Heathrow Airport (and no doubt many others) has a really great little "feature" called Fasttrack, whereby you essentially check through security in a shortened line and in expedited fashion. I flew American (upgraded with miles) and used this feature as part of a bundled Business Class experience. Yes, many airports offer separate check in for first and business class passengers, but what made this special was the fact that I received an "invitation" to move through immigration and customs on the way in and security on the way out.
It made me think of a few applications/offshoots:
1. In this day and age of increased security (esp. at airports), it's encouraging to see that this does not necessarily have to come at the expense of service excellence and making people feel special
2. The US is woefully behind in terms of figuring this out in general...and again, epecially at airports. Not all airports offer expedited check-in. There's a real inconsistency problem. Business and first class passengers can't access the business lounges which are all privatized. This is ridiculous that I can get in with an American Express card, but not with a business class ticket...
3. As I'm sitting in Starbucks right now and staring at a seemingly endless line, I'm wondering why brands and companies don't offer a similar fasttrack service. Starbucks is a prime candidate. Many hotels have separate check-in for their rewards customers, except no one is ever behind the counter and even so, a Premium customer is made to feel like they're cutting in line by moving to this separate counter. But back to the idea at hand...think about the impact of a Fasttrack mechanism in highly trafficked and frequented establishments and what this would do to increase loyalty, retention and sales....
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