Reading Response - 3
The readings for this week were very interesting and were very closely related. The reason I say this, is because if the executives at Jet Blue would have read the article on business ethics and the Luntz article, they may have been able to avoid the chaos over Valentines Day.
I found the Jet Blue article to be the most interesting and to be the most closely related to my interests and experiences. Since I am a pilot, I can fully understand how crazy an airport can get especially if it is storming. On the other hand, as a traveler I can not imagine how frustrating it would be to be stuck in an airport or on a plane for ten or eleven hours. So that now leads us to how Jet Blue’s executives and their employees handled this disaster. First and foremost, I feel that Jet Blue should have more honest and up front with their customers. Also Jet Blue should have compensated their customers more than they did. I say this because if Jet Blue could have made their customers happier during this situation then they would have had a better chance of retaining those customers.
During the chaotic days surrounding the blizzard of 2007, Jet Blue’s CEO was very slow to act, and even when he did act, it was not to the satisfaction of his paying customers. It would have been especially critical for Jet Blue’s CEO to put into practice the information from the Luntz reading and the ethics article. If CEO Neeleman would have read these articles, he and Jet Blue would have had a plan for such a disaster. By having a plan, Jet Blue would have avoided the chaos and been able to serve their customers with the up most satisfaction. CEO Neeleman should have also derived a better form of communication with the employees. Instead of making everyone call a 1-800 number, Jet Blue should have kept it simple and posted signs around the terminal. They finally got around to doing something like this near the end of the storm. Eventually Jet Blue had someone go around with a megaphone to let all the passengers know what was going on. This was Jet Blue’s first and only attempt at keeping it simple.
So in the end amidst all the confusion, Jet Blue came out alright. Even though the storm cost them millions of dollars, they are still doing okay. If Jet Blue could have only kept it more simple and concise they could have possibly made it through the blizzard a little more smoothly.
Comments
Reading Response Comment
I disagree with you on the notion that JetBlue should have reimbursed their customers more. Due to the number of customers that were affected it already is a significant financial loss for the complimentary items they were provided on top of the huge loss of revenue they experienced during that week. To reimburse them anymore could destroy the company. Not to mention that no one could have foreseen the events that unfolded, even more established airlines were severely affected by the event. I can understand that the passengers were probably upset at the moment, but they should be forgiving seeing that JetBlue was not the only airline experiencing problems.
Point of View
I agree with you that JetBlue should have been more upfront with their customers. I also like that you can see this situation as a pilot and as a traveler which many of us can't do, and you still agree that JetBlue could have handled the crisis in a better manner. Communication and a plan of action were two things that needed to be re-done. JetBlue should have had a plan of action for bad weather especially in an airline company. Weather is very unpredictable just like it was that day. Even if JetBlue had a plan of action, it would have alleviated some of their problems. JetBlue also needed to have better communication lines. Like you said, the only successful form of communication was the guy with a megaphone. Telling customers to call a number that was continuously busy only frustrated them more. Posting signs around the airport would have been a great idea. JetBlue needs to follow Luntz's rules in future situations.
Communication Helps
I agree with you completely. JetBlue’s lack of a plan of action severally affected the outcome of the crisis. But, even with no action plan for a crisis, doesn’t it seem like the company could have handled this situation better while it was happening. There is no doubt they should have had postings of information and more people in direct contact with customers, like the megaphone man. One of my main problems with the situation is why did they leave people on a plane for 11 hours? They could have taken these people off the planes and put them in the terminal. Or better yet, after about 5 hours at the max, why not just cancel these flights? Hopefully airlines will learn from this crisis and communicate much better with their customers.
compensation
I don’t think that the company should have compensated the customers more. I feel it was enough. When company as big as Jet Blue would reimburse, they would think of their situation also. I agree it was their fault and that’s the reason they need to apologize and compensate the passenger, but they wouldn’t do it till such an extent that it would be a problem for them to serve the customers later because of the loss. They would surely keep their company’s financial situation in mind. I agree they had to anyway face a huge loss and compensating more would leave them bankrupt. I feel that the passengers should also considering thinking from the viewpoint of the company. Only if both think from each others point of view, there is going to be a good understanding of the situation.