Jet Blue: There's a problem with your audio channel

The other Shel, Mr. Holtz, has a great post about Jet Blue's disdainful attitude toward PR folk who wanted to give them advice on how to handle the problem caused by customers stranded on runways in Valentine Day blizzards. They ignored them.  Not only did they ignore them, they have put the name of people contacting them on a list that they will share with others on who not to use in a crisis.

It seems to me that this is yet another disturbing shard of evidence that Jet Blue, America's favorite airline, according to many surveys, has developed an auditory problem that is going to do it damage in the long run.But maybe, what the company spokeperson meant to say, was that this
referred only to the ambulance chasers, not to everyone. 

Debbie Weil,
author of the Corporate Blogging Book, was the first person I know of
who pointed out the company had a blog and should be using it. Since
the blog is very corporate and pretty lame and doesn't allow comments,
I'm not so certain it would unstick Jet Blue's plugged ears to the
public. Debbie has sent them a copy of her book and received a nice call saying that it will be passed along and someone will call her if they are interested.

We shall see.

I am watching all this as a Jet Blue fan. I am planning to write about this seven year old company in Global Neighborhoods as an example of a low-cost network that is changing lives by letting people who could not previously apport it, go places and meet others face to face. Now, the story I was planning is getting complicated.

Evidence is starting to stack up that Jet Blue is starting to become guilty of the first lethal sin of large organizations. They don't want to listen. Yesterday I wrote how a Jet Blue service representative had a justifiably distraught customer and her child removed by police from a claim office. Today we hear implications of a Jet Blue enemies list.

Sooner or later it adds up.

I think Debbie Weil had a good idea. A blog would be a great tool to use in a crisis. Seems to me there's another book that wrote about it as well. But the issue here is not to blog or not to blog.

The issue is whether or not a company listens.

This is the key issue between large organizations and there markets. They don't want to listen to customers.

We buy a product or service from a branded company and a problem develops.  We go to the web site and after a difficult search we find that if we want to contact a human we should email "support@company.com." We call the 800-line and get lost in a voice processing system that is essentially telling you that the human you have called is no longer available.  If you need further assistance, too bad.  We really don't care."

Blogging is a great tool to use, because it is a highly efficient way to listen to your customers. The most valuable part of a corporate blog is that you hear-pro or con- from your most passionate customers.  Instead of being handed a filtered and sanitized report from a mid-level underling, a CEO can very quickly see a realtime sample of what customers are thinking.

Right now, as a customer, I'm beginning to think that maybe Jet Blue says the right thing.  But it doesn't listen so well.

To that degree, they should be humiliated and mortified.

Comments

[Debbie Weil]

I'm still puzzling over the coincidence of David Neeleman's office receiving the FedExed copy of my book last week... and then updating his so-called CEO blog *the very same day.* Were they indeed "listening"? Did they value my advice about using the blog during this crisis?? I'd like to put a positive spin on it and think that they were paying attention. But who knows. Maybe I need to FedEx a follow-up letter to ask what's up with the blog. This could get expensive... :)

[Rob Tornoe]

I'm an editorial cartoonist based in New Jersey, and here's a cartoon a did on the JetBlue fiasco. I hope you enjoy it:
Click here for cartoon.

[Jenny Dervin]

Wow - this is really post modern... I am contemplating going to bed and finishing Chapter 5 of Debbie's book and thought I would do a random blog check... and what do you know.. I run across this post!
Message to Debbie: THANK YOU for sending the book! I owe you $30 well-earned bucks. Love it. It indeed came to me the very day you sent it, and I started reading it on the subway Friday night.
David's Flight Log is definately going to get a face lift. I have tons of ideas (liberally stolen from what I read of your book so far). The problem is getting time with David to write down in my inadequate short hand what he wants to say. I may have to go interview other leaders just to keep it fresh.
I learn incredible amounts from the professionals who take the time to teach via Web. Thank you to everyone for making me a better communicator!
Debbie - I will follow up offline with you to give you my personal thanks for helping us.
Best,
Jenny Dervin
JetBlue Corporate Communications

[Rosario Corbo]

I’m a regular costumer of Jet Blue Airways and at this moment I’m very disappointed with you because of what happened to me on the night of June 25th at JFK airport.

To repeat my points for clarity, once I arrived at JFK and walked to the gate where Burlington (#128) was supposed to depart, the agent there changed my ticket to the next plane available and I was told to go to the Service Center. While I was at the Service Center, I spent 40 I booked and bought my flight from Houston, TX to Burlington, VT on May 15. I booked flight #626 from Houston-Hobby to JFK, NY at 5:00 pm on June 25th and then flight #128 from JFK, NY to Burlington, VT at 10:58 pm to arrive in Burlington at night at 12:05.

Let me tell you how this trip turned out:
• The boarding process in Houston was delayed 30 minutes.
• The plane at Houston was delayed more than one hour due to weather conditions.
• The arrival at JFK airport was at 10:55 and the gate where the plane was to go was taken, so we were required to wait at least 10 more minutes for a reassigned gate.
• I asked the officer on board of my plane to tell my connecting flight to wait, but he replied there’s nothing he could do.
• When I arrived at the JFK gate for my flight to Burlington, the plane had already taken off.
• There was a woman at the gate that explained to me that I had missed my plane and although she knew that the Houston plane was delayed, there was nothing she could do but to make another reservation for me for the next day.
• I asked for someone to help me and to hear my complaints and she told me I needed to go to the Service Center to speak to the manager.
• I went to the Service Center. The person manning the Service Deak was rude and kept repeating that they couldn’t help me and I needed to wait for the manager.
• More than 30 minutes later when the manager came, he told us that he only had one room available and he had decided to give it to a mother with a child. So, as there were more than 10 people waiting for a hotel room to sleep, he told us there was nothing he could do. However, one of the people working there named Adam, in a very sarcastic way, offerd us some pillows to be comfortable sleeping there. I did not appreciate his rudeness nor did anyone else standing with me.
• At the Sevice Desk I was told that the only thing I could do is to go out of the security area and check if there was any room available near the airport and pay for it at my expense. The only problem there is that once I go out of the security area there is no turning back because I couldn’t re-enter to the airport until 3.00 am.

After spending the night trapped in New York City:
• My plane was supposed to start boarding at 8:45 am, and the boarding process started at 9 am.
• The plane took off at 10:00 am, so I arrived to Burlington at 11:30 am on June 26th.

I’m aware that the delay in Houston was due to Force Majeure Events according to your “Contract of Carriage”. I found it totally unacceptable that the plane in JFK (Burlington flight #128), couldn’t wait 10 minutes before taking off, when it was the last plane of the night and there were more than 10 people that were delayed for a reason totally out of their control. The
staff of Jet Blue airways was aware of our delay and they knew that if Flight #128 would wait 10 more minutes we would arrive on connecting flights to board #128.

minutes talking to some people that could only making excuses and tell me to wait for the manager. When he decided to show up, he gave away the “only” room available and told me that there was nothing he could do.

I have two questions that need to be answered by you:
1. Who could have helped me?
2. How is it possible that in one of the biggest cities of the world you couldn’t find accommodations for me?

I hope you can judge for yourself how unfair this situation was, and how vulnerable and unprotected I felt as a woman feeling alone, surrounded by people who kept saying there was nothing they could do.

Can you help me with this question?:
Why did I need to wait for almost two hours at the airport if no one from Jet Blue intended to help me? I understand it’s not my job to tell you what to do or how to handle your customers problems but based on the contract you and I formed when I bought my ticket, I expect Jet Blue to honor that committment and really help me.

I finally arrived at Burlington 12 hours later than I was supposed to. I need someone to be responsible for that because I trusted Jet Blue airways and you totally let me down. Please, I need to know that someone at your company can do something for me on these issues, both now and in the future.

I’m sure it’s Jet Blue airways intention to take care of me and not the other way around.