How To Successfully Get An Upgrade On A Flight

Successfully negotiating an upgrade on a flight has become somewhat of a mystery.

The days of 'FREE' upgrades have all but vanished, and the published prices of flight upgrades can appear disproportionately expensive when compared to the Economy class flight tickets.

Due to the ever changing aviation legislation, and the fact that each airline providing an 'upgrade' is compelled to pay tax on the seat being used, the FREE upgrade is no longer viable.  But this certainly doesn't mean that you can't secure an upgrade at a fantastic price - way below the published prices.

Below, I've detailed the approaches I use (pretty successfully) to secure a flight upgrade when flying long haul.  I stress long haul purely due to the fact that short haul flights of up to 3 - 4 hours, the quality of service, comfort and actual value in terms of food and drink are rarely much greater value than economy.  All you benefit from is a slightly more palatable meal….and a curtain separating business class from economy.  Hardly worth additional expense!

Visit your airline's web site and check whether there is an option to upgrade your travel class and ticket following your purchase of an economy ticket.  Most major airlines have this facility available, even though many don't actively promote the service.  Why would they, unless they were really desperate to fill the more expensive seats?

Etihad for example has an online bidding facility.  You visit the upgrade page and then 'Blind Bid' for the upgrade.  Their upgrade page has a colourful bid chart which begins with red (for low bids) and culminates in a bright green (likely successful bids).  As you move your mouse from left to right, the likelihood of your bid being 'successful' is increased.  The key challenge for you, the consumer, with this highly visual gamble?  You have absolutely no idea whether your blind bid offer is being compared to other consumer's blind bids, or, whether the airline has set it's own, perhaps high cost, minimum reserve price.  The danger for you in using this blind bid approach is that, if you get so connected to wanting to fly business class, your emotions are quite possibly to take control over your credit card.  And that's NEVER a good idea!


So, my first tip is to steer clear of blind bid invitations from your airline!

Second tip.  Join their Frequent Flyer programme. Just possessing one of the airline's branded loyalty cards demonstrates a certain loyalty to their brand.

At Check-In

If check-in for your flight opens 3 hours prior to departure, arrive early so you are at, or very near, the front of the queue.  Why?  If the airline still has empty seats in a higher class a few hours before departure, they would much rather have somebody paying something to take the seat rather than nobody paying anything!  This is where your negotiating position is strengthened immensely.  But you need to do a few other things to boost your possibility of success!

Be Polite, Collaborative And Smile

Whatever time of day or night, check-in operators have likely had to deal with one or two awkward customers already.  And you don't want to be added to that list!

It's important that you are received as genuinely polite, collaborative and understanding of the pressures your check-in operator has had, is having or things s/he is going to experience with this flight's passengers.

When in line I'll often make a polite, light hearted comment to build some level of collaboration and co-operation with the check-in agent.  If I'm right at the front of the queue I'll approach him or her, smile and say 'Good morning.  We thought it best for you that you get the REALLY nice passengers first.'  This usually raises a smile or a chuckle from the check-in agent, who then suddenly becomes…a partner rather than a foe!  If I'm not first in line, I'll observe which check-in agent is smiling the most (good mood) and which appears to be having some grief from a passenger or two, and then target them as my check-in agent.  Why?

If a check-in agent is having a good day, you can add to it and stack even more positive emotions on him or her.  If s/he is having a tough day, you have a fantastic opportunity to help him or her step out of the negative emotional state, and smile.  You may not truly understand just how much a stressed check-in agent appreciates some light hearted banter, and to realise that s/he is not going to be your victim.  Step in to his or hers shoes when you've observed them having to deal with a high maintenance passenger.  I tend to use 'It looks like you had a tough time with Mr Nasty a moment ago.'  Wait for the response, which is usually raised eyebrows, pursed lips and then a deep breath in…and looong exhalation, and then say 'I promise you I will be completely, absolutely and very positively different.'  Smile as you do this, and you suddenly put him or her at complete ease.  And guess what.  They become extremely helpful towards you.  In the UK, act out the cub scout three finger promise which adds a little more drama, and which puts you in to a collaborative chat rather than adversarial fight.

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER…wearing expensive jewellery or exclusive branded clothing

Why not?  Well. you might feel comfortable wearing your Tag or Gucci watch which cost you £1,000 to £4,000 or the Paul Smith shirt which set you back a few hundred pounds, but what are you really doing?  You're weakening your negotiating position BECAUSE you are openly showing you like expensive treats.  Why would an airline, having spotted your expensive tastes, then wish to provide you with the best and lowest price upgrade?  THEY WOULDN'T!

Pop your posh watch in your pocket and wear a smart, but perhaps unbranded clothing and you're on your way to a good negotiation.

DON'T Ask For The 'Best Price'

What happens when you are wanting to buy a car from a showroom sales rep and you ask him or her 'What's your best price?'  They immediately evade answering your question and then disappear to speak with their boss (real or imaginary).  Then they return and want to negotiate upwards - in their favour.

Avoid this stand-off by asking a different, more collaborative question such as 'Please will you let me know what's the best price you have available for these seats…a price where I can enjoy a fabulous flight..and you can make a decent profit on my purchase?'

This very question is one that absolutely nobody will ask.  And your check-in agent will view your unique approach as a refreshing change.  You'll probably spot a smile on the check-in agent's face and develop a small level of trust, but lots of automatic collaboration and reciprocity.

Have your credit card ready and in view of your check-in agent at this point.  Demonstrating visually a willingness (but not eagerness) to pay for the upgrade does help you along.

Flinch...Like You've Never Flinched Before

When presented with the price of the upgrade, whatever the price and even if it is within your allocated budget, FLINCH.

What do I mean by 'flinch'?  A flinch is a visual method of demonstrating non acceptance and/or disapproval of the information you have just received.  Think of it this way.  When you were a young child and mis-behaved, did your mother ever just have to look at you with one eyebrow raised and tilt her head slightly to the side to communicate to you that you needed to stop what you were doing?  That's a flinch!

Basically what you are communicating to your check-in agent is that 'You'll have to do better than that if you want my cash'.  Remember, just because you can afford the initial price, doesn't necessarily mean you should pay it!  Flinch, and then wait patiently for a few seconds.  In a slightly uncomfortable silence, your check-in agent will do one of two things.

1.  Tell you that the price s/he quoted to you is the only price available. (and it may be of course)

2. Ask you how much above your budget the price is (and then you can begin negotiating)


Always Flinch.  Even if you feign surprise by raising your eyebrows or shock through startled looking eyes, do something! If your check-in agent says that the price quoted is the best s/he can offer, then it's over to you to make a decision.  But if s/he asks 'How does that price sound to you?', this is your opportunity to claim that the price quoted is however many hundreds of pounds or dollars above your budget, and then ask 'Can you do it for (name your price - which must be reasonable), and then be silent.  Why?

If you keep on talking you don't provide your check-in agent with the opportunity to think, or indeed respond.  And by not allowing silence, you may just be missing out on a better price.

Boost Your Negotiating Position With Travel Companions

If you are travelling alone, you can use the approaches above. And remember, a win-win outcome is the best outcome.  But if you have travelling companions, as I did on a recent trip to Abu Dhabi from Manchester, you are in an even stronger position to negotiate.

My wife and ten year old daughter were accompanying me on a mid-March holiday and they had no idea that I had researched upgrade prices on the airline's web site.  So, as check-in - we were first in line as we arrived rather early, I asked the check-in agent if she had any seats in business class available.  What was her likely immediate first thought? Quite possibly 'He's after something for nothing'.  But, as she was about to respond to my question with her own script and agenda, I interjected 'I'm not wanting a FREE upgrade, that's not win win.  I'm happy to pay for THREE seats IF the price is acceptable.'

Having already overheard two of this ladies colleagues discussing that the flight was full and there was a possibility of 'bumping' some passengers on to a later flight if all passengers booked on the flight actually turned up to check in, I then continued 'There's three passengers you won't need to bump if we can get this done now….and you may even be able to re-sell our economy seats too'.

Within just 180 seconds, the helpful check-in agent confirmed that indeed there were three seats available in business class for us to enjoy.  She then continued to advise us of the price (which was VERY acceptable) and that our seats were all on the same row and she was confident that we would all have a wonderful time.

Consider these points before you decide not to negotiate for an upgrade the next time you fly long-haul.

If you don't ask, they won't offer.

FREE is not win-win.  Allow the airline to make money from you - within a win-win dialogue.

Always smile, be genuinely pleasant and consider the check-in agent's pressures and position.

NEVER look so luxury branded that the check-in agent destroys your bargaining position.

ALWAYS use a flinch to demonstrate disappointment or shock with the price, and use this as a starting point to your negotiation.

Have your credit card in full sight of the check-in agent to demonstrate an intention to purchase - if the price is acceptable.

NEVER get so connected to securing the upgrade that you are so emotionally engaged that you can't walk away.  Disappointment is quickly overcome - your larger credit card bill may not be that easy!

Written by:
Scott Watson
http://www.SummitTraining.co.uk/

Spotting When You're Being Influenced To Make A Decision....NOW!

How often do people in business attempt to influence you?  Very often I expect as without influencing, nothing would get done and communication would not exist.

I absolutely love exploring how people influence each other, ethically and not so ethically too.  You've experience the charity 'chugger' who makes uses the town or city centre precinct as their stage to approach you in perhaps an overly friendly manner, in an effort to entice you to stop, listen, feel guilty about not supporting the charity s/he is 'representing', in the hope you will sign up for a monthly standing order to 'support' their charity.  What these 'chuggers' don't tell you is that they are employed by an agency which, if you sign up through their representative, take a commission of anything from 50 to 70% of your first year's 'donations'.  

OK, chuggers are an extreme case, but take a look at the content below which was an initial response from a conference exhibition sales representative following my enquiry about my company possibly exhibiting at a HR conference.

This email is by no means unethical, unprofessional or misleading.  Indeed, it is the exact opposite, and it's a pretty good effort to attract business and encourage me to make a decision to exhibit....NOW!

See for yourself what journey the sales representative takes me on.  Read through the complete email immediately below and have a think about the author's intention.  On the copy immediately below this original email, I've detailed my notes in italics so you can differentiate his and my comments.  Let's see if you and I are spotting the same things!

Many thanks for your enquiry. 

I have had a look at your website and the services that Summit offer would be ideally suited, and of interest to the senior level L&D decision makers that the exhibition delivers.

As you can imagine at this time of year the last remaining stands are being booked quite quickly now, we have approximately 5 remaining.

Price and size of stands are,

3m x 2m £2,322

4m x 2m £3,096

3m x 3m £3,483

4m x 3m £4,644

There is also two other costs that you would need to factor in,

Administration Fee £245 - This covers your for 3 main areas of insurance, Loss Damage & Theft, Cancellation & Abandonment and Public Liability Insurance to the value of £2million.

Registration Fee £270 - However this is refunded in full if the invoice is paid within 3 weeks. As we are are already within 3 weeks from the event and all invoices must be paid before the event we can literally ignore this cost.

I have attached a copy of this years brochure, media pack and floor plan. The floor plan isn't quite up to date with the bookings that have come in this week, but I can still accommodate various size stands that companies may wish to book.

Obviously I would be delighted to have you exhibit this year, but a question I would like to ask is, that bearing in mind the event is in 19 days, does that give you enough time to prepare to exhibit this year?

If you have any questions or queries don't hesitate to let me know and if you could let me know your thoughts I would really appreciate it.

Kind Regards

Copy With Scott's Comments

Many thanks for your enquiry. (not a good start as my name would have developed a more personal, less scattergun approach).

I have had a look at your website and the services that Summit offer would be ideally suited, and of interest to the senior level L&D decision makers that the exhibition delivers. (The author claims to have invested time in reviewing my web site to understand my company's offering, and yes, of course, my company's offering is 'ideally suited, and of interest' to his conference audience.  This is rather like you trying on an item of clothing in a store and the sales rep stating 'Oh, it really suits you'.  Not that they would ever state otherwise).

As you can imagine at this time of year the last remaining stands are being booked quite quickly now, we have approximately 5 remaining.  (Here, the author intends to place me in a visual thinking mode with 'As you can imagine' and then he uses the time of year and scarcity of time...time is running out, trick to understand that 'the last remaining stands are being booked quite quickly now' and 'we have approximately 5 remaining'.  Whether true, accurate or otherwise, the author is using the rule of scarcity to push me towards...NOT LOSING OUT ON THIS OPPORTUNITY.

Price and size of stands are,

3m x 2m £2,322

4m x 2m £3,096

3m x 3m £3,483

4m x 3m £4,644

Notice that the author has not stated that the prices are exclusive of VAT.  This serves to present the pricing as less expensive.  Bu then we go on to other costs to be factored in...

There is also two other costs that you would need to factor in,

Administration Fee £245 - This covers your for 3 main areas of insurance, Loss Damage & Theft, Cancellation & Abandonment and Public Liability Insurance to the value of £2million.  Such admin fees are similar to the charge you receive when using an ATM in some stores which charge you up to £1.99 for you benefiting from the convenience of using their service.  But my company for one has these insurances in place and this 'AdministrationFee' is perhaps being presented as a 'Compulsory Fee' rather than an optional fee.  But one question to ask if you were considering paying the fee is - just how much commission is the event organiser receiving on this income stream?  The author's hope is that exhibitors will simply pay it.

Registration Fee £270 - However this is refunded in full if the invoice is paid within 3 weeks. As we are are already within 3 weeks from the event and all invoices must be paid before the event we can literally ignore this cost.

I have attached a copy of this years brochure, media pack and floor plan. The floor plan isn't quite up to date with the bookings that have come in this week, but I can still accommodate various size stands that companies may wish to book.

Obviously I would be delighted to have you exhibit this year, but a question I would like to ask is, that bearing in mind the event is in 19 days, does that give you enough time to prepare to exhibit this year?   What a wonderfully soul searching question!  Beginning the question with 'BUT' and then accompanying it with a question to create uncertainty and again, scarcity.  The challenge the author experiences here though is that, until he asked the question about whether I was running out of time, I hadn't even considered the possibility.  As it happens, my team and I don't have enough time - so we're not exhibiting!

If you have any questions or queries don't hesitate to let me know and if you could let me know your thoughts I would really appreciate it.

Kind Regards

This email was sent to me 3 weeks ago, and just yesterday I received an email from the same author asking if I had made a decision on exhibiting.  What does this second message chasing business actually do?  it discredits the content of the author's first email which encouraged me not to lose out.

If you want to not just survive, but thrive as  a leader, business owner or entrepreneur, don't just accept what some people communicate to you as true, accurate or win-win.  Take time to dissect their communication and reflect on the consequences and implications of you choosing to make a decision based on their, perhaps self-serving communication.

When Will Jamie's Italian Learn That Bullying Customers Is Bad For Business?

What are your thoughts on tipping in restaurants?

Do you feel socially obligated to leave a tip following a decent meal which is accompanied by decent service?  Or, do you feel that you reserve the right to decide for yourself as to whether you would like to leave a few spare quid to the waiter or waitress?

Perhaps you and I are in the same boat here.  Personally, I prefer to leave a tip if a financial reward, in addition to the cost of the meal and refreshments has been earned by good food and at least 'good' service to match.  By 'good' I mean friendly, attentive and responsive service, and not 'Well it wasn't as bad as the last time' standard.

Now here's the thing for you and your organisation.  Do you really understand the impact your customer facing colleagues have on your trusting customers and/or end users?   And do you understand what impact, positive and negative, they are having on your organisation?  If you don't, it's a very precarious position to find yourself in, as you never know who will be so disappointed or frustrated by your quality of service that they never return to purchase your product or service.  And this (once again) is the challenge I experience on visits to Jamie's Italian, Leeds.

Bear in mind that Jamie Oliver is not just a chef, and a rather fantastic one at that, he is an entrepreneur.  An entrepreneur with stakeholders such as financial investors, employees and perhaps even his family.  But ultimately, Jamie Oliver is a national and international brand.  And as we've witnessed in recent years with the likes of some of the UK's biggest financial institutions and high street retailers, when a brand is damaged, sometimes it just never recovers.

Here's the challenge, the gripe, the complaint and feedback for Jamie and Jamie's Italian managers in Leeds.  

'Stop bullying diners in to leaving a tip.'

If you take a look at my previous blog post about this outlet, you will see just how abhorrent I feel the practice of underlining the wording on the bill which states that tips are not included in the price of your food and drink.  Not only is wording underlined, but some staff (who I expect have chosen to work at this outlet and not on a bare minimum wage), choose to *asterisk* the wording so as to draw the customers attention to their plight.  Their plight being extremely self-serving, unethical as well as downright unprofessional.

But as you'll notice from my previous blog post, the very same practice has been implemented by more than one member of the waiting staff.  What suspicion does this raise for you?  Is it one or two rogue waiting staff looking out for themselves, or, is this practice more of an organisational or management practice which the waiting staff are instructed to undertake?  Well, as you can see from the photo below, and the photo in the earlier post, there is a standard in place here.


The strange thing in all of this?  Even though I understand in quite some detail how (ethical) influencing works in a business and personal context, this disgraceful behaviour demonstrated by two of Jamie's Italian staff resulted in me feeling rather uncomfortable.  So uncomfortable in fact that on the first occasion I took the opportunity to express my concern and discomfort to a member of the management team in Leeds.  The strange thing about the incident this past weekend was, the lady serving us was absolutely first class.  So brilliant in fact, I mentioned her brilliance to the manager on duty.  So why does a hospitality 'professional' feel the need to get involved with trying to rip off diners?

Let's work out the maths on this activity.  You're a waiter and in one hour you look after seven tables of diners.  There are two diners on each table and each table of guests 'tips' you £2 each.  That's £14 straight in your pocket and I do wonder whether this income is declared to HMRC.  And over a seven hour shift at £14 per hour tips and excluding the hourly wage, that's a whopping £98 per shift.

If I lacked even a small amount of decency I'd pack up my running my own business and become a waiter at this outlet.  Well, just look at the income.  Wouldn't I be a fool not to?

Assertiveness Skills - Giving Feedback Proactively

Many people in business worry about not just how to give feedback to a colleague or customer, but the consequences and implications for them personally having given it.  This is especially true when the recipient of the feedback is your line manager, or a long-standing and profitable customer.

But assertive communication isn't about being aggressive and/or forcing your opinion, view or position on to another human being.  Indeed it's anything but.  So how can you provide feedback to another person, without them feeling they are being attacked, but whilst maintaining rapport and a win-win outcome?

It's pretty straightforward and easy to do, with a little practice and an element of self-awareness too.  And, in the short video, Dirk Bansch, Director of Learning and Development at Summit Training shares with you two easy to use methods of giving feedback and inviting agreement on how you will communicate together in future.

Give it a go and let me know how you get on.

Scott

What's So Different Between A Croissant And An Apple?

A strange question?  At first sight, maybe it's a little confusing, but when we explore the differences is more detail, it's quite easy to establish that an Apple a day is so much more nourishing, enjoyable and healthy than a croissant.  Here's the story...

This morning I visited Manchester to obtain guidance on how to run my Mac computer more effectively and easily. As I was travelling from Halifax which is 25 miles from Manchester and the rush-hour traffic can be rather unpredictable, I set off on my journey rather early.


Arriving at my destination an hour before my appointment with a 'Genius' (we'll come to that in a while) at the Apple Store, I decided to grab a coffee and croissant at a branch of a high-street chain of French cafes.  And here's where the challenge began.


My request for a chocolate croissant appeared to silently trouble the waitress who was taking my order.  A pursing of her lips and slight frown with her eyes gave me a hint that something wasn't quite right with my request.  I carried on reading my newspaper, the coffee arrived, but the croissant didn't.  A full ten minutes later I politely asked the waitress if my croissant would be arriving.  Her hesitance to any answer my straightforward question again gave a hint that something was awry.  She proceeded to nervously advise me that 'We're just warming it up for you now.'  My response of 'It's ok, I prefer my croissant cold please', was met with her reluctance to provide me (the customer...paying customer remember) with a cold croissant.

Long story short.  The croissant arrived, the tough pastry and hard chocolate on the inside clearly demonstrating that this was 'old stock' and not at all fresh.  As the waitress didn't return to my table to ask if everything was ok - because clearly it wasn't I left the croissant with only one bite out of it.  As the waitress passed I asked 'May I check with you, is this croissant actually fresh?'  She responded 'I'll take it off your bill sir'. I politely thanked her for her offer to remove the cost of the croissant from the bill and asked again, 'May I check, is this croissant fresh?' At which point the somewhat embarrassed waitress responded, 'Well...it was fresh YESTERDAY MORNING'. 

So what happened here?  The manager or person responsible for ordering 'Fresh' items over ordered? Perhaps the footfall wasn't as high as expected or predicted?  Maybe in an effort to cut costs in a tough marketplace, it's company policy to sell pastries that are more than 24 hours old?  Who knows?  Well, the manager should know.  But isn't it a poor reflection on the brand when they'll do everything they can (i.e. warm old stock up) to avoid detection?

This is a clear case of putting profits for the organisation way ahead of serving the trusting customer a decent product at a fair price. And, with the internet now being used as a feedback mechanism for such outlets - Tripadvisor.com being the most popular, what would drive a manager to mislead customers in such a way?  But that's why an Apple can save the day!

Having left the cafe a little disappointed, and a lot hungry, I entered the Apple Store in Manchester's Arndale Centre to meet a Genius.  'The Genius Bar' is the name given to the resident experts who supposedly, can resolve any issue a user may have with one of their products. However difficult or unusual your problem, they commit to resolving it for you, right there and then in most cases.

As I waited for my very own Genius to appear, an elderly gentleman who was booked in for a personal coaching session on his new Ipad struck up conversation with me.  He mentioned that at the tender age of 78 years young, he had decided to start learning again.  Retirement had become somewhat boring and he wanted to keep his brain busy.  But here's the stunning thing!

Just 10 days previous he had purchased his first ever Apple product, an Ipad 2.  He spoke about how excited he was to be presented with an eye catching white box that he'd expected the Apple store rep to open and show him all he wanted to know, but he was surprised that he was invited to open the box himself, take out the Ipad and switch it on.  He called this the 'Getting to know you' experience.

Realising that he was a little hesitant in getting to know his Ipad, apparently the Apple store rep asked him what he'd like to know about first.  How cool is this? Involving the customer and entering their world rather than simply doling out information and babble whilst expecting the customer to enter Apple's world. As he grew steadily confident with his new machine, he began asking more questions to the in store expert. But, the happy, excited gentleman's Apple world was about to take a dramatic turn.  He told me 'I was just learning over the table to get a pen to make some notes and then it happened...in a flash.'

CRASH.  The Ipad fell off the table, hit the floor and landed face down.  Yikes! This isn't sounding too promising.  When he picked up his Ipad off the floor, the facia was smashed. His question to the Apple store rep of whether the Ipad could be repaired was met with 'No, it can't be repaired as it's all one single unit...BUT, it was an accident so let me get you another one and we'll take this one off your hands'.

And that's the story.  How ridiculously good customer service is this?  The store/brand treated him fairly and what does he do? He becomes an ambassador for Apple. He tells me, I tell you and Apple become even more trusted as a fair, socially responsible organisation.  And of course, they will probably sell a few more products if this elderly gentleman has anything to do with it.

Isn't it a shame that whilst Apple replace a £439 item at no cost, and little inconvenience to their customer, a chain of cafes can't serve a fresh £2.50 croissant or at the very least, let the customer know that other, fresher choices are available?

Customer (Dis)Service is becoming more and more accepted in the UK.  But if you the customer says nothing, you're just teaching these organisations how to treat you. And it's definitely not win-win.


http://www.SummitTraining.co.uk/

http://www.CustomerServiceTrainingCourses.co.uk/