I used to love Southwest Airlines…
…until I caught Southwest Airlines in a lie.
In fact, I discovered that Southwest lies to me — and you — frequently.
It happens when you book flights online.
I was doing that last night — booking a flight for my wife and me.
I entered the locations, dates and number of passengers. Then I pressed “Enter.”
Southwest listed the available flights.
I spotted the flight I wanted (perfect times, decent price)…
…but, darn it, there was only “1 left,” Southwest told me.
I needed two tickets so “1 left” wouldn’t cut it.
Hey, wait a minute! I had entered the wrong number of passengers in the search form. I said “1” passenger, not “2.”
So I revised and resubmitted the search.
Lo and behold, the “1 left” label disappeared from the flight I preferred.
As a test, I resubmitted the search, this time for “4” passengers. No problem. Plenty of seats available on my preferred flight.
More tests. I searched again for just “1” passenger. No more “1 left” label. Then I cleared my browser history (no more cookies on my computer to let Southwest know I had previously visited and searched). Now the “1 left” label was back.
Let’s face it. This shouldn’t surprise us. I suspected those “1 left” notices were lies.
Southwest isn’t the only airline that does this. The airline industry is just one of many that pulls this trick.
Businesses like to create urgency and scarcity to drive sales.
But they don’t have to lie about it.
Sure, it may be a little white lie. But it’s a lie, nonetheless. So yesterday I proved the lie that I suspected, and I booked the flight with a different airline.
How will your customers react if they catch you resorting to little white lies and tricks to drive sales?
Tom
MarketVolt
p.s. We help businesses figure out what they sell. Then we help them identify and connect with their target markets so people will listen to what you’re saying. If you want to discuss how to make it happen for your business, email me at tom@marketvolt.com. For no charge and no strings attached, we’ll discuss with you how you’re building email lists, generating new leads and generally finding and connecting with prospects.
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