Reading Response #3
From my readings and previous knowledge of the JetBlue crisis in February, I think JetBlue could have handled the crisis in a more effective way. In the article, Managing Communications in a Crisis – Chapter 3: “Stakeholders and Audiences”, one of the main points was planning ahead and being prepared for the worst. The article gave examples of the results of companies that planned ahead and those that didn’t plan ahead. With an airline company, like JetBlue, I would think there would be many types of plans for all worst case scenarios, especially dealing with airplanes and weather. If JetBlue had a plan of action before this crisis had happened, it probably wouldn’t have turned into such a crisis and JetBlue would have handled it effectively.
JetBlue didn’t seem to follow many of “The Ten Rules of Effective Language” from Luntz’s Words that Work. Rule three states “Credibility is as important as Philosophy.” In the JetBlue crisis, the CEO repeatedly apologized to his customers but after repeatedly saying “I’m sorry”, he lost the impact and credibility necessary for his customers and the general public to believe that it was a heartfelt apology. I have often suffered from this same thing. I sometimes throw the words “I’m sorry” around without much meaning for things that I don’t really need to be sorry for or don’t have any control over. However, when I really need to apologize I’m going to have to show sincerity and prove my credibility. JetBlue did follow rule four which states “Consistency Matters”. Passengers were directed by employees of JetBlue to call a number for more information but that number was continuously busy. The employees in the airport didn’t have any more information than the passengers did and they were consistent with telling the passengers that. JetBlue used this rule but it wasn’t effective in the way it should have been.
I’m going to reference these documents while I’m writing my responses to the JetBlue crisis next week. From the article, Ethics in Public Relations: A Guide to the Best Practice, I’m going to apply the advice about knowing your values and principles before making a decision. I’m also going to look at my final decision from others points of view and how they would react to my decision. I will also keep in mind Luntz’s Ten Rules of Effective Language and know who my audience is when writing my responses and making my decisions.
Comments
Planning ahead
I like how you referenced the article, Managing Communications in a Crisis from Chapter 3 in your blog. I also thought it was useful for the article to reference examples of the results of companies that planned ahead for a crisis and those that did not plan ahead. The article put into perspective how important planning ahead is, and the results of what happens when a crisis occurs and a plan is not developed prior or is not followed through. If JetBlue were to have a plan for a weather crisis, which should be a come thing with airlines, they would have been able to handle the situation much more efficiently and avoided a lot of uhappy customers.
Reply
I agree that today companies really need to plan for the worst case scenario. The airline industry especially could use guidelines since flights are often delayed. The problem with planning ahead a lot is there is always going to be some factor that was not planned. For example, if JetBlue had the compensation guidelines in place at the time of the crisis it could have helped. But even JetBlue did not know the extent that the weather would play. They could have planned solutions but even then the weather would have limited them due to safety precautions. I also never thought about the CEO losing his credibility by saying “I’m sorry” too much. I guess I saw it as being sincere but you bring up a good point. Luntz’s suggestions are definitely not apparent in some parts of this case. I did, however, see the CEO keeping the aftermath simple and easy to understand.
Reply
I also said that the company could have responded much better to the situation. With other airlines in the past having similar problems, you would think they would have been more prepared. There is only so much an apology can do before people start rejecting it. There needs to be a plan of action to satisfy the customers that were affected by the crisis. I read an article on CNN stating that some passengers who stranded on the planes have yet to receive any kind of refund or voucher. What I got out of this is JetBlue still has not recovered from the crisis almost 5 months later and that they need to do some restructuring of how the company conducts operations.
Comment
Sure, other airlines have had similar problems in the past. However, I do not think I have ever heard of a situation this bad. Have you ever heard of equipment actually having frozen to the ground before? That is just amazing to me. Now, it may have been because of neglect by the company as well. I honestly do not know. What I do know is that if there are still passengers out there who have not received some kind of compensation after five months for their problems, they probably are not going to be flying with JetBlue again. I would agree with you that this shows that the company needs undergo some remodeling.
No excuses
Yes, the situation was bad. I still do not see the need to feel sorry for JetBlue here. If you are going to start an airline, you had better do a little research about how the weather can affect your planes, because this is a GIVEN with any airline. JetBlue takes responsibility only when they have no one else to blame except the weather. Passengers who have not yet been reimbursed just shows that the company's "Bill of Rights" is a load of crap, and that this "sincerely sorry" company does not care all that much about anything more that making money. I cannot agree enough with the fact that the CEO's "I'm Sorry's" were SO empty, and only warranted because JetBlue needed damage control VERY badly.
Customer Bill of Rights = Great Idea
I think almost the entire class will have to agree with you that it was shocking Jet Blue didn't have a better crisis plan in action. They were in the business for 7 years at the time, therefore isn't it almost guaranteed that some crisis situation had happened in the past?
I also must say that although Jet Blue may not have followed Luntz's rule over Credibility and Philospsophy, they used the rule Make a Change. The Customer Bill of Rights is something thhat was put in place to please the customers after this bad situation had occured. I read through the Bill of Rights and I must say they offer much more for much less convenience than other airlines do. For example, they're policies about overbooking flights surprised me since they offer rewards for inconveniencing you.
Bill of Rights
I to agree that Jets Blue's crisis plan of action left a lot to be desired. Since they have only been in business since 2000, it is highly unlikely that they have ever been in a situation like this one before. So I believe that before any business begins operations, they should have all of their bases covered as far as emergency wise. This could be a very difficult process to compose from scratch, so I suggest that Jet Blue should have contacted the industry leaders and taken ideas from them as for what to do in crisis situations.
Comment
I liked your description from the Managing Communications in a Crisis article. I am very surprised that a competing airline has not thought about this kind of scenario. Especially considering the airport is located in a place that has traditionally received large amounts of snowfall. You make an interesting point about the airlines use of Rule 4 from Luntz's reading, I look at it a little differently. Considering Jet Blue had a good reputation of consistent customer satisfaction before the crisis; I felt they had made strides to correct the situation (Customer Bill of Rights). If they continue to do so, there reputation will be renewed. I especially like your comment about looking at the situation from other points of view. This is one area I felt Jet Blue overlooked or did not even consider.