A few days ago I was sitting on a small US Airways commuter plane at Reagan National in Washington waiting to take off. It was one of those 50-seater planes with a tiny aisle and a low ceiling where I felt I had to duck down even at my 5’7″ height. There was also the “limited overhead storage,” which meant you had to hand over your carry-on luggage on the Tarmac before climbing the stairs to the plane.

Now for the seats: they were so narrow my shoulder constantly brushed the shoulder of the person sitting next to me. Meanwhile my knees touched the seat in front of me, as I counted the pores on the head of the bald man sitting seven inches from my nose. Does any of this sound familiar?

You may be thinking that this is yet one more person’s rant against the already down-and-out airlines industry. It is not. I know the airlines’ margins are paper-thin and they are simply trying to make ends meet, like many other businesses, so I don’t fault them for that.

However, I do have one point of contention that has no bearing whatsoever on the economics of the airline industry. As the door to our plane shut on that recent flight, the one flight attendant launched into his spiel and “invited” us “to sit back and enjoy the flight” and said we should feel free to raise our headrests for “three inches of additional comfort.”

This is where the airlines, as well as many other businesses, need to go back to the drawing board and come up with a new way of talking to customers — and employees. Particularly when conditions are already challenging, you shouldn’t exacerbate the situation by using ill-conceived, out of touch, or outdated language.

You need to better understand your customers and your employees, and talk to them in a realistic and straightforward manner. In doing so, you will at least be respected for your candor. Otherwise you risk insulting the very ones you are relying on for business or support.

Telling a plane full of passengers crammed into a small metal cylinder to enjoy the three additional inches of comfort by raising one’s headrest, is equivalent to telling your employees during these tough economic times to enjoy the free access to the restrooms down the hall.

Words matter. Treat customers and employees with respect and talk to them as you would another professional that you regard as an equal – or better yet, a superior. I predict you’ll enjoy the results and the comfort that higher performance will bring to your company.

Now please lower your headrests and put up your tray tables. And thank you for flying the friendly blogosphere.