Underwhelming

The Lufthansa Business lounge at Düsseldorf airport during the evening rush hour is always packed. Finding a seat is often a challenge, it's noisy, messy, and the catering staff are often so busy that they can't keep up with the turnover of food and drinks. So, having recently achieved Lufthansa Senator status, I was looking forward to my first visit to Senator Lounge and a more relaxing end to the day.

I walked in and right away, I felt my shoulders sagging. The experience was exactly the same, only in smaller, darker room. I know Düsseldorf is only a small regional airport so perhaps my expectations were unrealistic - in Munich, the step up from Business to Senator lounges is significant. But it left me questioning why I should be loyal to a brand that doesn't offer a higher level of service to their bets customers every time, rather than just sometimes.

I've never believed in the old mantra of the customer always being right. But I do believe that businesses should treat their best customers significantly better than the rest.

Take a look at your customer base. What are you doing to make your best customers feel special? Most times when I ask that question, the answer is: "Probably not enough."

Copyright, Hamish Mackenzie 2019