Membership is not entitlement
Kristina Haney
Everyone is a frequent buyer, flier or traveler with some organization or another.
But those people are more often the people who will complain when something goes wrong.
Shouldn’t they know the policies and be able to stick to them?
Working in the service industry, I have heard countless times people saying that they are a regular guest at the hotel, and that we should jump through hoops lit on fire in order to get them specifically what they are asking for.
This will usually entail taking something away from someone else.
Entitlement is not always placed upon someone by another person.
They have to earn it or somehow obtain it, be it through money or success.
The people who have the money to travel six months out of the year should not be complaining about the amount of money it will cost to upgrade to a better room or a different seat.
A common thing I have noticed is that these business travelers pay for absolutely nothing on their trip.
Everything down to the last breakfast sausage is covered by their company.
So why are they getting so bent out of shape when we are unable to give them what they want?
Maybe it is because they are someone important in their line of work.
Maybe it is because they “had a bad day at the office” or their travel plans were not what they planned.
It is not anyone’s fault that you expected an upgrade because you thought you deserved it.
Sure, sometimes people do pay for their own flights and hotel rooms, but if they have been with a company as a loyal buyer, they should know how things are and what the rules involve.
People have a right to complain when real issues happen, like if a hotel room is dirty when they are checked in, or if their seat is given away to someone else on the flight.
Those are reasons to complain.
First class on an airplane seems helpful for a cross-country flight, but when people pitch a fit when they don’t get a complimentary upgrade from coach on a flight from Arizona to California, I can’t help but laugh.
Just sit down and enjoy your peanuts and can of water.
Sometimes people get to the upper level of the frequent shopper totem pole because they complained so much, but that does not mean they should get to slide by their entire life complaining just to get their way.
Sometimes the rich need to be told no, or else they will just never learn.
