I have a feeling this whole Sheremetyevo-2 saga isn’t going to end anytime soon. The director of Sheremetyevo International Airport, already familiar to all of you, Mikhail Mikhailovich Vasilenko (MMV), has written a letter to me—and to all bloggers as well. He asked me to publish it, which I am now doing. There are a few interesting things in it for everyone, and as for me personally, the crafty MMV is trying to lure me into the classic "critic’s trap." Take a look—it’s interesting. The bold emphasis is mine. For convenience, the previous installments: I criticize Sheremetyevo Sheremetyevo wants to meet Sheremetyevo explains its position. Dear Alexei Anatolyevich, Thank you for taking part in the meeting and for offering, in your blog, a “view from the other side” of what is happening at Sheremetyevo today. The discussion we have begun gives me and the airport’s entire management team the feedback and information we need to make decisions. All comments received from readers will be passed on to the heads of the relevant airport services for follow-up. For my part, I hope that your presentation of my position on the key issues has clarified many things for you and your readers. I understand that there are processes you really have to “immerse yourself in completely” to understand what is actually going on. In particular, you write: “the chaos with parking and taxi drivers is bringing financial benefit to someone in the management of Terminal 2.” I would like to propose cooperation—you are not only a blogger, but also a man of action, widely known for defending minority shareholders’ rights, participating in the administration of Kirov Region, and so on. I am prepared to vest you, as Head of a special project of JSC ‘Sheremetyevo International Airport’ (the airport operator), with all the necessary resources and authority, and let us work together to restore order on the access roads to the terminal. And you will tell your readers about all the twists and turns of this process. It is very important that your post provoked such a strong reaction from your readers—our passengers. I can see that many of them, like you, are people who care. All of us have a sincere interest in seeing Sheremetyevo Airport develop, serve passengers better, faster, and more warmly, and promptly correct the shortcomings that currently exist in its operations. We are now developing a “Secret Passenger” project, and I invite the frequent-flying readers of your blog to take part. Secret passengers will fill out detailed questionnaires analyzing service quality at every stage of their time in the airport. All the details of the project will be set out in my blog, which I will begin writing on February 10. There I will also talk about everything being done at Sheremetyevo to make passengers feel more comfortable. And, of course, I will collect wishes and suggestions regarding our work. I would also like to respond separately to the comments about rudeness on the part of airport staff and passengers. I have done, and will continue to do, everything possible to stop any manifestations of discourtesy and disrespect by my employees toward passengers and airport guests. This is unacceptable. But let me note something else as well: just try, as a passenger, behaving improperly toward airport staff, immigration officers, or airport police in, say, Frankfurt or Los Angeles. So this has to be a two-way process. Alexei Anatolyevich, there is one point on which I believe you are mistaken: I do not, as you put it, take “a philosophical attitude toward the fact that my karma is suffering greatly from the constant curses of airline passengers.” I am used to acting. I understand the responsibility I am taking on with these promises, and I will do everything in my power to fulfill them. I hope our dialogue will continue, Respectfully, M.M.V. P.S. I trust you will publish this letter in your blog.
What do I think about all this? Briefly. The fact that there is correspondence going on between the management of Sheremetyevo International Airport and bloggers—practically like Catherine II and Voltaire (a reference to the famous correspondence between Empress Catherine the Great and the French philosopher)—is a good thing. Public opinion rules. The “secret passenger” program is an excellent idea. I’m sure many people will want to take part in it (oh, the reports that will produce!). As for “I will vest you with authority.” Well, from a PR standpoint, it’s the right move. You were the loudest critic—so go and do the job. If you don’t go, they’ll say you were afraid of hard work; if you do go, in six months they’ll say you still failed to accomplish anything. *There they are, those internet loudmouths. Great at talking, useless at actually getting things done. But from a substantive point of view (not a PR one), the offer is disingenuous. Let me remind you that at our meeting, MMV took it upon himself, in classic Soviet-style “socialist pledge” fashion, to fix the situation on his own within two months. Still, let’s not toss the ball of responsibility back and forth. Let me put it this way. I have some obvious constraints: I do not need a new job, and I am not planning to work at the airport; I am a lawyer, and by law I cannot engage in other paid work; for reasons well known to everyone, I currently spend most of my time in the city of Kirov, from where it is difficult to travel to operational meetings at Sheremetyevo-2. And I cannot just drop everything; I have a whole host of other obligations and, above all, my current and future battles for the rights of shareholders and ordinary citizens against “Effective Managers” of every stripe. Nevertheless, I am prepared to accept the challenge and take part, on a voluntary basis (that is, without pay), in a project tentatively titled “restoring order on the access roads to Sheremetyevo International Airport.” I have no doubt that a reasonable format for my participation can be worked out. I am ready to propose an action plan for this “restoration of order,” monitor its implementation, and keep all of you, dear readers of my cozy little blog, informed about everything. So that’s about it. We’re not afraid of work, and we’ll carry the banner. P.S. If anyone has any brilliant ideas on the subject, write them in the comments or email me. Thanks in advance.
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