Comments

So how do you like JetBlue’s new Bill of Rights : “We promise to make your wife and small children cry”

http://redcouch.typepad.com/weblog/2007/02/jetblue_may_not.html#comment-61758590

Posted by /pd at March 5, 2007 1:19 PM

How about starting by treating others as we would wish to be treated? Then we can ask under what circumstances we would want to be left on the tarmac for 11 hours.

Posted by S. Anthony Iannarino at March 5, 2007 4:38 PM

Elton John wrote 'Sorry seems to be the hardest word' - maybe in fact it is the easiest word to write.

Posted by Trevor Gay at March 5, 2007 6:10 PM

JetBlue is not SouthWest - they might like to be and they might like the travelling public to believe that they could be BUT they do not have the "clear and present purpose" needed to become the equal or even a serious rival to SouthWest... They have slick words... Words are no substitute for actions... Their loss of brand equity must be enormous and it is growing... This whole sorry story so much reminds me of the inaction of Exxon after the tanker Valdez spilled oil all over a pristine environment (I know I wrote some of this stuff before but I figure it can probably bear repeating here)...

Richard

Posted by Richard Lipscombe at March 5, 2007 8:11 PM

I apologize for belaboring the point, but why this laser focus on JetBlue for one foul-up. Granted it is a monster customer service snafu, but aren't these posts over the top compared to what actually occurred? How does the JetBlue incident compare to other corporate disasters?

My last comment on the subject.

Fortune's Most Admired American Companies list is out and #1 is General Electric. How? Why?

Where is the outrage? How does JetBlue compare to this behavior. Talk about poor customer service? Go have a swim in the Hudson. How about pressuring the bankrupt to pay bills they no longer owe.

I'm not familiar with this website, but thought the examples would provide some balance to what JetBlue has done.
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?list=type&type=16

the rest is clipped from the CorpWatch website
In the 1940s-1960s the company ran experiments on humans with radiation, including irradiating the reproductive organs of prison inmates….

General Electric intentionally released large amounts of radiation into the air from the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Richland, in order to see the distance it would travel. These atrocities were revealed in hearings in 1986 held by Representative Edward Markey of Massachusetts.

GE argues that it is “unconstitutional” for the Environmental Protection Agency to force the company to pay $500 million for the cleanup of the Hudson River, where GE dumped carcinogenic PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, over three decades. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that GE is trying to change the Superfund Law: the company is responsible for 78 Superfund sites around the US.

The US government’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, has cited the company for 858 workplace safety violations from 1990-2001.

General Electric has been involved in so many cases of fraud that in the 1990s the Pentagon's Defense Contract Management Agency created a special investigations office specifically for the company, which indicted GE on 22 criminal counts and recovered $221.7 million.

In one case, in 1992, GE entered a guilty plea to criminal and civil charges for defrauding the Pentagon in a case where money was funneled to the Israeli military. GE was fined $69 million for violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

GE was fined $100 million for trying to get bankrupt creditors to pay without informing the bankruptcy courts, in effect paying debts that they no longer legally owed.

According to a survey by the Center for Public Integrity, from 1990-2002, 30 of the US government’s top contractors were found guilty of fraud in 400 cases, leading to settlements and fines amounting to at least $3.4 billion. General Electric paid $982.9 million for 63 cases in this period.

Posted by Jeff at March 6, 2007 7:55 AM

C'mon Jeff, it's GE. You know, they "bring good things to light." J. Welch and now J. Immelt are the darlings of the management guru set. How can you be so crass as to cast aspersions upon their halos?

The entire JetBlue incident as reported and commented upon herein is a classic example of hyperbole used to vent extreme emotion. I haven't seen any logic or even research into the actual incident anywhere on the blogosphere, including here.

Crucify the FAA if you want to be fair, because their rules were just as much at fault for this latest "trapped in a plane" incident as JetBlue policies and actions. And while were are at it, we should blame the airport authorities (local gov't officials all) who also share culpability for the laws and rules regarding passengers and aircraft while in the airport. And let's not forget God, who was responsible for the ice and snow.

Abu Ghraib of the air? Were the passengers stripped naked and forced to make human pyramids for the amusement of the flight crew? Were dogs set upon them? Try to be more careful with your over-the-top comparisons Tom. We all heard you the first time.

Posted by Mike at March 6, 2007 11:36 AM

I'm reporting this as I heard it from a 20-year veteran flight attendant.

The alleged reason the airplanes do not return to the terminals / jetways is the flight attendants can walk. Allegedly, by law, they are only allowed to "work" so many hours. In some of these cases, if the plane were to return to the terminal from the tarmack the flight attendants have every right to leave because they'll be over their hours if they go on the flight.

The person with whom I spoke, a good friend, tells me he was a purser for ten years, and he's been in the cockpit when the call came in to the pilot offering the pilot $5000 or an extra week's vacation to take the flight, even though it would put him over his allotted hours.

Apparently the pilots get these perks. The flight attendants do not. And this is why the pilot will not return to the jetway.

Again .... I'm reporting this. I don't know / haven't verified whether or not it's true.

Posted by Dan B. at March 6, 2007 10:54 PM

Sorry, but Tom's original post made me laugh. I guess he was serious... but how can you compare JetBlue to Abu Ghraib and be taken seriously? My God... maybe we should blame FEMA while we're at it. As a fellow road warrior who has been stuck COUNTLESS times for hours on tarmacs, have had entire days stolen from me by oversold and "maintenance issue" planes, have had "airline clubs" that are supposed to be open until 9:00 PM not allow me entry at 8:30 because they were preparing to close.... ugh, the list is endless. JetBlue has actually provided me with some of the best experiences I've encountered while flying. They screwed up. But unlike their peers, they have taken responsibility, apologized, told folks why it happened, told folks why it will not happen again, and have put guarantees into place to back their words with action.
All airlines should be so "Abu Ghraibeous."

Posted by Dave at March 8, 2007 11:02 PM

I thought at first that Tom was over-reacting or had just had a bad day, but after reading about how JetBlue treats passengers, I understand his reaction better.

When I think of what I do for a living, namely creating a spiritual guest experience for 5-star hotels, I doubt if I could make even a dent into the JetBlue customer experience.

It sounds like the organization is so riddled with the termites of uncaring service that it would be easier to close down the airline and start again than to try to improve the service.

Posted by Peter at May 27, 2007 2:21 AM