I came across this little headline over the weekend: “Southwest Airlines keeps insulting me and I think I’ve had enough.”
I thought to myself, “Self, this sounds like a doosey of a story, read on”.
But, alas, it was not to be, The author just went on to complain about the emails he was getting from Southwest. “You see, I keep getting marketing emails from Southwest. Many airlines use this method. I’ve not seen any, however, that offer such blatant piffling nonsense, wrapped in a veneer of sloppy psychology.”
It began with an email headlined: “$59 to Vegas is still in your cart.”
The author was Grumpy the Dwarf about the email. “I never reserved a plane ticket! How dare they imply that I purchased a ticket”
(BTW: That headline is a fantastic marketing strategy. 1-800-Flowers uses a similar subject line; “You still have a $12.46 credit on your account. Of course you open the email, order flowers for your mother or ex-wife for 75 bucks and use the “credit”. )
The author then complained about:
- You left something behind: Charleston for $78.”
- $99 to Denver is still available.
- You left something behind: Panama City, FL for $103.
About once a month he got an email from Southwest. And he complained about each one individually. He was indignant that the airline had the gall to send him sales messages.
He kept reading them and complaining.
Why suffer through it? Just hit the damn unsubscribe button!
Reminds me of a recent story in the NOBS/GKIC newsletter where the author admitted (stupidly) to waiting on hold for 8 hours.
What imbecilic nit-wit does that?
Dopey the Dwarf, maybe, but not a seasoned entrepreneur.
Why suffer through the torture?
You must have limits set into your POS (Personal Operating System). Here are a couple that fall under my time protection category (I do not call it time management)
- I “unsubscribe” immediately from businesses I don’t want to hear from. My time is too valuable to even just hit the delete button.
- I wait on hold no longer than 5 minutes. After that, I call back and start hitting every option on the phone tree until I get a live person.
- Email? I read it twice a day. 0630 and 1600
What do you do to protect your time? Let me know, I would love to hear your strategies.
