Southwest Airlines has just started airing commercials talking about how other airlines charge for changing your flights. This comes after a year of pounding home the "Bags Fly Free" messaging. I think this is a brilliant move, but of course this is Southwest.

I used to be a fairly frequent traveler and many times I would have the need to adjust my original flights at the last minute. Fortunately I flew Southwest most of the time, so when I did this it didn't cost me $100 just to make a couple of clicks on the website. There were times I had to fly other airlines and it cost me as much as $150 to change a flight. Luckily for me I wasn't picking up the tab, but if I was I would not be a happy flyer. So again Southwest is hitting home with a problem in many of our industries.

Ask a customer what they hate the most and at or near the top would be nickeling and dimeing. This flies in the face of the ultimate goal of business, building a loyal customer base. Why when I stay in a hotel do I have to pay a resort fee for things I either do not use or should be free. For instance, the gym, if I did use the gym on my trip, shouldn't that just be included in the price? It's not like the hotel has figured out the cost of the gym and reduced that from the room price. Also, when I am flying, shouldn't my bags have already been calculated in the cost of the ticket?

Customer centric businesses focus on the customer. Customers hate add-on fees that should already be factored into pricing. The last thing I want to worry about when I go on vacation is how much extra am I going to be charged for everything on my trip. Companies like Southwest make the most profit in their industry because they have the most loyal customers. My guess is if Southwest were to start charging fees for all of these things, then they would be in the same place as their competition, going out of business. Remember, always have the customers best interests in mind and loyalty will follow.