Cost cutting
December 16th 2006 00:27
Cost cutting. It’s what companies the world over are doing these days. And it was very evident in my recent domestic flying experience. First there was mandatory self check-in. Then the inflight ‘service’ consisted of hosties dashing through the cabin with a cart filled with purchasable food and drinks. And if one wanted to be entertained, purchasable headsets were available to tune in to what I assume was elevator music.
As I was observing the cost cutting measures of my local airline, I reflected on my ex-airline and their particular methods of economising. My old airline had a different approach. Passengers were always given an abundance of free food and drink, in fact the airline had aptly been nicknamed the ‘flying restaurant’. Rather, I feel it was the hosties that suffered more in the name of cost cutting.
One day, suddenly the company stopped printing out payslips, citing “saving paper and time in distribution” as the reason. Somehow I thought not giving out menus on flights would save a lot more trees, especially considering many passengers were not able to read the languages on the menus, and those who could, didn’t, or why else would hosties have to repeat the meal choices like a broken record? Salary advice became available only on company intranet. So why couldn’t all other information that was printed out on glossy paper with accompanying colourful pictures, such as the new way on how to arrange the tea and coffee cart, also be put on intranet? It didn’t make sense at all, and certainly the environment was not better off due to this ludicrous decision.
Hosties were sent a paper memo (did I mention the company was trying to save paper?) reminding them that taking products off the aircraft to be consumed outside of work was a company offence. Bottled water was highlighted as one of the main items being removed and the memo listed figures on how much it cost annually for the company, estimates based on every hostie taking a bottle of water off the aircraft on every layover (nightstop). On paper it did look like a huge amount of money but surely a company with enormous profits (enough to sponsor every major sporting event it can put its name on) should not begrudge its dehydrated and hardworking hosties a few (thousand) cases of bottled water? Obviously the employees were not impressed, particularly as the memo also brought up something about disciplinary action for those caught with company products in their possession.
My sources of the latest company news ie.gluttons for punishment still at the airline, report that now hosties are forbidden to use the toothbrush and toothpaste sets provided for passengers, while at work. Does that mean management would rather their hosties breathe bad breath on their customers? What next? Will staff be asked to bring their own toilet rolls to work in an effort to cut company costs?
My biggest cost cutting gripe concerned crew hotels and the tendency for the company to put staff in the cheapest ones possible. The trend was to put flight crew in a beautiful, posh hotel close to the city whenever a new destination opened up. Within a couple of months (after someone in the company had done more research I suppose) the hotel would change to one that was older, uglier, further away from the city and closer to the airport. Once, after much complaining from the flight crew about one such substitution, management sent – yes, you guessed it- a memo, stating the change in hotel was due to “security measures”, and yet everything about the ‘new’ hotel seemed dodgy. The current hotel rate was noticeably cheaper than the previous one. A coincidence? I doubt it.
Am I being a typical drama queen (ex-)hostie? Do the cost cutting practices of my former company seem rather preposterous to you? Has your workplace implemented some equally extreme ways to save a few bucks?
As I was observing the cost cutting measures of my local airline, I reflected on my ex-airline and their particular methods of economising. My old airline had a different approach. Passengers were always given an abundance of free food and drink, in fact the airline had aptly been nicknamed the ‘flying restaurant’. Rather, I feel it was the hosties that suffered more in the name of cost cutting.
One day, suddenly the company stopped printing out payslips, citing “saving paper and time in distribution” as the reason. Somehow I thought not giving out menus on flights would save a lot more trees, especially considering many passengers were not able to read the languages on the menus, and those who could, didn’t, or why else would hosties have to repeat the meal choices like a broken record? Salary advice became available only on company intranet. So why couldn’t all other information that was printed out on glossy paper with accompanying colourful pictures, such as the new way on how to arrange the tea and coffee cart, also be put on intranet? It didn’t make sense at all, and certainly the environment was not better off due to this ludicrous decision.
Hosties were sent a paper memo (did I mention the company was trying to save paper?) reminding them that taking products off the aircraft to be consumed outside of work was a company offence. Bottled water was highlighted as one of the main items being removed and the memo listed figures on how much it cost annually for the company, estimates based on every hostie taking a bottle of water off the aircraft on every layover (nightstop). On paper it did look like a huge amount of money but surely a company with enormous profits (enough to sponsor every major sporting event it can put its name on) should not begrudge its dehydrated and hardworking hosties a few (thousand) cases of bottled water? Obviously the employees were not impressed, particularly as the memo also brought up something about disciplinary action for those caught with company products in their possession.
My sources of the latest company news ie.gluttons for punishment still at the airline, report that now hosties are forbidden to use the toothbrush and toothpaste sets provided for passengers, while at work. Does that mean management would rather their hosties breathe bad breath on their customers? What next? Will staff be asked to bring their own toilet rolls to work in an effort to cut company costs?
My biggest cost cutting gripe concerned crew hotels and the tendency for the company to put staff in the cheapest ones possible. The trend was to put flight crew in a beautiful, posh hotel close to the city whenever a new destination opened up. Within a couple of months (after someone in the company had done more research I suppose) the hotel would change to one that was older, uglier, further away from the city and closer to the airport. Once, after much complaining from the flight crew about one such substitution, management sent – yes, you guessed it- a memo, stating the change in hotel was due to “security measures”, and yet everything about the ‘new’ hotel seemed dodgy. The current hotel rate was noticeably cheaper than the previous one. A coincidence? I doubt it.
Am I being a typical drama queen (ex-)hostie? Do the cost cutting practices of my former company seem rather preposterous to you? Has your workplace implemented some equally extreme ways to save a few bucks?
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