On Hold for 45 Minutes? It Might Be Your Secret Customer Score

Post by wpietri » Fri, Nov 02, 2018, 4:09 AM UTC

uiri wrote: post #294

stiglitz wrote: post #269

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I refuse all such games. It’s like Thoreau said: you judge your wealth based on what you can afford not to worry about. It means giving up money, but on principle these “points” are disgusting to me. Especially credit cards, which are also frequently rationalized based on their security benefits over debit cards- security benefits which IMO there is no reason debit cards shouldn’t also have.

The essential difference is in the name! A debit card creates a debit from your account. It is your money that is used to complete the transaction. A credit card creates a credit to a revolving loan account. It is the bank's money that is used to complete the transaction (and you repay the bank separately). The bank cares a hell of a lot more about its money than it does about your money. Sure, regulations come into…

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Nov 02, 2018, 4:11 AM UTC

TylerE wrote: post #293

Scoundreller wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/urban-expedit... Says that a 737 flies on average 4300 miles per day, and that 7lb digital entertainment console costs $216 to carry per year. That's .000019 dollars per lb-mile. JFK-SFO is 2586 miles. That's $10 in fuel for carrying an extra 200lbs. But less passengers could mean more cargo...

$10/flight * thousands of flights per day * 365 days per year = real money. Airline margins can be ruthless.

Post by philwelch » Fri, Nov 02, 2018, 4:19 AM UTC

kenneth wrote: post #256

philwelch wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> With the existence of economy-only planes and lack of 1st-class only planes, I’d argue that the “cheap seats” are what makes aviation viable, rather than being a money-loser. On a typical flight, the revenue probably follows a Pareto distribution--20% of the passengers (first class) provide 80% of the revenue--but at the paper-thin margins of an airline, you still need the other 20%. Economy-only flights are usuall…

Low-cost carriers have very different businesses too focused on lowering costs. The "low-cost" in the name refers to the carrier's costs, not the customers. They typically have all-economy planes and use a single aircraft model (e.g. easyJet exclusively flies the Airbus A320 family), which dramatically lowers crew and maintenance costs. They also offer little flexibility, have no interline agreements, and have no add…

Post by philwelch » Fri, Nov 02, 2018, 4:23 AM UTC

lozaning wrote: post #266

philwelch wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Political campaigns track voters on an individual level, correlating third party data with public voter rolls and using the data for microtargeting and analytics.

Any yet I've somehow been bombarded all week with spam sms from only the party who's candidates I do not intend to vote for. Anyone that could tie the website I visit to my phone number should be able to guess that easily enough.

Post by indecisive_user » Fri, Nov 02, 2018, 4:36 AM UTC

leetcrew wrote: post #267

Scoundreller wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder why the last-minute-inventory auction model is so popular for hotels and not for flights. I get that not every flight is equal, but nor are hotels, yet they have systems for blind comparisons.

i don't actually know the answer, but here's a guess. imagine you are going on a trip and you are planning your outbound flight and first night's accommodations. you suspect that the price will go down at the last minute so you put off making reservations as long as possible. which are you more willing to risk, having a place to sleep when you get there, or getting there on the day that you planned? i suspect most pe…