Here is an interesting post on the NBAA web mail.
Dear Independent Contract Pilots (ICP):
I had the most shocking experience of my professional life last week as pertains to training.
For the past 10 years that I have been a dedicated, self employed contract pilot, FlightSafety has always been sympathetic to the contract pilot and their need to write the checks for their own training. All these years FSI has been gracious, polite, and has valued the IC community and their business. They have continuously provided anywhere from a 10% to 35% discount for the self employed ICP (depending on history and type of aircraft). One reason they do that is we can come to training on short notice to fill up classes which are short, unlike many, if not most, large flight departments that cannot schedule last minute events. FSI does, in fact, provide discounts to larger flight departments who train 8 slots or more, and they used to considered the goodwill with the IC community would accomplish the same. Not anymore.
Last week, while in Savannah, I was in talks with the "powers that be" and most of them agreed that the value of the ICP was high, and that, in fact, if taken all together, the IC community was a large flight department and spent a lot of training dollars at FSI. I was talking not just for myself, but for the largeness of the IC community, considering all aircraft.
That is until I met the brand new Savannah Training Center Manager (Dave Davenport). When he came into the meeting, he stood right there in front of me, with no polite or friendly preamble, and said the following: (this is almost verbatim)
"We have so much business right now, in fact we have more business than we can handle, that we don't need your business, don't want your business, and could do without the contract pilots all together."
He said this with a big smile on his face, almost mockingly, and his attitude seeped out of his very soul. The word "arrogance" could be used, though at the moment I had another word on my mind.
Needless to say, I was shocked and appalled at the treatment I received from this individual. After all, I am a "client," but he made me feel like a "turd." Apparently he places absolutely no value on the IC community, and has no intention of accommodating this segment of the industry. All discounts are gone, and he is not remotely interested in securing our business, no matter how many slots we may fill as a group, separately or together.
I left that meeting quite angry at the treatment I received, after all I am a client. Just by myself I spend $35,000 to $50,000 a year at the training center for my recurrent training, and of course many of my friends and colleagues do the same. I thought I had some "client value," but apparently not with this guy.
The Assistant Center Manager, Dick Grant, followed me out to the parking lot and apologized to me for Davenport's attitude, behavior, and message to the IC community, and he hopes to assist us communicating with corporate headquarters to try to regain FSI's dedication and commitment to the contract pilots. I'm still not sure if this attitude originates up in LGA FlightSafety Headquarters, or this Dave Davenport fellow is a loose cannon on his own, but I intend to find out. Both the Assistant Center Manager and Product Marketing Manager still place value on the IC community and want to help keep us as valuable clients. They know how much money we spend as a group, and they would very much like to keep our business, unlike Dave Davenport.
I left the meeting very angry, and as I left the building, Dick chased me out to the parking lot to calm me down somewhat, but I am inclined to never, ever again, set foot in a FlightSafety training center. We'll see how that goes, but I am really disappointed in the attitude these days. I would say the contract pilot business is about shot if this attitude continues.
A footnote here, CAE Simuflite is actively friendly towards contract pilots, and will give the very best price they can to those who are footing their own bill. I have had nothing but positive feedback and communications with CAE Simuflite, and think they may be the best advocate of the contract pilot. For my part, CAE Simuflite is going to be my new training partner. FlightSafety shot the hell out of my 10 years loyalty.
Unfortunately for me, CAE does not yet have a G550 simulator or training program in that aircraft. But I think I am having to shift my loyalties to CAE with this new shift in bad attitude at FlightSafety (or at least the Center Manager at my training location).
I have had communications with one of our own, R. G., and he has experienced the very same indifference and hostility towards the contract pilot community from FlightSafety. He has tried to organize the ICP and their training, but has run into the same block wall with FSI. They just don't like us anymore.
This bodes ill for the contract pilots, who must pay their own training to satisfy the operators' requirements.
This also bodes ill for the operators who need and use qualified and current contract pilots to augment their flight operations.
Anybody else seen this kind of attitude at other FSI Centers?
Dear Independent Contract Pilots (ICP):
I had the most shocking experience of my professional life last week as pertains to training.
For the past 10 years that I have been a dedicated, self employed contract pilot, FlightSafety has always been sympathetic to the contract pilot and their need to write the checks for their own training. All these years FSI has been gracious, polite, and has valued the IC community and their business. They have continuously provided anywhere from a 10% to 35% discount for the self employed ICP (depending on history and type of aircraft). One reason they do that is we can come to training on short notice to fill up classes which are short, unlike many, if not most, large flight departments that cannot schedule last minute events. FSI does, in fact, provide discounts to larger flight departments who train 8 slots or more, and they used to considered the goodwill with the IC community would accomplish the same. Not anymore.
Last week, while in Savannah, I was in talks with the "powers that be" and most of them agreed that the value of the ICP was high, and that, in fact, if taken all together, the IC community was a large flight department and spent a lot of training dollars at FSI. I was talking not just for myself, but for the largeness of the IC community, considering all aircraft.
That is until I met the brand new Savannah Training Center Manager (Dave Davenport). When he came into the meeting, he stood right there in front of me, with no polite or friendly preamble, and said the following: (this is almost verbatim)
"We have so much business right now, in fact we have more business than we can handle, that we don't need your business, don't want your business, and could do without the contract pilots all together."
He said this with a big smile on his face, almost mockingly, and his attitude seeped out of his very soul. The word "arrogance" could be used, though at the moment I had another word on my mind.
Needless to say, I was shocked and appalled at the treatment I received from this individual. After all, I am a "client," but he made me feel like a "turd." Apparently he places absolutely no value on the IC community, and has no intention of accommodating this segment of the industry. All discounts are gone, and he is not remotely interested in securing our business, no matter how many slots we may fill as a group, separately or together.
I left that meeting quite angry at the treatment I received, after all I am a client. Just by myself I spend $35,000 to $50,000 a year at the training center for my recurrent training, and of course many of my friends and colleagues do the same. I thought I had some "client value," but apparently not with this guy.
The Assistant Center Manager, Dick Grant, followed me out to the parking lot and apologized to me for Davenport's attitude, behavior, and message to the IC community, and he hopes to assist us communicating with corporate headquarters to try to regain FSI's dedication and commitment to the contract pilots. I'm still not sure if this attitude originates up in LGA FlightSafety Headquarters, or this Dave Davenport fellow is a loose cannon on his own, but I intend to find out. Both the Assistant Center Manager and Product Marketing Manager still place value on the IC community and want to help keep us as valuable clients. They know how much money we spend as a group, and they would very much like to keep our business, unlike Dave Davenport.
I left the meeting very angry, and as I left the building, Dick chased me out to the parking lot to calm me down somewhat, but I am inclined to never, ever again, set foot in a FlightSafety training center. We'll see how that goes, but I am really disappointed in the attitude these days. I would say the contract pilot business is about shot if this attitude continues.
A footnote here, CAE Simuflite is actively friendly towards contract pilots, and will give the very best price they can to those who are footing their own bill. I have had nothing but positive feedback and communications with CAE Simuflite, and think they may be the best advocate of the contract pilot. For my part, CAE Simuflite is going to be my new training partner. FlightSafety shot the hell out of my 10 years loyalty.
Unfortunately for me, CAE does not yet have a G550 simulator or training program in that aircraft. But I think I am having to shift my loyalties to CAE with this new shift in bad attitude at FlightSafety (or at least the Center Manager at my training location).
I have had communications with one of our own, R. G., and he has experienced the very same indifference and hostility towards the contract pilot community from FlightSafety. He has tried to organize the ICP and their training, but has run into the same block wall with FSI. They just don't like us anymore.
This bodes ill for the contract pilots, who must pay their own training to satisfy the operators' requirements.
This also bodes ill for the operators who need and use qualified and current contract pilots to augment their flight operations.
Anybody else seen this kind of attitude at other FSI Centers?
I know some people who did it and advanced their careers far faster than I was able to but I'm still glad I took the other road.
