The Importance of Consistency...

Image via WikipediaI just got off the plane in San Francisco after flying Virgin America for the second time. Before coming to work for Virgin USA I was a huge Jet Blue fan for domestic flights, and have to say they consistently got it right every time I flew-from the service to the in-flight entertainment, they pretty much always delivered. That said, I also loved Virgin Atlantic for my transcontinental flights and had pretty high expectations after seeing what Atlantic offered, even for just a coach passenger.

While this is only the second time I have flown Virgin America and overall the service was awesome, it is the second time that "Red," the in-flight entertainment system, totally missed my expectations. The on screen picture basically kept freezing throughout the flight, rendering it almost impossible to watch any TV (there were some killer movies on!). I was clearly not alone in feeling bummed out and some of my fellow passengers moaned and groaned to the flight crew with no success. Overall, this has been a consistent theme when I talk to people about the airline and what they think. It usually goes something like: "they are really friendly, a bit of tongue in cheek humor, solid service and I like that I can buy my food, but the IFE broke and I couldn't watch TV!"

I never thought free TV in an airplane would have such an impact on user experience, but relative to my two flights it seems that if this isn't working people's expectations aren't met. Should consumers take a holistic approach towards judging an experience or is the TV just a small blip? Will customers consider NOT flying VA next time around? In a world where competition is all around us and consumers are highly demanding and selective, it behooves companies like Virgin to consistently deliver a great experience and live up to its brand values. Let me be clear-I think Virgin does a great job already at understanding the consumer and delivering a great experience, however on my two flights I wondered whether people would continue to fly VA after their experiences. While the TV was a small issue for most people that likely will be cleared up soon (no doubt if people complain), I firmly believe it's the small things that count in the end.