lyer status is printed on tickets and itineraries and is displayed on the computer screen whenever the customer's name is called up. This device is extremely helpful in getting all parts of the organization to concentrate on making the best customers the happiest. eXcellence in Telecommunications The Telco Churn Handbook Airline Loyalty from a Telco Perspective Although the lesson is not directly applicable, a carrier can learn much from the airline frequent flyer programs. The advantage airlines have over providers is that there are many outlets for transportation. For example, a business traveler can use the frequent-flyer miles for a free vacation to a place that is otherwise unaffordable. The basic currency of the airline, miles traveled, is easily converted into different kinds of value to the customer. Unfortunately, the basic currency of the telco, minutes of phone usage, is directly convertible only into more minutes. Even more importantly, the cost per minute is SO low and the typical number of minutes used SO high, that it is very difficult to imagine a frequent-caller program that turns into something more than discounted minutes to customers. This, then, puts everything back into the price dimension, a dimension that competitors can very easily usurp. The other disparity is that the airlines have the same kind of advantage that the retailers have, namely that consumers must show up, meet the staff, and get on the physical airplane as part of their transactions. This gives the airline ample opportunity to reinforce the carrier selection decision. The telecommunications company, alas, has no similar experience to provide. All the provider can do is be sure that the minutes that people spend on the phone are with the least interruption and of the best quality possible. TYPICAL TELCO CHURN MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES We can separate how a telco responds to churn into two major categories. The first category we will call preemptive churn management, which includes all of the churn management actions that attempt