Cranky Concierge is now a few months into its existence, and things are going very well. We’ve helped out on more than 100 trips and more people are signing up all the time. But with a few months of experience comes the time for tweaks to the model, as I expected. If this were an airline, I would say that we’re positioning ourselves for future financial growth and right-sizing the business to be able to better compete on the global stage.
But I’m not good at bullcrap.
The reality is that some things were priced too high while others were priced too low. Those have been fixed in this new plan. At the same time, we’ve rolled out prepay plans (Cranky Credits) for multiple trips and travel product discounts. Here are the details:
Pricing
The previous model of including both travel planning and assistance just wasn’t working out. Yes, that means it’s time for unbundling. The airlines would be proud. The good news is that it will now be less costly for assistance (starting at $25) but planning will cost more. The geographical areas have been redefined as well. Canada is now considered domestic for pricing purposes. Here’s the plan.
We have also gotten rid of the price hike within 7 days of departure. These prices will be good all the way up to one day prior to travel. At that point, when you need urgent help, this pricing will apply:
Prepaid Cranky Credits
You’ll notice that everything is now priced as a multiple of $25. That was done by design so that we could start offering prepaid Cranky Credits. You can now purchase books of $25 Cranky Credits at a discount. The more you buy, the more you save. You can then use those credits for whatever services you choose in the future. For example.
What kind of discount can you get? Let me show you.
Friends and Family Notification
Now when you’re traveling, we’ll be able to notify friends and family of your departure and arrival times. Have someone picking you up? Just tell us how to get in touch with them and we’ll let them know. All you have to worry about is getting on the airplane.
Travel Product Discounts
Cranky Concierge clients will now be able to get discounts on travel products. For our initial launch, we have discounts from KVS Tool, ExpertFlyer, and Frequent Flyer Master. We have a couple more in progress right now with more planned. Stay up to date with our current list of travel product discounts.
New Concierges
Last but not least, I’d like to introduce our new concierges. Andrew lives in Northern Virginia and is a proud airline dork. Patrick lives in Atlanta and he used to work for the world’s largest airline. Both Andrew and Patrick are now fully trained and have begun handling clients. The three of us are in constant communication to make sure that clients are well-served. This will allow us to handle more clients and expand the business more quickly.
So, that’s a fair bit of news here. Feel free to leave comments down below, and of course, we’ll look forward to helping you at Cranky Concierge some time soon.
12 comments on “Concierge Pricing Now Starts at $25, New Benefits and Prepay Options”
Like the new structure. It seemed like you were doing way too much
work for the money on international travel planning (not that I didn’t
benefit from that!) For those who buy 10-packs, can we get some free
Cranky shwag? :)
I’d still love to just have a ‘monthly membership’ fee for me to get as
Cranky as I want rather than having to explicitly think of the cost
impact to each and every trip. But, I may be alone in that.
On the travel discounts, any chance you can get deals for us on day passes to lounges?
Discounts on gogo inflight wifi?
As your operation expands, a subscription plan does seem like a no-brainer for frequent/consistent travelers who want the reassurance of having all of their flights tracked, without necessarily having to think about retaining your services beyond the initial commitment. Although the credits option does sort of address that.
Also: “Cranky Credits” makes me giggle every time I read it.
This service will be a no brainer for traveling family – basically an insurance policy. In my view this service is an insurance policy, and you should price it s such. I think the current pricing is about right. The phone call option is just great as that will put minds at ease for travelling parents etc for whom I think many of your readers will use it in USA/ Canada.
I will use it for my Mom’s next trip.
Cranky – The CC site says you offer “Post-Trip Dispute Assistance” as part of the package, I was wondering if you had helped any clients with this aspect yet. If I had some beef with an airline after a trip I certainly like to have Cranky in my corner!
Also I remember a while back you were going to try out BA’s Club World London City but had to cancel. Any plans to come to London?
FrogMan wrote:
I like it. I need to come up with some snarky t-shirts or something. Hmm . . . .
FrogMan wrote:
Baby steps, my friend. I’m getting closer.
FrogMan wrote:
Good ideas. I’ll work on it.
Alex wrote:
Actually, I’m working on one right now. Air Jamaica had the nerve to cancel a flight due to weather and refuse a refund for it. So my client took a flight two days later for a very abridged vacation because there really wasn’t another option. I’m now starting the process of fighting Air Jamaica and will post the outcome on the Cranky Concierge Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cranky-Concierge/168819311042
Alex wrote:
Still hasn’t come together again. We keep having conflicting dates, I guess.
Very cool to see your venture evolve and grow!
So my question is thus: is it by trip or by passenger? i.e. if my better half is flying with my on the same itinerary, do we pay one fee or two?
Frank wrote:
The fee is per itinerary, so if your better half is on the same flights as you, it’s just one fee.
@ CF:
Thank you for a very prompt response to an old thread.
(And..I liked your answer)
Just so I have it clear, planning and assistance for someone within the US/Canada for a trip to NZ/Australia would be $75, right?
That’s right, Robin. I hope we can help you soon.