One size DOESN'T fit all.
As a traveler, I have seen how traveling has evolved over the years. From being all inclusive to almost exclusive, unless you can afford it. The movement of the term travel has evolved from the changes with the TSA to the actual airline service, but the categorization became clear to me when I went online to pick a seat. It was no longer first class or second class. It now also includes Business class, Premium economy, which offers more leg room, and Economy class. They have divided the seating preferences based on what you can afford and with these extra payments buyers have the luxury of entering and getting situated in the plane first. This structure of privileging what customers can afford, shifts the balance of what customer service is all about, which is, serving the needs of the customers.
The idea of “serving the customer’s needs” shifted for me when in the immigration line after a flight from Jamaica, an elderly diabetic man fell down, he was hypoglycemic. His error? Expecting to be fed on a plane. This incident took place soon after the changes were made from having a nice light meal to being offered, initially just fluids, to the now evolving peanuts and pretzels. Of course on longer flights full meals are served if its more than 2 hours, in any case when we construct these rules, it doesn’t take into consideration what’s best for individual, it tends to focus on the institution or structure.
People who tend to be excluded are those on a lower socioeconomic level and for some, those who doesn’t have the proper documentation and obviously, those that like to do bad things to good people. Yet, has social norms or habits created secondary rules, in regards to the way we travel? For instance, by stigmatizing obesity and fat shaming various body types on social media, has those practices provided incentives to airlines by stating that heavier individuals must purchase two seats or not be allowed to travel? Even though we are allowed to fly and enjoy the experience, it is very limited in regards to who is able to travel. For instance, what would the travel experience look like for a person with cerebral palsy, Turrets syndrome or even Parkinson’s disease?
Traveling has evolved from being about the experience to wondering if a person can afford the overall trip. Small changes in the format of an airline alters the purpose and the experience for the user. For instance, on Facebook, they changed the “Add Friend” icon to “Connect” which takes the pressure and tension of what a friend is, to the user and helps to build a more neutral, universally acceptable word. By doing this it opened the door for movement to occur across the social networking site. Also by changing the structure, or even a simple word, it changes the behavior of the user and in that same vain, include and exclude individuals.