MIAMI, Oct. 6, 2009 — Dear Sky Steward: Is there anyone in the airline industry willing to tell it like it is for the sake of passengers and travelers? Can anyone hold the airlines accountable for the way they treat the people who choose to do business with them? Signed, Weary of the Unfriendly Skies.
Dear Weary: The answer is now YES. There is one person who is unafraid to teach the travel industry the ins and outs of premium customer service. Gailen David, better known as The Sky Steward, is a 20-year crew veteran with what he playfully calls “a mAAjor U.S. airline.” His award-winning Jetiquette(TM) program helps the travel industry deliver top-notch customer service at all levels, and his new blog, Dear Sky Steward (http://www.dearskysteward.com), offers up a mix of travel-industry news and reader questions, all presented in David’s no-nonsense, no-holds-barred manner.
David wasn’t always a proponent of Jetiquette. In fact, Jetiquette was born only after David’s life was turned upside-down by bad experiences with customers. Consumed with resentment at his employer and the hapless travelers who flew with him, he realized something had to change. He came up with a novel concept: treating travelers as he would like to be treated. It worked. David could see travelers enjoying their time on his flights, and he began reaping satisfaction from having a positive effect on the lives of his customers.
“Dear Sky Steward allows me to have an ongoing conversation with airline travelers, enthusiasts, and employees,” David explained. “I love that. When you’re not afraid to get real with people, they respond in a positive manner that makes change possible.”
And he does get real. In David’s recent post about Spirit Airlines’ customer service, he calls one executive of the airline “not quite as arrogant and pompous as the WestJet people” and expresses dismay at how the airline views its customers. However, in the same post, he is careful to point out the positive customer service he has experienced with Spirit Airlines. And that is perhaps the heart of Dear Sky Steward: honest feedback on challenges, along with positive feedback on what’s going right.
Is Dear Sky Steward a warm, fuzzy read? On the contrary, it’s a provocative look at air travel, written from David’s flight-honed perspective with a healthy dose of snark. He’s not likely to win friends among some airlines, but that’s OK with David. He’s more interested in making sure air travelers are satisfied with their travel experiences. Based on reader comments on Dear Sky Steward, more travelers are at least gaining a sense of vindication in David’s words of wisdom, as DanFromBoston sums up: “So glad it has now been spoken out.”
Visit Dear Sky Steward at http://www.dearskysteward.com. Visitors who enroll in Dear Sky Steward’s free “Sky Level” will be entered to win weekly travel prizes.
About Gailen David, The Sky Steward
David is the founder of The Jetiquette Academy, which provides customer service training in the airline, healthcare, hospitality, and retail sectors, as well as Ionosphere Media, a full-service marketing and business development firm offering programs such as Business Image Coaching and Public Speakers Training Camp. Jetiquette is a winner of the Magellan Award from Travel Weekly Magazine. David’s inspirational book, Jetiquette … The Customer Experience and You, shares his journey from a post-strike, bitter airline worker to one that has made providing the best service to customers his first priority and the foundation of his professional identity.
Contact:
Gailen David
The Sky Steward
877-759-7839
gailen@skysteward.com
http://www.dearskysteward.com
# # #
