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I hate to pound on the airlines. They’ve been bloodied and beaten up enough. But, man, they make it easy to shake your head and mutter under your breath.

I flew recently from Des Moines to the West Coast, with a plane change in Denver. When we landed in Denver, everyone waited like Pavlov’s dogs for the seat-belt bell to ring and then leapt from their seat. Only to stand there. And stand there. And stand there.

Finally, the flight attendant got on the PA and announced that the gate agent couldn’t figure out how to get the jetway to move toward the plane, so they had called in backup.

No apology. No “we know you have connections; we’ll call them and explain” or even “I know this is absurd, but …”

Nothing. She did, however, go to the galley and grab herself a can of pop. The only thing she could have done that would have been more insulting is if she had started to file her nails.

I’m ranting not because I missed my connection (I didn’t) or because we had to wait 30 minutes (we didn’t) or that in the grand scheme of things it ruined anyone’s day (I doubt that it did), but simply because if there is anything that will kill your business, it is apathy.

If you don’t have a passion for the work you do, the people you serve and the product or service you deliver, then stop doing it. If you can’t get worked up about your work, find different work.

What does this have to do with marketing? Everything. If you think the customer can’t tell whether you care, you couldn’t be more wrong.

Drew McLellan is Top Dog at McLellan Marketing Group and blogs at www.drewsmarketingminute.com. He can be reached at Drew@MclellanMarketing.com. © 2009 Drew McLellan