It’s the solution for difficult tasks: postponing them. I’ll get round to it. I’ll take care of that tomorrow. It’s something we all struggle with from time to time, especially as individuals. Yes, that includes you as well. You’re not in the mood for it. Other deadlines have to be met today or you can’t put yourself up to it. Too many distractions and a hundred other excuses.

While it’s annoying on a personal level, it gets really frustrating for the end user/consumer if this causes peculiar and undesired situations on a business level. To illustrate this,  I’ve collected a couple of examples from the travel industry.

Overcrowded airport terminals

While us Dutch people live in a tiny country our main airport Schiphol is one of the big guys in the world. The aviation giant is being slaughtered by the media these days following the immense queues that have formed over the last few weeks. It serves them right. For as long as I can remember Schiphol has been shouting from the rooftops about its growth figures and knows this for quite some time – in fact a very long time – that it’s getting more crowded day after day. I’m not minimizing the enormous complexity of crowd control and masses of people that have to go through a funnel in a short amount of time. It’s difficult I’m sure, but not impossible. Especially when Schiphol would’ve paid attention to it 10 or 20 years ago. Now it looks as if they are suddenly faced with this predicament. This is the embodiment of the word procrastination. How is it possible that an organization such as Schiphol is so guilty of procrastination?

Hotels

Another example of a laziness in a segment of the travel industry: hotels. After 2000 years – because people have been looking for lodging long before we started our calendar – the industry hasn’t been capable to take away some fundamental irritations during an overnight stay. The top frustration: slamming doors. Getting back late to your hotel room is no problem at all but waking half the hallway because of the enormous bang of a closing door should be illegal. Or what about the holes in the shower head that haven’t seen any cleaning in 2 years. The lack of a detergent treatment is cause for the bathroom walls to get a shower but not your body. It’s mind blowing that the hotel industry has yet to find a solution. For more consternation and irritations about hotels, read my previous blog ‘Had a good night’s sleep?’

Trolleys

And while we’re talking about noise, it’s a small step to example number three: the trolley. I was in Amsterdam recently and while on my way to a meeting I heard an ongoing rattle of numerous tourists strolling the cobble stoned streets with trolley bags. Instantly I associated this with the sound of a firing off an machine gun. Yes Amsterdammers, I completely understand your frustration with this noise pollution..

It surely is inconceivable that manufacturers still produce suitcases with wheels that make that awful sound instead of taking away that frustration by launching a new product on the market: noise-cancelling trolleys. Have a sneak peek outside of your own industry. Manufacturers of inline skates have been using soft wheels for years. Guess what: they roll a lot nicer too!

Complaining aside, the most intriguing question with relation to this issue.  The fact that you and I procrastinate and linger from time to time. No big deal I would say but when an entire industry or huge organisation refuses to take action and rather continue its indecisiveness, we have a problem. How can it be that a billion dollar industry isn’t capable of tackling issues on time. Or perhaps acknowledge it (in time) but doesn’t take action.

Do you get it? Because I don’t.