Owner Speaks

[atpcliff]

Hi!

To NJAOwner. I would suggest getting the pager or cell phone number of the pilot that is waiting for you, so U can contact him directly if things change.

Unless NJA has a policy against doing that, I would want the owner to be able to get in touch with me directly if he needed to.

Cliff
GRB

PS-I'd love to fly for one of the fractionals.
Also, I believe that Flight Options pays their pilots the most, and I believe that NetJets owners pay the most-if I am right about the above two "facts", then something is out of whack.

 

[NJA Capt]

I would suggest getting the pager or cell phone number of the pilot that is waiting for you, so U can contact him directly if things change.

Unless NJA has a policy against doing that, I would want the owner to be able to get in touch with me directly if he needed to.

Pagers and cell phones are not always in range. Cell phones are also not expensed by the company so mine is always in the O-F-F position. True owners know their private NJA number to reach dispatch and they also know the FBO's number and frequently contact us that way. Contacting the pilot is not difficult. I'm sure many owners do not want to leave their home phone numbers on someone's pager either.

Aircraft numbers and/or crews change frequently. An owner could page "Bob" with a late departure time, when he is 900 miles away. And "Roy" is at the FBO waiting. The number thing works in a corp flt dept, but not in a fractional.

I believe that Flight Options pays their pilots the most, and I believe that NetJets owners pay the most-if I am right about the above two "facts", then something is out of whack.

Things are not always as clear as they appear, Grasshopper.
$1.50 is more than $1.48 though, right?

Let's not hijack this thread into this again.

 

[English]

I guess I'm missing the big picture here...but then again, I'm just a pilot and what do I know?

It seems we have a person here who is a share owner in a aircraft with concerns/complaints about the service he/she received. Whether or not he/she truly is an owner, I think we should all listen to the message (I guess except trainerjet??? - <gentle nudge>).

Customer service should be a priority, right along with safety of flight issues. We cannot live in a little box in the cockpit isolated from "those people in the back". Many pilots (including fractional pilots) got their first "real" flying job at a regional airline, and learned passenger indifference from this experience. Those that came up the corporate side of the house probably learned better a little earlier on. I say this not to flame, but am commenting on my own experiences. When I worked at a regional, the only thing the pilots were ever taught regarding the passengers was how to deal with unruly passengers, what to do when a passenger suggests the pilot is drunk, and things along those lines. We were never told or encouraged to be proactive in keeping the passengers happy. And so we didn't.

When I came to my little fractional company, I was able to have one-on-one interaction with my passengers. I LOVED IT. Yes, it's true. I get pleasure in having a friendly atmosphere in my airplane. I believe it comes with the mutual respect between the passengers and the crew. If I am polite and gracious to my passengers, they will be the same to me. If I go out of my way for them, they will do the same for me. It's a societal issue. If I flip someone off on the freeway, they will probably flip me off right back. If I'm nice to everyone I come in contact with, they'll be nice right back.

Maybe my optimism is getting in the way, but I've always felt that if you do a good job, you will be rewarded, financially or otherwise. I know NetJets guys are a little unhappy with their contract negotations relating to pay issues. But you should be able to get some kind of reward (like contentment and job satisfaction) by putting your best out there every day. If the entire company does that, won't the pay rewards follow? I know, a little PollyAnna, but I'd feel better knowing I'd earned it through hard work.

(edited for spelling)

 

[NJAowner]

Cell phones, pagers and $$

The cell phone topic started with me a few posts back when I said that several times when I have been running late, I called my Owner Services Team to inform them and they did not notify the pilots, who were pissed. I do not want pilots cell phone/pager #s--you are right, a/c and pilots changes often -- and I walk around with enough phone numbers. What I now do which works great -- I call the FBO directly. It works great. Either they call the pilot to the phone or tell him. It works better at small airports than at MDW. NJA puts the FBO phone number on each rservation request so I always have it with me.

As far as the $$$, for new aircraft, FO and NJA are real close on costs. For other a/c like the Citation X, the monthly and hourly fees are almost identical; it is just NJA costs more since it is a brand new plane not a used one. We re-upped with NJA a few years ago and love it. I will not get into my "perceptions" -- note all preceptions not fact--- since I have gotten my share of flaming and now feel like a mashmallow left in the campfire for 20 minutes.

 

[Timebuilder]

I believe it comes with the mutual respect between the passengers and the crew.

Unfortunately, this is often a one-way street, with the crew showing respect to the passengers, many of whom are "indifferent", to say the least.

If I am polite and gracious to my passengers, they will be the same to me. If I go out of my way for them, they will do the same for me. It's a societal issue.

I'm a Dale Carnegie course grad, and I can tell you that the polite, cheerful attitude can only engender a similar response a part of the time. That's the reality of the situation. Even so, I continue to give the best service I can.

Mr. Owner, the pilots should NEVER let you know that their displeasure has reached the level of "pi$$ed". While this is a human response, it should not be shared with you. They should be talking to their people, instead, and trying to find out how to avoid poor communications in the future.

I'd recommend that the Net Jets pilots start a portal for customer communication with the pilot group, where owners can bring problems to the attention of the pilots as a whole. Owners then can comment without fear of having a pilot lose his job, allowing for learning from mistakes and improving service.

Just a thought.

 

[English]

Gee, Timebuilder, I don't understand. I've never had a single "indifferent" passenger. Maybe it's because I'm on the west coast, and you are on the east coast? I don't know what the answer is. I guess I should count myself as extremely fortunate.

 

[Timebuilder]

Could be all of the passengers I was taking out of HPN, TEB, and MMU!

 

[Live4flyng]

English

I know NetJets guys are a little unhappy with their contract negotations relating to pay issues. But you should be able to get some kind of reward (like contentment and job satisfaction) by putting your best out there every day. If the entire company does that, won't the pay rewards follow?

What makes you think the NJA pilots don't already do that? I'm sure Netjets didn't get to be the leader in the fractional world by treating owners with an airline attitude. What company was it again that started fractional ownership?

 

[English]

It was NJAowner's post that made me think that the owners are being treated that way. Didn't you read his comments?

 

[Timebuilder]

Well, first of all, he only mentioned a few pilots.

Then:

Example -- recently a pilot who did not like the pilot lunch from the caterer in a rural city we fly into often. We thought the food was and is usually fine (not great) and we know the place it comes from (a town w/o a flight caterer). After the flight the piot complained to Columbus that we bitched that the food was bad. I did not appreciate the call from Owner Services becasue the pilot did not like the box lunch.

I think there is another way to look at this.

I might have made such a call, without the urging of my passenger, if the food was not up to company standards. Why wait for a customer to complain? The pilot may have been acting proactively, and not just because he thought the food wasn't good enough for him. As a customer, I wouldn't be offended if a crew did this. That's just another perspective, though.

As a guy who has seen good catering and bad, I see it as a reflection on my company when the food isn't up to snuff, even if the customer is too nice to complain.