I love Ireland. I have been visiting Cork several times a year for the past 40 years. We bought an old Coast Guard Cottage overlooking Courtmacsherry Harbour when Ireland was very unfashionable in the early 1990s. When Ryanair opened up their route from Liverpool to Cork it assisted our travel arrangements significantly, especially when we visit for a shorter period of time and do not want to do the drive.

I admired Ryanair’s philosophy. They offered three things; on time reliable transportation, safety and low costs. It is hard to knock any of these. They have an impeccable safety record, having never caused the loss of a single passenger’s life. They have one of the best on time record of any European airline and their prices are certainly as cheap, if not cheaper, than their competitors.

Of course we all know the annoying aspects of the Ryanair experience but we put up with these because of the basic efficiency of their operating model. We know we will have a devil of a job navigating their website to avoid (as far as we can) the extras that Mr O’Leary will try and add to the basic fare. We expect to be treated like cattle, being asked to perch on dark and inhospitable staircases balancing our luggage whilst waiting to board. We know the legroom will be minimal and there is unlikely to be enough room in the overhead lockers. But we do expect to land on time with little damage to our wallets.

At one time there were wild stories circulating about Ryanair’s proposed introduction of all standing flights where you would be charged for using the loo. My wily old friend Louis from Cork joked about Ryanair changing their strapline from Prices Slashed to Slashers Priced. Certainly Mr O’Leary seemed to enjoy a reputation for being less than sympathetic with his customers and treating them with distain. However, the airline has changed its tune and realised like any normal business, it needed to look after its customers. The experience of dealing with Ryanair changed for the better with allocated seats and one or two other changes.

Meanwhile the business kept on growing, doing extraordinarily well in comparison to its main rivals. Until, that is, now. Suddenly they seem to be short of pilots. The pilots themselves seem less than willing to help out their employer in its time of need. Hence the well-publicised cancellation of a myriad of flights and a host of stories about the difficulty of obtaining adequate compensation for losses. It’s suddenly all gone wrong. Mr O’Leary has admitted management mistakes but his attitude to his pilots still seems less than sympathetic. ‘How can anyone who is not permitted to work more than 18 hours a week claim to be overworked?’ he intones.

As a manager of a service sector business, albeit in the law, is concerned, there are two essentials. The first is to look after your staff. They are your business. If they are not happy, one way or another this will eventually be exposed in the service delivered to the customer. The second is that you look after your customer but of course, if the first is a problem then the second will be too. Our record is good. We have 97% of our clients saying that they would use our services again and recommend us to a friend. That is a huge tribute to our staff and I hope they do indeed feel they are valued immensely by our business.

Somehow this seems to be a lesson that Mr O’Leary needs to learn too. He has built up a great business but the cracks are beginning to show and it is not that difficult to see why.