(Valentines Post) The price of brand loyalty

Singapore Airlines, my favorite airline, is delayed. One and a half hours out of Hong Kong! And the flight of my assistant is late 16 hours out of Newark! Not their fault, though, I reason. There was a severe snowstorm in New York, and the type of mechanical failure out of Hong Kong can happen to anyone. Plus, the way they managed the delay out of Hong Kong was superb: status reports every 15 minutes. I recognize how attached I am to that brand, how I make excuses, how I justify. I especially realize it when I talk to my (less attached) assistant. “How was the flight otherwise,” I ask him, ready to hear “Great. And the snowstorm wasn’t their mistake.” Nick’s response, however, is something like: “It was fine, but not that outstanding.”