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Keith T

Singapore newspaper publishes my letter critiquing changes to SIA!

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http://www.todayonline.com/pdf_open.asp?id=0404VOL030

 

Wrote it on the run yesterday. Glad they saw fit to publish my incoherent rants. :D

Hope it explains the new choice of carrier/s in my siggy. ;)

 

An unrewarding way to fly

PPS Club revamp merely a poor attempt at disguising SIA's cost cutting measure

 

Letter from KEITH TAN

Melbourne, Australia

 

I REFER to the commentary, “Love us, SIA, as we love you” (April 3).

 

I would like to question the decision made by Singapore Airlines to simultaneously make entry to its PPS Club scheme more difficult, yet strip away any meaningful incentives to qualify for entry.

 

It was indeed laughable to read about the so-called “God-like” treatment members of the new PPS Club will experience, as described in a recent report in TODAY.

 

The reality could not be more different.

 

A prime example is the alteration to the lounge-access policy. For starters, entry level members of the new PPS Club will no longer be able to access SIA’s First Class lounges, unless they happen to be flying First Class. In the past, these members were eligible for entry even when flying Business Class.

 

In a further devaluation of the club’s membership, both entry-level as well as top-tier Solitaire customers will no longer be permitted access to SIA lounges at all, when they fly with other carriers.

 

This decision not only ignores the fact that sometimes it is logistically impossible to fly SIA — such as when a destination is not served by the airline — but it is also a strange way of rewarding the airline’s best customers for the sheer amount of revenue they would have to contribute under the new criteria for both tiers of PPS Club membership.

 

SIA has apparently pre-empted the unpopularity of these changes to the lounge access policy by citing overcrowding as an issue, but it could have found better solutions to overcrowding — such as by expanding and rejuvenating existing lounges as its competitors have done.

 

This revamped policy is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to demonstrating why the remaking of the PPS Club has made absolutely no sense.

 

Basic marketing logic would dictate that when the number of prerequisites for entry to a VIP scheme are increased, there should at least be adequate justification in

in the form of greater rewards for members of the new scheme.

 

Instead, SIA has done just the opposite and has, in thinly-veiled language, made it extremely clear the changes are nothing more than a cost-cutting measure.

 

In an era where no carrier has a clear lead in the industry in terms of product, and where all competitors are indeed offering comparable levels of service these days, SIA’s decision in terms of its impact on customer loyalty can, at best, be described as shortsighted. Others would call it a complete disaster.

 

Many new frequent flyers who once considered SIA their airline of choice, myself included, will now definitely look elsewhere for a carrier that actually views its customers as assets, not liabilities.

Edited by Keith T

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Congrats Keith!

 

It's amazing, isn't it? The urge for cost reduction and the outcome of such moves.

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Congrats Keith, now you are officially a SQ freak. LOL

 

Freak? as in geek? :blink:

 

That doesn't quite fit in with the last paragraph. ;)

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UPDATE:

 

Ooh got a call from a nice chap at SQ MEL today in response to my letter to Today - presumably the area manager for Victoria and Tasmania. First time I got to speak to a Singaporean at SQ MEL - for a while I thought they're all Aussie!

 

He spent the first 5 mins regurgitating everything their PR machine has put out so far.

 

I wasn't too confrontational as I could see he was trying to be nice. But I did challenge his assertion that culling benefits was completely in line with raising the qualification threshold. His response was that it will all cancel out by 'more exclusivity', 'nice new lounges' and 'luxury' on the A380. And that it was definitely not about cost-cutting.

 

Hmmm, did someone mention 'sustainable'? :p

 

We then engaged in an informal chat, which ended with a 'hope to welcome you back onboard soon.'

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Wow Keith,

 

Good for you to write this article; no doubt the manager was 'ordered' to contact you by SQ HQ or he felt 'attacked' that he phoned you ? :huh:

 

What was your reply to his last wish ? :blink:

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Apparently it's SQ's policy to direct 'complaints' from overseas to the overseas station. He did say that my comments were constructive. :D

 

What was your reply to his last wish ? :blink:

 

Well I could tell he was trying to be nice and so I didn't come back with a cheeky response.

After all... award tickets and SIN-KUL segments still count don't they? :p

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Was he also referring to pure-text siggies? He mentioned 'pixels' so I thought it was just referring to pictures.

 

It does not matter now. I've switched off all siggies when reading MW forum.

 

+++

 

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