Anyone else have experience based at a Landmark FBO?

Fearless Tower

Fearless Tower

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Jan 1, 2010
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Norfolk, VA
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Fearless Tower
Just curious if what I am experiencing is a local thing or a company wide thing.

Landmark is the sole FBO at my home field (ORF) where I have hangared the Baron for over a year. Overall decent service (they do the basics like pull in/out of the hangar and fuel fine). The odd thing I have noticed is that for anything else, you have to tell them to do something multiple times - there is no follow up whether it is maintenance, billing, operations...etc. And the right hand is never talking to the left. I just got a greeting card sent to me the other day with my tail # handwritten on it saying 'thanks for stopping in, we hope you enjoyed your visit and come see us again'....as if I was a transient visiting.

Not enough to make me want to move, but again, just curious if this is a company wide phenomenon or just a Norfolk thing.
 
Are there trees on the field? Sounds like you have an infestation of squirrels. :D
 
Nice of them to send you a card. Did you send one back and invite them to your home airport?
 
Standard treatment for the little guy,your being taken advantage of, taken for granted. Big business at its finest.
 
A friend of mine worked at the Landmark in a neighboring town. Landmark bought out the old FBO there just to get the airline fuel contract which is all they really cared about. I think you would have been ok there for fuel and parking but any services beyond that might have been pushing it. Sounds like the Landmark you're dealing with is similar.
 
I recently received the third invite to attend sim training in my previous plane. I attend in my current plane. I've asked them three times to remove me from that list.
 
While I am not based there, I frequently use the Landmark at Bullhead City, AZ (IFP). I have a second home out there. The entire staff out there go above and beyond to be helpful, courteous, and professional, even though I only fly in with a piston single and never purchase much fuel. My only complaint would be their fuel prices. Their extremely high prices have me minimizing my fuel purchases there.
 
Landmarks MO seems to be to buy out FBOs but to leave most of the middle management in place. As a result, the different locations are heterogenous in their level of service and attention. Signature is more of a top-down organization.
 
hook_dupin said:
I have far more complaints about $ignature and Millionair than I do about Landmark
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I didn't say they are better. I said they have a more homogenous management culture. Same usurious ramp fees at all locations, same crazy fuel price for the non-contract crowd, same pretty faces at the counter.
 
weilke said:
I didn't say they are better. I said they have a more homogenous management culture. Same usurious ramp fees at all locations, same crazy fuel price for the non-contract crowd, same pretty faces at the counter.
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I'm saying they're better. Not by much, and not the mom and pop small airfield level of service.... but better.
 
I was based at ORF for 3 weeks for a job, my experiance was Republic charges premium rates while hiring air heads for the lowest wages possible and not adequately training them. Move your bird to CPK.
 
Clip4 said:
I was based at ORF for 3 weeks for a job, my experiance was Republic charges premium rates while hiring air heads for the lowest wages possible and not adequately training them. Move your bird to CPK.
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CPK is where my A&P is and I considered it, but it is at least 45 min from my house vs 10-15 min to ORF.
 
I am a Landmark base customer.

I get unreal service but thats because I am at a small airport and have a rapport with the line guys and the CSRs.

At RDU, where I land quite often, same level of service. The CSRs there are truly top notch and the line guys know me by name...plane always gets left in rock star parking unless it is swamped...of course, I ask them to leave it in place if they will...

As far as blling...let's just say they don't usually miss...:D

Going a step further, I have never had bad service at a Signature. Atlantic on the other hand...
 
I use the one at KFDK and Robin Register is the service manager and they have done a good job for me. At other Landmark facilities (Norfolk, and KDAL) they have reduced the price of fuel because KFDK does my maintenance. My best FBO experience was Baer Aviation, Melbourne, FL who diagnosed and replaced my propeller crankcase oil seal while I was in Melbourne for business.
 
I've never had a problem at Landmark. Have been to 4-5.

The strangest "big FBO" I've ran into lately was a big, nice, posh 24 hour FBO in Kansas City (Atlantic) that seemingly forgot to staff anyone overnight. We landed to catch a MLB game. Had dinner afterwards, eased back to the airport about 11pm, and arrive to find 2-3 PAX and pilots walking around, banging on the glass, calling every number available to get someone to let the crowd in. All the lights inside are on; the place didn't look closed. The decor looks like a high-end NYC hotel, but if you can't even let your customers in the front door, what's the point?

I finally called the airport police. Surprisingly, the watch officer just gave me the security codes to an office that had ramp access. We go into the quite nice office, put the code in another door, and were on the ramp. I tried once more to contact the FBO to let them know we're leaving. Still go no one, so I started the engine, and left...

On that same trip to Kansas City, while coming into the ramp area, I see the lineman. He's just non-chalantly holding up one light stick, kinda casually pointing to a location -- certainly not even close to any FAR/AIM lineman signals. Not sure exactly what he wants or if he's even pointing to me, I motion to the general area he's point and point back to me -- as if to say "you want me to go there???" As we taxi on toward the space, he proceeds to walk BEHIND my left wing without any hand signals to keep going, stop, anything. I stop as I can't see where I'm going and him at the same time. By this point he's standing BEHIND my elevator and is motioning me to keep going. He puts my prop not 15' off the NOSE of a KingAir. Having never parked nose-to-nose with another plane that close before, I ask how he's going to move either of us when it's time to go (as we're too close to get a tug in and also too close to turn under power). He just shruggs his arms. When get back to the airport, the King Air is gone -- so they figured it out somehow... I'd guess they pushed me (A36 Bonanza) back.

Strange "big FBO" behavior....

Now my favorite FBO is a Signature -- at Memphis International. Have been there at least a dozen times and rec'd nothing but the absolute best service...

Edit: The Kansas City FBO was Atlantic, not Signature. Just looked at the taxi diagram. Signature was the other side of the field.
 
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