Update NOV 7 3:47 EDT Kathy called Clearwire and there is an escalation department. He said, "As long as we do not reactivate the account, he would waive the fees". My guess is they will not still be in business 90 days from now, so this is a safe bet. Despite all this, I will not be surprised if we do not hear from a collections department in a few weeks.
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