It's time to cancel Budget/Avis.

 

I've been a customer of Budget and Avis for over 30 years. 

 

While I haven't traveled for a few years due to Covid, I had no reason to believe that using Budget/Avis would be a problem when I booked some trips.  Unfortunately I was mistaken.

 

Before I even left, I had to deal with confusing "urgent" emails that created additional reservations when I had already pre-paid in full.  Umm.  You know that you can fix your algorithms to suppress those right?

 

Then we found out after we had a flat tire that you can buy all the insurance Budget/Avis offers and still come up short.  Why?  Because they don't offer RSN insurance.  I asked why they didn't offer RSN insurance and the company declined to answer.  I also asked if they realized that they were misleading customers into believing they were fully covered for emergencies when they weren't.  Again, Budget/Avis had no comment.

 

And last, but definitely not least, was the fact that after we waited two hours for a tow, we arrived at the pick-up location to discover that the desk agent had NO RECORD of the problem.  Hello.  What do you think that big square thing on your desk is for?  If you don't know how to use a computer, why not try the phone?

 

When I shared the name of the person who approved the replacement - which I was told - would resolve any issues I might have at the desk.  The agent said: "I don't know who that is.  He probably works in customer service.  Our customer service sucks!"

 

I couldn't agree more. 

 

But so does your email management, insurance coverage and internal communications. 

 

And that's why you have been canceled.

 

Making a racist joke won't help.

 

You probably haven't heard of Fleishers.  It was a small chain  of boutique butchers - two in NYC and two in Connecticut.  They specialized in very healthy, very expensive, grass fed beef.  The staff was friendly, knowledgeable and passionate, which made it fun to go there.  I remember one day they were all excited because the next day they were closing the store to go off to visit the farm. 

On July 22, 2021 a key investor demanded that the stores remove BLM and Gay Pride posters from the store windows where they had been posted for the past seven months. 

On July 23, employees at all four stores walked off the job. 

Apparently the majority shareholder was unaware that about half of the staff at the stores was Black/non-white or identified as queer/non-binary. (Karel, 2021)

How could he have failed to notice?  Probably because he didn't actually frequent his stores or bother to meet his staff.  As a rich real estate investor it's unlikely he cooks for himself, and these people were not part of his tribe so he wouldn't encounter them in social situations either.

His lack of understanding and empathy for his staff continued to play out when he frantically tried to replace the signs to get people to return to work.  There's nothing like an insincere apology to make things worse.  But apparently he is so out of touch that when he reached out to a manager personally he tried to connect with that manager by telling a racist joke.  (Karel, 2021)

How sad is that? 

If the shareholder had actually engaged his former employees in a meaningful discussion he would have learned that they face racism and bigotry on a daily basis, and that knowing that their employers supported them was what kept them going despite all that hate.

But like everyone else lately, he has little contact with anyone outside of his tribe, so he just doesn't get it.

The store on the UES now has a sign reading: "Fleishers Craft Butchery will be temporarily closed through the end of August."

But, I am unclear about where they go from here.  Will they only hire White Supremacists?  That's going to be fairly difficult in NYC where the under 25 population is majority non-white.  

Will they replace the signs?  What would it mean if they did?

Quite frankly I don't see them ever reopening and perhaps it's for the best.

Out of touch = out of business.  

 

Karel, D. (2021, August 4) Dozens of Fleishers Staffers Walk Out After Owner Insists on Removal of BLM, Pride signs.  bkmag.com.  Retrieved August 15, 2021, from https://www.bkmag.com/2021/08/04/dozens-of-fleishers-staffers-walk-out-after-owner-insists-on-removal-of-blm-pride-signs/

 

Anti-vaxxers come in lots of different flavors.

 

As of today, 61% of Americans age 18+ are fully vaccinated.  Based on the 80/20 rule, we can anticipate that 20% of Americans will continue to resist all efforts to persuade them to vaccinate.  

 

But that still leaves 19% who could be persuaded to vaccinate if we address them properly.

What does that mean?

It means first acknowledging the fact that they are not a coherent group.  Then defining the different segments that are resisting and based on that information identifying messages, media and influencers who they might respond to.  Basically the same thing marketers do all the time.

 

Sarah Smarsh of The New York Times has given us the place to start by identifying several anti-vaxxer segments.  They are:

1. Liberal men who fear losing a day of work due to side effects

2. Conservative men under the influence of disinformation

3. Liberal men and women who fear the for-profit-healthcare industry  (Smarsh, 2021)

Based on my own observations I would add:

4. Young women who have been misinformed about potential effects on fertility, pregnancy and breast-feeding. 

 

Of course it's hard to understand why a woman would rather pass along the virus in her breast milk than the vaccine.  (And research shows that neither happens.)  But that's the point.  None of their reasons make sense because all decisions are emotional. 

The bottom line is that anti-vaxxers are afraid.

That's why we need to understand who they are, where they get their information from and who their influencers are.  I'm not just talking about Instagram influencers.  I also mean politicians, doctors, teachers, pharmacists, coaches, clergy and even hairdressers - who were highly effective in increasing the rate of mammograms among African-American women.

At this point we are replacing the carrot (free metro cards) with the stick (no entry without proof of vaccination.)  But can either really overcome fear?  Probably not.

That's why we need to get a better handle on the different segments and come up with plans that are effective for each.  This is not a one-size fits all situation.  It will require tailored solutions for each segment.  But it can be done.  

And we are highly motivated.

 

Smarsh, S. (2021, August 8)  What to Do With Our Covid Rage.  nytimes.com.  Retrieved August 11, 2021, from  https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/07/opinion/sunday/covid-unvaccinated-anger.html