Thursday, February 15, 2018

of things assumption and perception

hi there


if for some reason you were to ask people what airline companies lead the way in the answer would be, look you see, not good. travel by air is no longer as glamorous, interesting or pleasurable as it once was. it is now, to be sure, a miserable and depressing experience, with airlines seemingly keen to see who can give the poorest level of service possible.

this is a shame for a number of reasons. for one, for sure, flying used to be fun. but we are not here to lament it no longer being so. no, instead this is all how rubbish service has overshadowed the fact that, often, airlines lead the way in cutting costs via rather simple, effective, maybe innovative and at first sight ingenious ways.

every now and then someone makes a suggestion of a minor change to save costs or resources. when so, the perception is that if it is so small it will make no difference, and thus the assumption is there is little point. fascinating things happen, though, when you cross these two things off the list and do it.



indeed yes, i was in a hotel recently. more than one, but that is another story. as is fairly standard for hotels, some complimentary tea and coffee was provided, along with a couple of chalice like mugs from which one may drink them.

the observant of you will have, erm, observed that the two cups are made by the same firm or artist, yet the name and sort of logo is different on each. to wit, one is smaller than the other, or one is bigger than the other, depending on how you look at the world in general.

a number of reasons could be offered for the difference. the mugs seemed identical, though, so it would be unlikely to be for differentiating between styles. maybe the company wanted a change, perhaps there was a mix up. most likely, though, they worked out that a slightly smaller logo would use less ink, and save lots of money.



yes, indeed, a break of sorts for another selfie. this was a quickly taken one, as i was in somewhat of a rush to catch up with some chaps i was out and about with. not in the Spiros was of short term friendships, i hasten to add. no way could i go past Rough Trade, they of record label what done The Smiths and that, and not take a picture.

so, airlines. they have a really, really good track record for making slight, often so small that no one notices changes which deliver huge savings. yes, this is all when they are not actively seeking to make life as miserable and uncomfortable as possible for their customers. here, in some rather pretty colours (colors if American), are some examples.....

removing one olive from salads saves about $50,000 a year

lighter paper for inflight magazines saves thousands of gallons of jet fuel

reducing weight of meal cuts fuel usage levels

i reckon three will do for you for now, won't it? there are loads more examples, but i have no idea if you are all that interested. a search engine such as the google is your friend if you want to see more.



what's the point i am trying or hoping to make here? don't know for sure, really, i just found this interesting. and it is not like i am usually prone to being all that interested in geek or nerd like stuff.

perhaps the point is that you shouldn't let perception dictate your assumption. if you see a change being so small that it surely couldn't make a difference, do not automatically assume that it won't. from the acorn comes the tree, and all that stuff, etc.

will such cost cutting measures or savings allow airlines to once again offer a decent, comfortable or at least bearable service to passengers and customers? highly doubtful. that particularly genie is out of the lamp, i fear. we now have, after all, a generation of flyers who have no idea that, once, it was a pleasure to fly on a plane. for what reason, then, would the airlines waste time and money giving people the service they paid for?



be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




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