Do You Remember -- " It's the computer's fault?"

Scott McCartney's latest column, "The Middle Seat," for The Wall Street Journal brings back those heady days of blaming the computer for everything. The title of his post is, "Your Airline Wants to Get to Know You." He announces, "Airlines are getting closer to rolling out new technology that tells airport agents your ticket-buying and travel history, flags key customers to flight attendants and instructs them to offer personalized apologies, or sends you sales targeted to your vacation patterns."

Whoop. It seems the airlines have discovered -- now wait, don't get too excited -- CRM technology.

If the airlines wanted to apologize for poor service, they don't need a computer to do it. Say they lost my luggage. When I point this out to them they capture my name and address, the better to return my luggage should they ever find it. If they want to apologize, that's the time to do it. They can send me a letter and perhaps a free drink coupon or upgrade.

What the airlines haven't discovered is that the technology is totally dependent on the service person to use it. And this doesn't happen by fiat. The service people, those facing the consumer, must want to use the tool.

And right now, the only airlines where this is part of their culture are Southwest, Alaska -- used as an example in the post -- and Midwest.

Great tools are one thing; great tool users are another. And the legacy airlines don't have the necessary skills to use the CRM tool. They're not even close.

They're the last bastion of that great quote that went out of fashion everywhere else in the '70s. It's the computer's fault.

They don't need the tool. They need the skill to use it. Michelangelo's chisel in my hand would never result in "David." CRM at the legacy carriers won't result in great customer service.

Attitude

Yesterday at the BMA luncheon the speaker mentioned, "We are choosing not to participate in the recession."

And they aren't.

That's attitude.

So they continue to grow when so many are not. What do they know that the others don't?

The know that companies still need to purchase their products. They know that they have to build market share. They know that they must be better than their competitors. They know that their service must be the best. They know they can't cut back but must, in fact, be better than before.

These are the times when the market finds out what you're made of.

And they're out to prove they're made of the best.

So they continue to grow and their competitors participate in the recession.

Attitude.