246) The Human Factor

Yesterday, American Airlines served up a less than satisfactory flight home.

First, a male flight attendant told me that he, "doesn't do lifting" when I asked for help getting my carry-on into the overhead bin. Um, ok.

And second, all the flight attendant announcements were automated. Someone pressed a button, and a woman's pre-recorded and digitally mastered voice informed us that it was time to return our seats to their full upright position and make sure our tray tables were secure.

Maybe it was simply the familiarity of hearing an actual person over the intercom, but something about the automated messages didn't sit well with me. When we envision the future, we often think of that throaty, female computer voice. It symbolizes progress, technology, convenience - the completely digitalized world we'll live in (Jetsons, anyone?). But what we don't think about is the loss of the human aspect. The reassurance that there is an actual person on the other end.

Delta's recent and relevant campaign: