Reading Response #4
I think a quote from page nine of Chapter 1 sums up the importance of writing in context, "When your writing is not attuned to context, you miss the opportunity to act on real people in real situations that matter." This qoute also seems to relate to the writings we have been doing this week. I found the section in the reading that discussed taking into account the readers context to be interesting. In writing the Jet Blue letter it will be important to consider the circumstances of the reader, so it will be effective. The check list on page thirteen will be helpful, as well, in focusing the message I intend to get across.
The video I chose is that of a women filming her experience of being bused away from her plane. In the video, I thought she made some rather ignorant remarks along with adding some colorful language. Her comments and those of her fellow passengers showed the frustration they felt that day. I did think, however, that some of what she said was a product of the lack of communication from Jet Blue employees. Perhaps, if she had heard something other than, "I can't guarantee anything..." she might not have been compelled to make such ridiculous remarks. I was intrigued to see in a large portion of the other videos a sense of humor, despite the very dreary situation. I sure this was a way to deal with the incredible boredom and growing anger. Although, the majority of the videos and blog posts illustrated the extreme dissatisfaction with the service.
The audiences I will be addressing in the letter are the passengers that went through the ordeal and potential Jet Blue customers. Obviously the passengers were angry and they expected to be treated with more compassion. The two men that were stuck in the freezing cold terminal are good evidence of this, even if they were comical about it. I also saw in a lot of the written responses that people were displeased with the 800 number they were told to call. These are two points I intend to discuss in the letter. I plan on sincerely apologizing for the incident and reassuring future passengers that steps have been taken to prevent this sort of problem. By understanding what the passengers went through I will be able the shape my response to effectively meet their needs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27KogBQh9co&mode=related&search=
Comments
Reading Reply 4
I like the quote you took from the text book. Your video is more of what I would have expected people to be like, very angry and very colorful with that anger. The videos I watched seemed to have people upset but with more of a sense of humor. You are correct in stating that even though these other videos dealt with a sense of humor they were still very unsatisfied. When writing these letters I think it is important to realize that even though we will be addressing a general upset audience, some people are more upset then others. If they were told to call a 800 number for additional help that took a long time and offered very little assistance I can understand why they would be upset. I recently called AT&T’s 800 number for help and was on hold for 20 minutes. Granted I just placed my phone on speaker phone and did other things until I heard someone on the other end I was still mad about this wait. If I were stunk in an airport I would have been more mad.
Comment
I found a very similar video of passengers being bussed away from the plane after being held captive for several hours. The video I watched was very similar in the fact that there was an overwhelming amount of colorful language and ignorant remarks. I understand that this ordeal was highly stressful and aggravating, but when you choose to share your dissatisfaction through abusive language and weak arguments it is hard to take seriously. These customers should obviously read the Thompson Handbook and learn something about context. The only audience they are reaching is their fellow customers, which will do nothing to resolve the issue. However, if they knew how to address the correct audience, communications with the jetBlue staff may have been different and they may have ultimately had a more positive experience.
Comment
If more people that were stranded at J.F.K had a video camera with them and made a video, I'm sure many of them would have been using colorful language. I can't even image the animosity that was in the atmosphere at that terminal. Those who were trying to humor the situation were humoring at JetBlue's expense. Either way, JetBlue is at the tail end of the joke and this is the last place any business wants to be if they want to keep earning a profit and customer-base. It is important that JetBlue remain apologetic in their letters. You have decided to take an approach of customer satisfaction through better treatment by JetBlue employees. I like that you are doing this because most people have decided to focus on the Bill of Rights and the liberties customers will receive for being stranded at the airport during those few days. If a customer reads a letter saying JetBlue has revamped its approach on how employees will deal with the situation, they may feel more confident that they will be in good hands if a similar event takes place.
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I completely agree with you when you state that JetBlue should not have guaranteed anything. I think a large part of people's frustration came from when they were promised something, but did not get it. If the JetBlue employees would have all been honest and said that they did not really understand what was going on, I think the situation might have been a little better. It is good to see that you are going to comment on the 800 number. That is not something I had thought of at the time. From what I have read, almost everyone had to wait on the 800 number, which upset most of the customers. I also think the freezing terminal is something to bring up. When I wrote my letter, I was only thinking of the customers that were stuck on the tarmac, not the ones stuck in the terminal. You bring up some great points!
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I think you did a great job relating our book to the JetBlue situation. I completely agree with the significance of the quote you pointed out. JetBlue needed to know exactly what was happening with their customers to give a sincere apology. While the actual situation was happening, they needed to get their entire staff on the same page. Telling people to call an 800 number was not going to do much if it is just an automated call that says something like “flights are being delayed due to weather conditions.” They needed to think of what it is like to be a victimized customer and then address all the employees to explain what was happening.
reading response #4 reply
I think your observations from the book will be extremely helpful in writing the letter. Context is extremely important when thinking about the audience and the idea of obtaining their interest. I to would have probably said a few expletives such as the woman in the video, but I don't think that would have helped the flight crew in the situation. The point you made about JetBlue saying they "couldn't guarantee anything" was a bad move on their point. This will be a good point to address in your letter. I think your overall plan for your letter will be a success, because you have really good points you want to discuss.
Response
I liked how you quoted about the context from the text. Your video clip was very interesting too. I could feel how disgruntled the passengers were. I agree that the major reason of the inconvenience was the lack of effective communication and announcement.
I felt that the woman in your video was annoyed by the fact that she kept hearing different stories about what was going on. I think if there was a certain news but not like “I can’t guarantee anything”, the passengers might have not been so angry like in the video. Taking audience’s situation into account should be the most important part of business letter. I think it is very important to take a sincere and apologetic tone to show the company’s contriteness for causing their customers inconvenience.