A Lesson From Frontier Airlines - How NOT to Run Your Business

Our flight wasn't as romantic as this image by good buddy Randy Baughn, but the accommodations were about as luxurious as the seats on this old plane!

Last week for our trip to Cleveland, Frontier seemed to have the best deal out there. However, here's the first lesson for other businesses - Don't surprise your clients when it comes to add-on costs. 
 

• My wife made and paid for the reservations, but then we had to “buy our seats”.  I get paying extra to upgrade, but every seat had a price tag.  We were in row four with three empty rows in front of us. Why? Because the seats cost significantly more to get approximately 8 inches more leg room.
• Then came the baggage fee, with a new twist. Frontier charges the normal $25 for a check-in bag, but $30 for a carry-on beyond the one piece you’re allowed. I saw them send a man back to the ticket counter to pay for an open canvas shopping bag he had with some gifts. Another woman, who had a very small roll aboard, (If it's got wheels they want you to pay) which easily fit into the overhead, was also sent back to pay the $30 fee.
• The snack cart came by, and it was $1.99 for a soda. Water was the only thing free. I accept they have a right to make money, but seriously, even on the soda? They've set up their snack and drink menu like a program at Best Buy with the tag line of "Thirsty? Save up to $7 when you bundle!" It's just a drink and a snack, why make it into a marketing program? Even more absurd is their "Breakfast on the fly!" It's a coffee and a Rice Krispie bar for $4.49.
• They'd have to work to make the seats more uncomfortable. The seats have minimal padding and in "coach" they don't recline an inch. You get off the plane feeling like you just spent a couple hours in a bleacher seat at a high school basketball game, right down to the backache! 
• Be on time! The flight left late out of Tampa because of mechanical problems. I know it can happen on any airline, but the fact that it was Frontier left me wondering how much duct tape was holding the bucket together.

After paying for everything; Southwest would have been the same or cheaper and more reliable. So, here’s the lesson – when you put together your promotions:
 
Make sure the value is clear to your target audience. Have components with true value and don’t create any surprises when it comes to the final cost for whatever you’re promoting.

Have somebody else read the copy for your promotion before you go public. I’m sure some of this was explained on the front end by Frontier, but we both missed it.

If somebody does miss the "fine print" do your best to work with them, unlike the gate agent from Frontier.  Most people are honest. Try and find a compromise position on issues they missed or just don't understand.

At this point, Sheila and I have a goal to simply not fly Frontier again. The last thing you want is to have any client feel the same way about your services and images. The goal for every business owner is to always exceed client expectations. Your goal is to create an incredible experience that brings them back to you for more images, over and over again!