Complicated New World
I love travelling. And in today’s world there are so many possibilities to do it. You buy the ticket, you check in, and 10 hours later you will find yourself in a totally different world. It’s amazing every single time to me. But we still tend to complain, right? Getting to the airport by car or train, checking in, security, flying, a layover, finally there. So, it’s actually more than 10 hours, but who cares.
My recent trip to the US gave me food for thought, though. We are surrounded by new technology wherever we look. It is supposed to make our lives easier, but does it really? Every time you go to the airport you see less people to talk to but more machines you have to handle yourself. I went to the check-in area, and what do I see? Check-in attendance for first and business class passengers – for us lowly economy class passengers we have to check in using a machine. Bummer, I don’t have the money for these seats yet. Maybe one day…. Ok, scan your passport, when the machine likes it, it will work, if not try another time with your booking code. Type in the address you will be staying in the country, type in the number of suitcases, choose your seat, print your boarding pass. But you still have your suitcase or two that you have to get rid of, right? Well, there it is, a baggage drop-off line you have to wait in. And you won’t believe it, there is actually a real person who talks to you at the counter.
The game goes on. The airline associate wants to see your passport, checks in the bags, asks if you would like a different seat, charges you for the second suitcase (the economy passengers pay extra) and finally you are done. Now tell me why we needed the first step? All the frustrating steps with the machine are repeated at the counter anyway. Who of these people responsible makes a decision like that? What about older people, people who are not used to operating machines every so often, and people who are technology illiterate? Well, good luck with finding an assistant who is cruising around the check-in computers. Welcome to the new world. You don’t like it, well pay another 1000 Euro for a ticket or more and someone will talk to you in person. I’m not kidding.