Originally Posted by
Probe
I have been lucky enough to sit next to a several super high mileage customers at l-UAL in first class. Including l-UAL's highest mileage customer, ever. Twice. He had 6 million miles on UAL. At the time, that was more than me.
I am not a fan of UAL management at all, past or present. But these customers told me we took care of them exceptionally well, every day. They were extremely loyal, and not going anywhere.
In a desperate effort to squeeze more money out of other flyers, we held "perks" in front of our mid level customers so they would spend more money on our metal. So did everybody else. Now we carry billions of dollars in unrewarded rewards on our balance sheet as "liabilities", and are slowly chipping away at them. So is everybody else.
To our customers that truly spend a lot of money, I hope we continue to coddle them. For those that don't, I hope all of our employees treat them with dignity, respect, and some humor. BUT, they also need to sit down in their coach seat, shut up, and if they want a beer it is 5 bucks. Credit card only. If you use your Mileage Plus card you will earn 2 miles for the beer purchase.
Exactly my point. We take care of our Global's and our formerly referred to CoStars. They pay the bills and deserve to be coddled. Over the past few years we allowed more and more middle level members to think they were Global's while they bought the cheapest ticket possible and gained status by paying their electric bill using their Milage Plus cards. Today our programs have been adjusted to reward those who are spending money on United, not just traveling on the cheap fare and using their credit card. This means no more free upgrades for folks spending relatively little on United. This isn't a CAL or UAL policy shift but an industry shift. Reward those who truly are your loyal customers.