I want you to know one thing
Max Wooldridge only wanted coffee, not a relationship
It’s hard to believe nowadays that there was a time when the only feedback we gave on our travels was when the plane touched down safely. For not crashing the plane, we showed our appreciation to the pilots with a spontaneous round of applause. Then, as we exited the aircraft, we smiled at the cabin crew. A simple “thank you” sufficed, and that was that.
Those days are long gone. Now everything requires feedback. Now no exchange, encounter or transaction, however mundane, is complete until we’ve shared, rated, liked or left an online review. We live in an age of feedback overkill. This whirlwind of endless feedback, the constant desire for appraisal, is everywhere.
And the travel industry is a major offender.
Whether we’re booking flights online, snacking in an airport cafe or simply utilising washrooms in a departure terminal, we’re now asked to rate and review everything. You’ll be lucky to survive more than a few hours on your travels nowadays without being asked those dreaded five words: How was your experience today?
This crazy phenomenon reached a comically low point for me recently when a restaurant in the US asked me to rate the food before any dishes had arrived. And this feedback mania starts way before we’re anywhere near the airport. Now we’re asked to rate the ticket-booking process, as well as our online check-in experience.
Inevitably, the madness continues at the airport with swarms of interviewers armed with clipboards keen to hear about our time there. And, even after clearing security we’re still not in the clear; there are children’s playgroup-like multi-coloured buttons to press to grade our approval.
Sadly, even such an everyday act of grabbing a last-minute coffee in the departure terminal is no longer immune from this feedback feeding frenzy:
Dear Max,
Thank you for visiting us at Heathrow Airport.
We are always looking to improve your experience with us, and we would appreciate you sharing your feedback on your recent visit.
My experience? Excuse me, but when was a simple transaction like this upgraded to an experience? Sure, it’s marketing designed to build brand loyalty, but I only wanted a coffee, not a relationship.
Skydiving over the Negev desert, running with the bulls in Pamplona or climbing aboard a tethered balloon for a stunning overall view of Angkor Wat — now, these are proper experiences. And unless a barista recites a Pablo Neruda love poem as he or she prepares my tall latte, buying a coffee is not something I’m likely to rave about to my loved ones. Travelling nowadays requires great vigilance. If we’re not careful a lot of our travelling time will be lost to this never-ending loop of feedback:
How was your check-in experience? How was your hotel welcome? Did the tour meet your expectations?
All these requests to share our views can be overwhelming and exhausting, not to mention time-consuming. Just think of the amount of time spent wasted wondering whether to click “Very Satisfied” or just “Satisfied”.
These surveys that we’re told will only take a few minutes to complete inevitably take much longer. Imagine the box sets we could have watched, the epic novels we could have read, in the cumulative time?
It seems the nonsense never stops.
Now there are postholiday surveys to contend with, too. Just when we’re relaxed and revived from our break, prepare for a questionnaire to pop up on our tablet, smart phone or laptop:
Dear Customer, Thank you for choosing us for your flight. We are always trying to improve the service we provide for you and your feedback helps us achieve this. The survey should take around 12 minutes to complete.
A whole 12 minutes? WTF!
More precious time I won’t ever get back. Inevitably, it’s not long before the dreaded experience word raises its ugly head again:
On the basis of this experience how likely would you be to recommend our airline to a friend or colleague? Sorry, guys, but you lost me at experience.
Often these requests are counter-productive because the inevitable upshot is survey fatigue. Suddenly the “delete” button has never looked so beautiful.
Pressing that is a five-stars experience that I’m very satisfied with.
And one that I would definitely recommend.