Comments

I've long thought that we all make mistakes and what separates the great from the good from the bad is how we respond to and rectify them. So, I take my hat off to Mr. Neeleman for his apology. However, the acid test will be how quickly and how thoroughly he can get ALL his staff re-aligned and once again behind the basic mission of the company. It won't be easy but if he's prepared to be this upfront about it, I'd give them the benefit of the doubt - for now.

Posted by Mark JF at February 23, 2007 8:49 AM

1. Too little for me Val - me & cool family are worth much more than a skimpy letter & $25-$100 voucher

2. Class-action them into $10's of millions in damages - that is what changes JetBlues' behavior - and aids my Vow of Luxury [VOL] - show me the bling baby - that is how I feel your LOVE

3. Plus in their new rules - can you believe 5 HOURS [on the tarmac in stale air cabin with Flu-ridden types & screaming kids] is a standard they shoot for -

OUTRAGEOUS -

"GROUND DELAYS
For customers who experience a Ground Delay for more than 5 hours, JetBlue will take necessary action so that customers may deplane.

JetBlue will also provide customers experiencing a Ground Delay with food and drink, access to restrooms and, as necessary, medical treatment."

4. "access to restrooooooooooooms" - GEE thanks so much - such Lovemarking!

Posted by sean_jetblues at February 23, 2007 8:54 AM

Interesting comparing the views of yourself, Jackie Huba at Church of the Customer, and Seth Godin on the JetBlue fiasco:

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2007/02/potlatch.html
http://www.churchofthecustomer.com/blog/2007/02/jetblues_youtub.html

Seth suggests it might have been an idea to give the affected clients 50 free seats each. Jackie mentions that despite the "Bill of Rights" and letter, in the video, he doesn't actually say "I'm Sorry". Personally I think that wasn't a bad attempt at trying to fix things, as with anything, no matter how much do, you could always go further.

Posted by Jonathan at February 23, 2007 8:59 AM

Of course, the real test will not be the quality of the letter or the promises, but what JebBlue actually does and what the results are. As my mother used to say, "The real apology isn't what you say, it's what you do differently."

Posted by Wally Bock at February 23, 2007 9:43 AM

JetBlue may end up a case study on both the operations side (how did this happen to begin with) and on the marketing (PR/branding) side (getting their CEO right out there dealing with it, coming up with the Customers Bill of Rights, etc.). As Wally and Mark say, the long term result will depend on whether they stick to their promises. The first hint that they're starting to nickle and dime cusotmers about what's a "controllable" vs. "uncontrollable" irregularity, we'll start to hear some real howling.

Having been stuck on a couple of occasions on the tarmac for 4+ hours (not on JetBlue), and having gotten nothing for my trouble, I'm wondering whether any other airline has something better to offer than JetBlue. And one part of their Bill of Rights that's really interesting: $1000 if you get bumped due to overbooking.

I think that JetBlue is truly trying to make things right. Up until now they've built a pretty good brand and I'm guessing they'll recover.

Posted by Maureen Rogers at February 23, 2007 10:05 AM

I would give him the benefit of the doubt - his letter 'feels' genuine. We can forgive mistakes surely. The only mistake I ever made was the one I didn’t learn from.

However – and not wishing to rub his nose in it – here is a practical suggestion to Mr Neeleman;

How about he invites a minimum of 10 passengers per month to his office (or better still visits them in their own home) to let him hear directly their stories - in their own words - of their experience on his planes last month. He then KNOWS the standards he demands are being met as far as customers are concerned. No customer care people as ‘go betweens’; no quality managers involved; simply the CEO on a 1-2-1 with passengers.

In fact that is something I would like to see introduced in every organisation but that's a story for another day.

Posted by Trevor Gay at February 23, 2007 10:08 AM

The proof will be in the pudding. The airline business has a difficult operating environment - with thousands of flights daily and hundreds of thousands of customers, there are numerous opportunities to screw up each day.

We'll see if they can deliver on the promises.

It is a nice response to formalize ways to recompense us for their screw-ups. It will be interesting to see how investors and other airlines react since this will have serious cost implications, if done as they say it will.

Posted by Gary Schmitt at February 23, 2007 10:55 AM

It looks like they've blown it because this is really a trust issue... It's not something money can solve. Compensation shows intent but woe betide the exec at JetBlue who thinks they've solved the problem by throwing cash at it, shouting at or sacking people.

They now need to meet every promise they make AND do it visably for a long long time to claw back credibility
.

Posted by Chris Nel at February 23, 2007 11:23 AM

I agree, a voucher for 4-6 hour delays, sitting on the Tarmac for 5 hours...gimme a break.

The industry is broken, and broken severely. It starts with navigating fares, trying to park a car, lines at check-in, lines at security with ridiculous requirements (6 oz baggies etc.), loaded on planes like cattle ( love the whole you are in zone 8, it really makes you feel wanted), airplanes designed for midgets (no offense to midgets intended), flight crews that treat you as a burden, no inseat entertainent ( jet blue gets good marks for this), lil snakc packs that could only feed a bird, coffee that tastes like muddy water........The whole process needs a re-design from top to bottom.

Posted by Tom at Proteus at February 23, 2007 11:38 AM

Frankly, this is what the cheapo-fare traveling public deserves to reap as a result of their demand for fares that cannot be economically supported. These people shopped for the lowest fare, and it happened to be JetBlue. If another airline had a fare that was $1 cheaper, they would have gone with that airline. Let them rot on the tarmac, I say. Too many airlines, all trying to be the low price carriers, means that air travel is overcrowded and unsafe.

Here's your Passenger Bill of Rights - the airline has no obligation to provide you with meals, blankets, pillows, magazines and get you to your destination all for the price of a dinner at Appleby's. They are also not responsible for caring for your snot-nosed, ill mannered brats, your animals and the tree you want to bring on as carryon luggage. They are not required to ply you with alcohol at 8:00 in the morning, or at any other time. If you want the cheap fares, you take what you get.

Posted by Doc at February 23, 2007 12:55 PM

Part of the problem is that when you scream that your reason for being in business is to correct the ills of air travel, when you fail, you are going to get nailed. I am more concerned with the interview I saw of the CEO with Matt Lauer. Matt asked him twice, "is anybody going to lose their job?"...Both times no. They broke their brand promise big time. I think they need to be very public about the corrective actions they are taking instead of offering what amounts to a mere pittance for your troubles. Let's give them a chance, but consider them on probation...Their brand promise is now aspirational rather than a statement of fact.

Posted by Mike Neiss at February 23, 2007 2:57 PM

So Jet Blue horks up in a very public way, admits it, and gets negative press for WEEKs.

American Airlines does the SAME THING, clams up like a nuclear hardened bunker and the issue sinks with barely a ripple.

What do we learn from this:

1) Throw a bone to the unions? (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/10/16/60II/main525810.shtml)

2) Denial, evasion, PR walls are better than upfront honesty.

3) Timing matters and Feburary is slow news month?

I'm betting 1) and 2) personally.

Posted by Billy Oblivion at February 23, 2007 4:04 PM

Is this Jetblue's "seven year glitch"?

The CEO addressed three key issues:
1)improve JetBlue management information systems,
2)devise a customer charter everyone understands,
3)design and implement a "crisis management" and a "disaster recovery management" system.

Will these measures work?

If JetBlue's Executive and workforce is totally committed to these initiatives and is willing to embrace the recruitment of new talent to help it grow and scale its operations then "YES" if not......

Unfortunately, the issues surrounding Jetblue's massive loss of brand equity has now become an issue that can only really be addressed at some later date....

"The moment of truth" for JetBlue's customer service will be confronted the next time there is a crisis in management AND the time after that AND the time after that...

Richard

Posted by Richard Lipscombe at February 23, 2007 10:07 PM

1. Clearly for me the issue is to keep front-liner types like Trevor & Richard from sneaking into my first-class luxury - back of plane is where they belong

2. Given a delay in flight - while we party in 1st class with the flight attendants - snacking on Ahi tuna & truffles - front-liner ilk must keep abay @ JetBlue & ALL airlines - they must be trained so 11-hour delays seem normal

Posted by sean_luxury at February 24, 2007 4:00 PM viagra sales

Sean_Luxury

As you know - in life and at work - you get what you pay for....

Cheers, Richard

Posted by Richard Lipscombe at February 24, 2007 4:07 PM

1. Richard - you & Trevor are welcome on my '09 Eclipse micro-jet anytime - plus seared Ahi snacks for you ... & Eagles' music :>]

Posted by sean_luxury at February 24, 2007 4:47 PM

I expected different viewpoints and I see they are being expressed! Regaining the trust of the passengers will be critical for Jet Blue. The real test is how they move forward and what kind of service they will give passengers from this point forward. Low cost airline or not, I would make an effort to "step up" my service levels.

Posted by Val Willis at February 28, 2007 9:47 AM

It is interesting that Jet Blue offered apologies and vouchers. I guess you would expect that. What is more interesting I think, is that they didn't tell their customers how they were going to keep them from experiencing abu-jetblue prison again.

Posted by Mark G at March 13, 2007 9:44 PM