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Dear Customer - Welcome to Our Frequent Punishment Program!

Rewarding your customers can be a brilliant way to stimulate repeat business and frequent flyer programs did exactly that, in their inception.

But now, it's a different story.

Airlines and other firms are cutting back in some subtle ways.

Recently, a major airline introduced miles that expire within 18 months.

They restrict award seats, effectively making them available during fewer and fewer dates.

In fact, they cut back on flights and fleets, knowing they're going to shut-out freebie flyers in the process.

What good are miles that cannot be cashed in during periods when most folks have vacation time?

This "moving of the goalposts" or "hiding the ball," if you will, is more than irritating.

I believe it is a breach of contract, and if it isn't in the strictest sense, it constitutes "unjust enrichment" or "bad faith" business dealings, denying customers the reasonable fruits of their contracts.

If it is "bad faith" that makes it tortious conduct, potentially subjecting carriers and other businesses that do the same, to punitive damages.

This is tantamount to an insurer making it difficult for insureds and beneficiaries to get the coverage for which they paid premiums.

It's the kind of reprehensible conduct that "Is capable of repetition, but evades review," as one legal phrase would characterize it.

Please don't discount the impact smaller companies are having on consumer cynicism. Many of them don't get the fact that they HAVE rewards programs in place, that when taken away, cause more damage than not having had them at all.

A car dealer where I obtain and service vehicles sponsors a concert in a private park each Summer, inviting its VIP clients. Year after year I was given four tickets, but for the last two I've been snubbed, without explanation or apology.

Tonight is this year's concert.

Next week they'll be servicing my car. They'll ONLY get the warranty business. I'm buying 4 tires and getting the other out of pocket items elsewhere. The net loss to them: about $2,000 in revenue, and that's only for next week.

Companies don't understand that disappointed customers, former rewardees that have been shorted, will respond in kind and punish the companies that withhold rewards.

Dr. Gary S. Goodman is the best-selling author of 12 books and more than a thousand articles. A frequent expert commentator on radio and TV, (See: http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=417455932#) he is quoted often in prominent publications such as The Wall Street Journal and Business Week. President of Clientrelations.com and Customersatisfaction.com, his seminars and training programs are sponsored internationally and he is a top-rated faculty member at more than 40 universities. Dynamic and fun, Gary brings over two decades of management and consulting experience to the table, with the best academic credentials in the speaking and training industry. Holder of a Ph.D. from the Annenberg School For Communication at USC, an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School of Management, and a J.D. degree from Loyola, his clients include several Fortune 1000 companies and successful family owned and operated firms. More than a “talking head,” Gary is a top mind that you'll enjoy working with. He can be reached at gary@customersatisfaction.com

Source: www.ezinearticles.com