Water Cooler Conversations

Written by Pat Perry
President, ERC 

Last week two of my family members were in the hospital for surgery.  Fortunately they both did very well and are recovering nicely.  I spent quite a bit of time in the surgery waiting room last Wednesday and Friday.  The waiting area was very pleasant, roomy and comfortable.

On Friday, I had a few hunger pains mid afternoon and eyed a few vending machines.  I was hopeful that the selections would be healthy, as this hospital really promotes itself as one of the area’s foremost authorities on wellness and health education.  Well, you guessed it - the only food choice that appeared to be a healthy selection were bags of roasted peanuts. The rest of the selections ranged from Milky Way bars to Kit Kats. 

So I went for the peanut bag which was selection E7.  Thank goodness the bag did not get stuck on the way down the machine, as my other option was to get in the car and go down the street in search of a healthy snack as the hospital’s cafeteria was not open until late afternoon.  As I enjoyed my peanuts with bottled water I wondered if the folks at the hospital in charge of wellness and health education were aware of the irony of the vending machine selection in their waiting rooms.  I placed several calls to that area of the hospital with no return call as of yet.  I’m not planning on going back there any time soon (I hope) but wish the hospital can offer a few more options in their vending machines for the healthy conscious.  Imagine; they could have more than E7 being the only healthy letter/number combination.  Now that would be a winner.

Bingo!

*           *           *

I had quite a number of comments (mostly verbal) from my blog last week regarding our local airport.  Here are two that seem to capture the spirit of discontent regarding the city’s International Airport:

1 - “If you fly out of concourse A it is like you have a terminal disease. The last time I flew out of there, I went to the Great Lakes Brewing Co. “bar”. Sorry out of Dortmunder, sorry out of Burning River, we do have Conway’s Irish Ale (decent) and the porter. Asked why they were out, the response was, “everyone here is too lazy to bring the supplies to concourse A. By the way, do you want a shot with that for $3?” No, I don’t want a shot, except maybe to the head.”

2 - “Adding to the ambience (not!) is the ugly Allegra Concrete plant looming over the Metroparks and spoiling the view, either from the air or along 480. The south edge of the airport is now a demilitarized zone, even outside the fence. The areas which had homes, now torn down, are all posted no trespassing. Is there anything else we can do to create a worst first impression?”

A recent article in the PD expanded on a J.D. Power and Associates survey of U.S. airports. “The flying public found less to like at Cleveland Hopkins International over the past year. Travelers’ opinions of the airport nose-dived, dropping it nine spots to 13th place in the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 North American Airport Satisfaction Study being released today. Hopkins placed fourth the two previous years. The rankings are in their eighth year. The survey separates small, medium and large airports and gives them overall satisfaction ratings based on airport accessibility, baggage claim, check-in/baggage check process, terminal facilities, security check, and food and retail services. “

Wow…what a surprise.  Not.

Let’s take a look at each of these categories…

• airport accessibility - actually not too bad unless you are dropping people off for a flight and/or picking them up. 
• baggage claim - the only claims made here are that it is ugly, poorly lit, loud and confusing.  Nothing like having four carousels empty and one handling three flights at one time.
• check-in/baggage check process - this is pretty good if you check in online. 
• terminal facilities - friendly, bright and welcoming…oh…I made a mistake, I was describing the Fort Meyers airport.
• security check - the TSA does their job, but the wait is a joke.  Can you imagine Hopkins’ system in Orlando during spring break?
• food and retail services - horrendous, especially if your flight comes in after 7 pm - nothing is open. I wonder if horrendous was a choice in the survey.  

This story was a prelude to another “breaking story” I heard  on the radio about a proposed site for a convention center.  Holy cow, I forgot that someone is still thinking that is a good idea.  We can’t even welcome travelers here well.  If I was a visitor and had a few hour layover in Cleveland it would affirm all the negative press about our region.  Something needs to change at the airport fast…every day conditions that the airport remain the same and business as usual transpires we are taking another step backwards.

What’s it going to take to make an investment in that plot of land with landing strips?  Changing the name from Hopkins to CLE with a slick marketing campaign is not going to do the trick.  Doesn’t look like that has worked too well either as J.D. Powers and Associates still refers to the airport using the old name.

Written by Pat Perry
President, ERC 

Over the holidays I had the good fortune of traveling to Florida.  As our trip neared its conclusion, my family knew that heading back into winter was fast approaching.  The consolation was that we were heading back on Christmas Eve and my kids were pretty excited about the Christmas holiday.

Leaving Orlando’s airport provided a stark reminder of how far Northeast Ohio is behind other cities when it comes to hospitality and world class transportation amenities.  Orlando’s airport is large but one of the easiest airports to traverse I have ever encountered.  It is airy, with wide aisles and magnificent colorful murals adourning just about every wall in sight.  Also impressive is the baggage handling service and easy access to rent-a-cars, buses, etc.

Every time I arrive at Orlando’s airport I am reminded how they have customer service (with a smile) figured out - from security through baggage claim.  Missing at Orlando is the chaos that is routine at Cleveland Hopkins Airport for Arriving and Departing flights.

Our Continental Flight home was as usual without issue, on-time and with excellent service.  Kudos to our major Northeast Ohio airline!

We left 75 degrees in Orlando and were welcomed with 28 degrees in Cleveland.  That first step off the aircraft into the tunnel was a wake up call that we were back north.

Funny, that it wasn’t the change in the weather that affected me the most.  It was the significant difference in the airports that was sobering.  It started with baggage claim - four flights that had just landed were on one turnstile!  After getting our luggage (and listening to that all too familiar siren “announcing” luggage arrival on the turnstiles) we waited for our ride home for about 20 minutes, even though the person picking us up parked five minutes away.  So I stood by our luggage and observed the airport’s archaic approach to handling the transportation for those departing the airport.  Long, ridiculous lines caused primarily by two of the rudest security officers I have ever seen.

As I watched the insanity of how Cleveland Hopkins is set up for departing transportation it occurred to me that I was accustomed to this as a Northeast native - but what of visitors?  How the airport handles them when they arrive in our town re-affirms the outside world’s negative impression of our region. 

Here are a few tips for the leaders at Cleveland Hopkins Airport:

• Invest in some bright, colorful paint.  Make up for the lack of sunshine with something on the walls except for grey and off-white.
• Go visit world class airports and learn how they cater to visitors.
• Replace your rude security officers with professionals passionate about our region and who understand how to leave a lasting, positive impression.
• Think radical customer service.  Have live bands in the waiting areas, offer up free cookies, coffee and hot chocolate, have volunteers from the Convention Bureau greeting our out of town guests, etc.  The point is do something different and better than what is expected.
• Fix baggage claim.  It is a joke.

If you have flown recently perhaps your experience was better or worse than mine. 

Cleveland has a golden opportunity to make incredible impressions with travelers at the airport.  It’s time someone stepped up to the plate and got the facility and processes out of the sixties.

On the bright side, Cleveland’s airport is seldom crowded compared to other major airports.  Good for the traveler, but probably not good for the region.

Maybe more travelers would warm up to passing through our area via air travel if we began earning a reputation as a world class airport.  To me it is not the cold weather that brings me back to reality when I return from warmer climates; it’s the cold reception at the gate.