Reading Response Week 3
The JetBlue crisis is an example of major company with communications problems that were mostly internal. As the ice storm blasted the northeast the JetBlue corporate officers were very slow to act in the situation. JetBlue also wasn’t up front if paying customers, which I consider unacceptable from anyone especially a corporation. I could definitely understand the customers’ frustrations in the way the situation was handled. Mr. Neeleman was extremely cautious in the way he cleaned this mess up, but it was too late. Neeleman even established the customer bill of rights, so that customers would receive compensation for hardships such as the crisis. He was courageous in addressing America after this major event that might have destroyed most companies. JetBlue must have not thought much of his expressions as a CEO seeking forgiveness. JetBlue soon let Neeleman go in May. I’m sure their next CEO will be better prepared for a crisis such as this one. JetBlue is known for cheap flights and extremely courteous flight attendants and other customer services. As long as JetBlue keeps those policies, they should bounce back sooner than later.
I thought it was nice to read other articles to that related to the JetBlue crisis, simply because they focused on different aspects of the problem. It may have helped JetBlue if they would have read these articles previous to the ice storm. According to Luntz reading
For the corporate project I will definitely consider using the Luntz reading to communicate to the best of my ability. The Luntz reading defines the rules of communication, and I think will be very affective for the project. The ethics reading will help me focus on addressing multiple groups and types of people. The ethics reading focused on professionalism in the workplace and how to treat all people with respect.I think for my project I will work on establishing patience in the audience I am addressing. Trust will be a big issue also to focus on. I certainly believe if customers trust somebody they will let you handle the situation and trust that you will do the job correctly. Overall I will consider the things Neeleman did right and also the areas I thought he could have improved in this confusing situation.
Comments
Trust
I do agree that Jet Blue was an example of a company with internal communication problems. I also think it was because Jet Blue was eager to get the flights in the air in order to appease the customers when they did just the opposite. As you said, I think trust is something that is very important in this situation. When someone releases a press statement, you want to believe it and relate to it, not just feel as if their marketing department was forced to write the document. You bring up an interesting point when you write about patience. Establishing patience is a great idea among their customers, however, this will be something that is hard to accomplish. Airline travelers are notorious for being quick to want to get on the plane. This is not shocking since the process of flight is long and frustrating.
Comment
I too believe that Mr. Neeleman was very courageous in addressing America after such a huge crisis. I thought that company could have done a better job communicating the crisis at hand to their employees immediately after the situation occurred. Once employees were aware of the situation they could have been placed throughout the airport to help ease customer’s frustrations and explain what was going on. The company was lucky in that it rebounded from this incident and I am very sure that JetBlue has learned from its mistakes and will be able to handle future crisis issues more effectively.
Communicating to Different People
I like how you brought up the ethics reading and how it will help you address multiple groups and types of people. I think all of these readings benefited me on how exactly to address different types of people. In the past I have felt this to be a problem in both writing and speaking. I have read books and papers that should have been written for an audience like myself and realized I had no clue what the author was talking about. I do not think a lot of people are aware of this problem and it can make or break what you are trying to communicate. I will continue to attempt to figure out who my audience is before I write or speak, then adjust how I communicate from there.
Reply
I think it is important to think about the fact that not only did they not have a plan for the customers, but there was no plan for the employees. The employees had no idea what they were doing, they just stood around and didn’t make many things better. Those that had the information did make those around happier though. The megaphone man was a good idea to get information out there quick but their could have been more coordination around this. I am curious if jetblue had so many internal control problems with an issue like this what sort of controls they have in a typical day in the business that we do not see.
comment
I agree with you that the CEO of Jet Blue airlines Mr. Neeleman did a good job in addressing America right after the crisis. I think that was very smart and wise move by him because he wanted to show his costumers that he knew that jet blue was at fault a 100% for not handling the situation properly. I think that big crisis thought Jet Blue a very big lesson that communication is one of the key things. I surely think that after this crisis they are going to train their staff and employees much better and more professionally so that they could handle such a situation if it ever had to happen again.
Reply
I agree completely JetBlue has a lot of internal communication problems. When this crisis happened back in February there was no communication from upper management down to the employees in the airport organizing and helping the customers stranded in the airports. This was a major problem! By the time they did communicate to the employees at the airport you are right it was too late! That is another really good point trust is an important issue, customers will have to learn to trust JetBlue again and be able accept this horrible situation and fly their airlines again. Two things that JetBlue has to focus on will be communication and trust that is a really good point!
Neeleman
Great research in finding out that Neeleman was let go in May - I hadn't read that yet. Often, after a crisis like this, someone has to be sacrificed so that the public can be reassured that the problem has been solved. Sometimes that person really did give a poor performance, like Michael Brown at Fema during Hurricane Katrina, and sometimes someone just had to take the fall, like the president of Cartoon Network, Jim Samples, after that adult swim viral marketing campaign in Boston. This could be traced back to Luntz's rule about credibility. When a crisis like this occurs, the company loses major credibility, and the prevailing wisdom is often that someone must take the fall for the company to get their credibility back.
Reply Reading Response Week 3
I agree that the majority of Jetblue's problems in February were due to communication.