Flying Too Low

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DATE : Fri, 23 Feb 2007 17:32:00 GMT
Entered in Database : 2007-02-23 17:32:00
length : 3725472
Link to the Show / Show Notes

Ican't believe it's taken this long for the airlines to wake up and smell thecustomer service coffee.  Only with thethreat of government regulation do they begin to budge from their "my way orthe highway" mentalities.  Jet Blue CEODavid Neeleman posted a statement this week on the Jet Blue Web site as well ason YouTube (quite techy of him, don't you think?) saying the following:

"For customers who experience aGround Delay for more than 5 hours, JetBlue will take necessary action so thatcustomers may deplane. JetBlue will also provide customers experiencing aGround Delay with food and drink, access to restrooms and, as necessary,medical treatment."

Mr. Neeleman has done a good job of getting involvedand spreading the word.  But, his effortsand this statement only address half the issue in my opinion.  Five hours? Still excessive.  I appreciate thepromise of food, drink and restrooms, which I expect to receive regardless ofif those rights are inside a bill of rights document, but five hours on thetarmac before it's deemed as too long? Three is enough for me and I'm at my limit.

When observing the overall situation, isn't it crazythat only after a few stories get national headlines and the government takesnotice that finally something is being done? Logic tells me that there have been countless complaint lettersaddressing these long delays on the tarmac for years now, but the airlines haveturned a cold shoulder to them.  How canany high-end airline executive sit in his office and think it's okay to havesomeone trapped in a grounded plane for 11 hours and not do anything aboutit?  Wouldn't it have been much morecommendable if they had come out and done this voluntarily two years ago?  Remember, even though they tell you they aredoing this voluntarily, it's not so. It's just like a baseball manager who is doing a terrible job and isgiven the option to 'retire' versus being fired.  There's a PR angle behind almosteverything.

Another business recently bowed to consumercomplaints and government regulation. The quick-loan industry has suddenly become ethical with the creation ofa payday loan council to advise consumers on wise use of these services.  Just as in the case with the airlines, no onewants new rules from the government concerning their industry, and they'llwiggle as much as they can to avoid it.

Although these are examples of how to invite a PRcrisis, there is a lesson to be learned here. Are there areas of opportunity in your own business where you couldbetter serve the customer before reaching the PR nightmare stage?  I'll admit, there are opportunities where Icould do so in my own business, but they aren't always as high on my prioritylist as they should be.  'If it ain'tbroke, don't fix it' only applies in so many situations and customer service isnot one of those.  Your customers areyour life-blood and are not to be taken lightly.  Think proactively.  My father always had written somewhere on hisdesk, 'Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance'.  The 5-P Theory.  Jet Blue, American Airlines, and the paydayloan boys did not plan ahead and are now suffering the consequences.  Learn from their mistakes and you'll be leapsand bounds in front of your competitors.

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