Absolutely. That's definitely my work ethic. But I've seen the other too many times over a lot of years... both at Delta and at TWA. When you pay people too little, there will always be a significant percentage that will become unmotivated and jaded. I've never seen this translate into anything other than poor customer service. Ultimately, you can't get around the fact that you get what you pay for.

That's another part of the problem with an excessive cost cutting bean counter mentality. But this one can be overcome to some degree by better compensation. It won't always help when an individual is impossibly overwhelmed with too much to handle. But you will see a lot less of the rudeness, etc. when employees are well compensated and treated with respect.

Bottom line... when it's all said and done, I think Delta's "employee compensation slash and burn fest" they had in bankruptcy (and still maintain much of today) has HURT the company way more than it has helped.