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© St. Petersburg Times, published September 9, 2002
Re: U.S. Airways: Use or lose cheap tickets, Aug. 28.
This article has given me (the customer) the distinct feeling of being scolded along with my morning coffee. US Airways vice president Stephen Usery wants to tell me (the customer) "life isn't like that," referring, I suppose, to wanting something and not paying what it's worth. Well, I'd like to tell Mr. Usery, U.S. Airways and airlines in general what "business" life is like. Because so far, I feel I have been overpaying for what the service is worth.
You do not do business the way you want to do business. You do business the way the customer wants to do business or, as you are learning, very slowly I might add, you don't do business at all.
The airlines in general were in a whole heap of trouble long before the Sept. 11 tragedy. Customers were starting to complain (I was one of them) on a regular basis about poor service, late and canceled flights, uninterested airline employees and being treated like a bunch of cattle. Customers are waiting for an airline that treats them with respect and appreciation. I for one will pack my bags more often when that time arrives. I also will buy their stock because in more ways than one, that airline is going places.
The customers in general will pay for what they see as value for their money. If that were not true there would be no successful businesses. So stop whining that your business practices are not working and do business with respect and appreciation for the customer . . . I'll be first in line.
In case anyone needs a refresher: Customer, a person wishing to make a purchase; someone who buys regularly; a person with respect to the dealings one has. In other words, guys, it's where the money is.
-- Carol Breads, Gulfport
It's good to hear that the airlines must be doing much better financially these days with all the new restrictions they are imposing on the flying public, (U.S. Airways: Use or lose cheap tickets, Aug. 28 and American tightens restrictions, Aug. 31) and the sudden enforcement of some obscure ones, (Check size before you check luggage, Sept. 5).
Just for the fun of it, I measured the hard case I use for my golf clubs when I fly. The case is standard size (many are larger). Using the airlines' formula of height+
width+
depth it comes out to about 63.5 linear inches, which exceeds the limit of 62 linear inches. This means I could be charged between $75 and $180 extra, depending on the airline, just to take along my clubs.
Can you say "goodbye" to the Florida golf tourist industry or to any other state's golf industry for that matter?
Why are the airlines making it more difficult for people to fly when they are begging Congress for bailout money to keep them from going bankrupt? It seems the airlines might want to take a lesson from the auto industry -- where they use rebates and zero percent interest financing to lure in customers -- and make it easier for people to fly.
I think everyone should be asking their congressional representatives to query the airlines as to what they are doing to make flying easier for the public before they hand over cash to these greedy businesses.
And now United Airlines has named an oil industry executive, Glenn Tilton as chairman, chief executive and president of the company. We all know how quickly the folks in the oil industry raise the price of gasoline when the price of oil rises, even though they buy oil on the futures market 60 to 90 days in advance, but only lower gasoline prices months after the price of crude falls. Could this mean when the price of pretzels rises he will panic and quickly raise the cost of airfares?
I guess that in the future when I travel with my clubs that I won't take the chance of getting hit with an exorbitant charge at the ticket desk. I'll just drive my car or find out if Lufthansa flies from Tampa to Atlanta, because foreign flag carriers may not be so restrictive.
-- Michael Miener, Brooksville
Re: He perfected fine dining in Tampa, Sept. 2.
I didn't personally know Bern Laxer, and my condolences are extended to his family.
I do know Bern's Steak House. It's rare to find a person who doesn't. It was one of the first places everyone I met told me I "had to eat" when I moved to Tampa in 1974. And they were right.
Why was Mr. Laxer so successful with word-of-mouth advertising and how did he make his business last so long in a country where more than 50 percent of small businesses fail within five years -- and in an industry that has a particularly brutal track record for survival?
Because he applied the principles that so many small business owners miss. His son, David, stated those principles in your article: "patience, consistency and dedication to customers."
And I'd like to add, the ability to have the vision for succession planning which allowed his son to take over for him seamlessly when he became ill in 1993.
Mr. Laxer's success is a good reminder that it's the basics which determine success and survival of a small business. His story is a good one for entrepreneurs to model and for business schools to teach.
-- Denise O'Berry, Tampa
Re: John E. Lerro.
When I saw the headline and picture of John Lerro (Pilot in Skyway disaster is dead, Sept. 3), I remembered a thinner, soft-spoken guy who used a cane and was quietly friendly. I, too, was in the counselor education program then. Once, after class, he told me what he used to do, that he was the pilot on the Summit Venture. I was surprised he shared this with me, a stranger. I realized that perhaps he thought I knew something of him. The Skyway incident was still in the news then. Perhaps he felt the need to speak about it. After all, our counseling courses taught us to be open and honest.
My only memory of those times we talked was that he was humble and sad about what happened and his role in it. But he also had a wonderful outlook on his life, though drastically changed. He suffered the loss of his family (his wife divorced him), and he was in the throes of multiple sclerosis.
I shall always think of him as a nice guy whose life turned tragic because of circumstances that he couldn't control. There but for the grace . . . .
-- Lilyan V. Dayton, New Port Richey
Re: A constitutional joke, letter, Sept. 4.
The letter writer has perfectly hit the mark. The Florida Constitution is a place for stating the fundamentals of how the state is to be governed, not for every pet cause espoused by an interest group. Most if not all of the proposed amendments concern issues that should be dealt with, if at all, by laws passed by the Legislature.
It would appear that the amendment most needed is one which would make it much more difficult to amend the state Constitution.
-- Walter G. Horbert, Largo
Re: Teen's 10-year sentence causes uproar, Sept. 3.
The Times' article exposes some of the nastiness that occurs in what we (laughingly, I believe) call our "system of justice."
This system has evolved to the point that, instead of trying to arrive at a fair and just conclusion, everyone in the system -- police, prosecutors, parole officers and judges -- attempts to see that the accused is given the harshest sentence possible. Little thought is given to the nature of the crime, and sometimes even to whether or not the accused is guilty. I'm not in favor of turning criminals loose, but the punishment should fit the crime.
In this case, the time served plus six months of hard-nosed community service would have been more than adequate. Trying this young man as an adult for stealing a six-pack of beer, and then sending him to prison as a felon for 10 years makes absolutely no sense. Education is a big issue these days. Believe me, he will get a great education in prison, but from the wrong people.
It's no wonder that the statue of the lady portraying justice in our courtrooms wears a blindfold. She probably can't stand to watch some of the things that take place inside the courtroom.
-- Larry Fox, Largo
Re: Teen's 10-year sentence causes uproar.
I couldn't help but notice the irony of the 10-year sentence Circuit Judge Ric Howard handed down to the teenager (make that "adult," according to the D.A., that being optional) for the temerity of stealing a six-pack. Imaging what the good judge would have done with someone like, say, Kenneth Lay, or his ilk, for defrauding thousands of people of their livelihoods and life savings, and pocketing a $100-million or so, which would come to, let's see, 15,666,600 six-packs.
In a perfect world, the good judge would, of course, sentence those 666-ish CEOs to 10 years for each offense. Let's see, that would come to . . . well, what does it matter.
We all know that offenders of that magnitude get punishment enough: sentenced to years hobnobbing with those in high office, forced to drink gaseous liquids and eat fish eggs with others of similar ilk, having to tend to the little people's needs (by way of their hand-picked government leaders) while having to rely on mere deckhands to keep the silver and brightwork polished and the ship of state on course -- poor saps. Small wonder they deserve a break. Preferably a big tax break. No doubt they'll get one. Excuse me -- another one.
-- E.C. Ayres, St. Petersburg
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