Flying the good times ...

The couple decided to divorce and the lady agreed to releive the man ,on the promise that he will give her their home as a compensation. But once the papers were ready and the courts legally divorced them, the man backtracked and ordered her to get out of the house immedeatly while he went for a tour with his new girl friend....

She spent the first day packing her belongings into boxes, crates and suitcases.....

On the second day, she had the movers come and collect her things......

On the third day, she sat down for the last time at their beautiful dining room table by candlelight, put on some soft background music and feasted on a pound of shrimp, a jar of caviar and a bottle of Champaigne.When she had finished, she went into each and every Room and deposited a few half-eaten shrimp dipped in caviar, into the hollow of the curtain rods. She then cleaned up the kitchen and left.......

When the husband returned with his new girlfriend, all was bliss for the first few days. Then slowly, the house began to smell. They tried everything; cleaning, mopping and airing the place out. Vents were checked for dead rodents and carpets were steamed. Air Fresheners were hung everywhere. Exterminators were brought in to set off gas canisters, during which they had to move out for a few days, and in the end even paid to replace the expensive wool carpeting.....

Nothing worked.......

People stopped coming over to visit. Repairmen refused to work in the house. The maid quit......Finally, they could not take the stench any longer and decided to move. A month later, even though they had cut their price in half, they could not find a buyer for their stinky house. Word got out and eventually even the local real estate guys refused to return their calls.......

Finally,they had to borrow a huge sum of money from the bank to purchase a new place. The ex-wife called the man and asked how things were going. He told her the saga of the rotting house. She listened politely and said that she missed her old home terribly, and would be willing to reduce her divorce settlement in exchange for getting the house back. Knowing his ex-wife had no idea how bad the smell was, he agreed on a Price that was about 1/10th of what the house had been worth, but only if she were to sign the papers that very day. She agreed and within the hour his lawyers delivered the paperwork.A week later the man and his girlfriend stood smiling as they watched the moving company pack everything to take to their new home...........including the curtain rods.

Little Rosh would be about ten months , seated behind me in his mothers lap, in the Kingfisher flight from Bangalore ( I hate calling the place Bangaloruu..forgive me hardcore guys) to Cochin ......The flight took off and the lad started crying...his hapless mother( I didnt ask her name, because it would be improper) had a tough time with the infant refusing to be tied up in the infant seat belt, and no amount of convincing and cajoling would tame him.....

Then appeared Leena- the inflight hostess for making sure that the 'guests' (Kingfisher calls the traveller a guest not a passenger or a customer...a simple thing but it made a huge difference) Leena had an amazing presence of mind, a charming face, and a captivating smile and above all she understood her job....God knows how,but the lad stopped his bawl....the toys which she managed..the smile with which he took him and walked up and down the aircraft, while also doing her other duties like serving food.....

I dont want to call it an outstanding act, because it is part of her job, as Philip Kotler says, "part of the expected product".... But I would definetely call it an out of the way effort to make the passenger feel the good times that they promised...

Kingfisher is notable for the change that they have bought into the Indian skies......of course they are no Airdeccan and they definitely do not want to flaunt the common man tag... they promise class and they deliver it......starting from the reception to baggage assistance to the red interiors which is a welcome change compared to the drab interiors of aircrafts that we are used to.

The handpicked crew (Dr Vijay Mallaya claims that he has handpicked them....mmmm) is capable and competent...... the in-flight entertainment as well as the food was a welcome change against the Airline food that all of us love to hate.

Their communication speak of 'feeling the good times' and they deliver it ...

“The Kingfisher Airlines family will consistently deliver a safe, value-based and enjoyable travel experience to all our guests” ... they claim and my experience atleast proves that they actually make promises and also deliver them...

Isnt that a reason to be delightful?.....

Their agency- Equus Red Cell should be a happy lot to be able to work for such enlightened a client....

The entire experience from the airport services (arrival at airport, check-in counter, boarding) were excellent. In-flight services were good and we were really treated as if we were at your house (as you also claim in your welcome message on the screen). The air-hostesses were at their best at serving all kinds of people.....It is also interesting to note that you have taken personal care to recruit, train and design even the stylish uniforms for the air-hostesses and worked at minutest of details...very many thanks...

Says an 'authentic customer feed back' out up in the Kingfisher website....

Now for those who doubt the authenticity, let me share with you what little Rosh's mother told me as we disembarked and walked toward the arrival terminal....

I have travelled in all others but this one delighted me...I guess hereafter we will travel in Kingfisher only.....

I hope that others too get the message and make flying in India a better experience...

If you promise you have to deliver....most of them under deliver and make a travellers life hopeless and bleak...

Promises are like making babies....easy to make but difficult to deliver.....

Am I right?