Not long ago my friend, a pilot by profession, told me: “These are budget airlines. If you want politeness, take a business jet”
This sentence stopped me for a while. Because have we really reached a point in today’s world where politeness becomes a premium good? Where basic courtesy requires an extra fee?
Anatomy of budget airlines
The business model of budget carriers is essentially the art of precise cost cutting. Every service gets sliced into atomic parts, from which the customer composes their own package. Want to choose your seat? Extra fee. Want a sandwich? Extra fee. Want your suitcase to fly with you, not on the next flight? Extra fee.
In this savings factory, the crew got hit the hardest. Time pressure, multiple flights per day, minimal breaks – all this makes the flight attendant’s smile start to cost money. And not just literally (in terms of personnel costs), but also mentally. It’s hard to be polite when you’re working at the edge of endurance.
And passengers? Well, cheap often means nervous. Add delays, cramped conditions and the fact that everyone saved on their ticket, so every complication hurts twice as much. This creates a recipe for conflict where politeness becomes the first casualty.
The economics of a smile
Does politeness really cost money? At first glance, it seems like it doesn’t. After all, it’s just a way of communicating, right? But when we look deeper, it turns out that courtesy requires resources:
- Time – longer conversations, explanations, patience
- Mental energy – emotional control, empathy, positive attitude
- Training – customer service is a skill that needs to be developed
- Safety buffer – a polite employee cannot be overloaded
In a world where every minute is counted and every penny weighed, these “soft” costs become very real. Politeness requires slack in the system, and there’s no slack in maximum efficiency models.
Premium as usual
In business or first class, the story looks completely different. Here the service has time, there are fewer passengers, everyone is (theoretically) less stressed. Politeness becomes part of the product that the customer consciously pays for.
This leads to a paradoxical situation: the more someone pays, the nicer treatment they can expect. A two-tier politeness system emerges, where basic human decency is reserved for those who can afford it.
Is it just airlines?
Of course not. Let’s look at:
- Call centers – basic plan: automated system and 20 minutes of waiting; premium: instant connection to a living person
- Banking – basic account: harsh online form; premium account: personal advisor who remembers your name
- E-commerce – regular service: standard responses; premium: personalized solutions
Everywhere we see the same pattern: politeness as a differentiating element, additional value for those who can afford more.
Can this be avoided?
Here we get to the heart of the matter. Does politeness have to cost money? Can’t you really be nice while maintaining efficiency?
I think you can – but it requires a change in business philosophy. Instead of treating courtesy as a cost, you need to start seeing it as an investment. A satisfied customer returns, recommends, doesn’t generate conflicts. That also has its value.
Some companies understand this. Models are emerging where politeness is part of the organization’s DNA, not a luxury for the chosen few. But they require courage – the courage not to compete only on price, but on value.
Questions at the end
Do we agree to a world where basic decency is a premium good? Where a smile requires an extra fee, and courtesy is a privilege of the wealthy?
Or maybe there’s a third way – one where politeness is neither a cost nor a luxury, but a basic standard? Where a company can be efficient and human at the same time?
These are questions that each of us – as a consumer, employee, or entrepreneur – must answer for themselves. Because in the end, we decide what world we build. And what world we buy.