JetBlue Shows How an FoE Manages a Customer Crisis

Several people have asked me about how I think JetBlue has managed last week's weather-related fiasco that left thousands stranded and some passengers on the tarmac at New York’s JFK airport for 11 hours. JetBlue is one of the exemplars of stakeholder relationship management (SRM) cited in our book, Firms of Endearment.

Here’s what how I answered one person:

Neeleman has approached this crisis with candor, humility, empathy and convincing resolve to never have last week's disaster repeated. In my judgment, he has acted quintessentially as an FoE CEO.

Amazingly, the Street has apparently been charmed by Neeleman's down-to-earth manner in communicating with JetBlue customers. My money is still on JetBlue having a good year -- a 12%% - 15% rise over today's stock price by year-end despite the earning hit last week's events caused.

Earlier this week, The Washington Post carried a full-page letter addressed to JetBlue’s customers. It began, “We are sorry and embarrassed. But most of all we're deeply sorry." Later on the letter reads, "... JetBlue was founded on the premise of bringing humanity back to air travel... We know we failed to deliver on this promise last week." You can read the full apology here.

Compare Neeleman’s approach with that of Delta, which also had weather-related delays. MSNBC talk-show host Joe Scarborough sat in center seat on an Atlanta-bound flight from LaGuardia for nine hours. As reported in this week’s issue of Advertising Age, Scarborough complained that he had yet to get an apology from the company. “… instead, I’m getting spin from a company that’s refusing to take responsibility for one bad decision after another.

Meanwhile, David Neeleman has not only apologized profusely, he has drawn up and issued a Customers’ Bill of Rights which you can download from here. The Customer Bill of Rights is a classic FoE-type response to a major problem. JetBlue is now the first company that will compensate customers for protracted delays. In one of the most astonishing provisions, JetBlue will pay any passenger who gets bumped because of overbooking $1,000.

We are fully confident that JetBlue will be enthusiastically welcomed back into the hearts of many customers’ and cheered by those who never lost faith in JetBlue in the first place.

DBW

This article was also posted at Amazon.com  and at the Firms of Endearment blog.

Comments

[Dick Ambroisus]

I couldn't agree more. Neeleman was on the Today Show yesterday and was repeatedly asked if people would loose their jobs over the mistakes. He accepted full responsibility and repeately said no one would be fired...an FOE leader indeed.

[Yvonne DiVita]

Ummm...ahem...Let me clear my throat. I totally disagree. I do not believe David Neeleman one bit. I have completely lost faith in JetBlue and will never fly one of their planes again. Sorry. It was too little, too late. A customer's bill of rights? Honestly, that's about as hokey as they come. I've said it in other blogs so I'll repeat it here: the customers ALWAYS had a bill of rights. They said we would be treated with respect and consideration. No one had to WRITE it out.

Neeleman obviously did NOT give his employees the ability to do what was right DURING the catastrophe. Else, there would have been food, water, and the ability to de-plane. I'm just surprised a medical emergency never arose. Had I been on one of those planes, there would have been such an emergency.

Let me say that I have been a firm supporter of JetBlue for years. This fiasco has totally turned me against them. They behaved badly - worse than badly. They ignored the customers' needs completely. Apology not accepted.

[David Wolfe]

Yvonne,

While I appreciate your comments, I do not see customer relationships with companies as a zero sum game. Yeh, JetBlue screwed up royally, but until that screw-up they had the best record on baggage handling and was in the top four airlines for on-time arrivals. I'm game for cutting them some slack and having studied the company for inclusion in Firms of Endearment, have full confidence in David Neeleman's integrity.

The world would be a better place if there was greater willingness to forgive and be willing to forget based on future performance. My money is on JetBlue's future performance at least equaling the performance that has earned it so many commendations.

Thanks for your comments, though!

DBW