Loyalty360 Reads: April 19th, 2018

The latest news in the world of customer experience and customer loyalty.
 
It’s a Rough Day to Be…
Sun Country Airlines. The Minneapolis-based discount airline, which built its brand around flying passengers from northern cities to warm-weather destinations, was blasted by regular media and social media this week after cancelling its last flights of the season due to a blizzard in Minnesota. That’s not good, but somewhat understandable. There’s only so much you can do to fight Mother Nature. However, the cancellations resulted in about 250 of its passengers being stranded in the Mexican resort cities of Cabo San Lucas and Mazatlan. Rather than send a “rescue flight,” the airline decided to refund the passengers’ fares and told them they were on their own to find a way home. Oops. Not a great way to build brand loyalty. The airline pleaded mea culpa on Tuesday, saying it should have sent a plane down, and would not only refund the roundtrip fares but also “reasonable” costs the passengers incurred in their effort to get back to Minnesota as a result of the dunderheaded decision.
 
Chevy and Shell Partner, Allowing Drivers to Pay for Gas Without Leaving the Car
Many cars today don’t need keys, utilizing push-button starting as long as a wireless fob is tucked into a pocket or purse nearby. Well, the same philosophy is being utilized with paying for gas. Newer General Motors cars with the Marketplace “infotainment” feature programmed into the dashboard control panel allow drivers to pre-program credit card information into the system so they can pay for gas at Shell stations without leaving their cars, meaning they can leave their wallets in their pockets or purses next to their key fobs. GM’s Marketplace is much like Apple Pay or other electronic payment systems. GM users can use the program to work with partnering brands, such as ordering donuts from Dunkin’ Donuts, reserve a table at Applebee’s. GM is expected to have 4 million vehicles equipped with the Marketplace program by the end of the year and is working with other brands to bring additional services to the program.

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