The words of an inquiring man, also known as Brent Dutcher, for whom I have dedicated my book, Everyone’s Advice Is Wrong . . . Including Mine. Two years ago, Mr. Dutcher told me to read a self-help book and sent me the title. Upon review of the nonsense that he sent, I replied, “That book is stupid. I can write you a better one myself.” And the rest is history. Anyhow, this post is much more than a preview for my book that should be released by the end of the month if everything goes as planned. It is meant to address Brent’s valid observation that the angry professor seems to complain a lot when he is not treated like royalty at a hotel or given the red carpet treatment by an airline. In all fairness to myself, this comes from the guy that spams all his friends with emails about how much he hates living in Lake Angelus. [no sic needed, I meant Angelus not Angeles] To begin, I ask you, the audience, what kind of service should do you expect from 5 Star accommodations and do you believe that these expectations should be tempered because you are paying next to nothing to enjoy them.
My expectations have been satirized in the post “VIP No More, I Headed Back Home Outraged” but the reason for his question is because I do email every hotel and every airline if the service is not up to standard. The way I see it, paying customer or points customer, the hotel and airline is still benefitting from the externalities of my stay, whether they be extra fees, overpriced hamburgers, or the joy of seeing my face in the lobby. In exchange if the hotel or airline holds itself out to be customer focused, then they should genuinely strive to make their customers welcome. Anything short of that and you better believe they are receiving a strongly worded letter from yours truly. So I ask you, the reader, am I complaining or correcting?
