Relationships are difficult and we all make mistakes.
Who among us hasn’t realized too late that they were neglecting that special someone and taking for granted the best thing that ever happened to them?
Or alternatively, who hasn’t felt the cruel sting of rejection, or been thrown out of nowhere… only to have that shameless scoundrel slip up in their DMs months later when they’re finally ready to move on? It’s as annoying as it is predictable, because love will drive everyone crazy at some point.
Thankfully, from 1975’s “Someone Else” to Haim’s “Want You Back” to Adele’s “To Make You Feel My Love,” the pop songbook is packed with selections for those moments when you realize the mistake you’ve made and the realization that if you don’t get in shape and do things right, someone else will come along and sweep your old flame off their feet.
While we don’t know Southwest’s listening habits (light) – Get a free report Bob Jordan, CEO, we know you have a lot of explaining to do, and familiarizing yourself with the finer points of Sister Haim’s playbook wouldn’t be a bad starting point for trying to appeal to the general public.
Southwest wants you back
Let’s cut the jokes and call it what it is: Southwest totally screwed up over the holidays. It just ate it whole. It was hard to watch, if we’re being honest.
After being hit by a massive winter storm, Southwest began canceling or delaying massive flights, including nearly 75% (or 4,000 domestic flights) just the day after Christmas. As the week between Christmas and New Years wore on, more than 16,700 flights were affected, which could end up costing Southwest $825 million, at least.
But while all airlines were affected by the storm, Southwest completely collapsed under the pressure, thanks to a combination of staff shortages, a lack of pilots and outdated scheduling software that employees say “just isn’t up to speed.” task height schedule staffing.”
What has been especially galling to both employees and people stranded at the airport is that Southwest workers knew about the problem (and have claimed that management was aware of the problem as well) and have been picketing to draw attention to the problem.
But employees and critics allege Southwest management has been reluctant to spend the money needed to hire enough pilots to compensate everyone who took early retirement or bought a part during the pandemic, or to upgrade driver software. programming, and chose to pay themselves. big bonuses and pay dividends to shareholders.
So now everyone knows that the fiasco was entirely preventable, and that Southwest management is entirely to blame for countless ruined holidays. That’s the kind of mistake that doesn’t go away quietly, and could convince a potential customer to choose literally anyone else over the company once known for having the best customer service in the industry.
In response, Southwest CEO Robert Jordan got down on one knee to apologize, turned up the volume of Mariah Carey’s “We Belong Together” and apologized to customers, vowing this will never happen again.
We’re kidding, of course, though all of that would be a good start for Jordan, who has his work cut out for him.
Southwest CEO is really sorry
In an email sent to customers, Jordan acknowledged that “during the week between Christmas and New Years, our Customers and Employees, including some of you, experienced operational issues that greatly disrupted holiday and year-end plans. We want you to know that we are doing everything we can to prevent that from happening again.”
That’s nice and all, but as anyone who’s had their heart broken knows, there’s really only one sentence they want to hear in this kind of situation, and Jordan took his time getting there, before finally saying the word. “m”.
“We fell short of your expectations and the high standards we have of ourselves, and we are deeply sorry. It is our firm commitment to make the changes necessary to address the issues we are facing and win back your trust. We will continue our journey to provide you with the exceptional service you expect and deserve from us.”
In the email, Jordan laid out the corrective steps the airline will take, including:
- Working with “great urgency” to process refunds and refund requests, and to offer “25,000 Rapid Rewards points to those most affected as a goodwill gesture for their inconvenience.”
- “Establish supplemental operating personnel who can be rapidly mobilized to support crew recovery efforts.”
- ”Improve our crew engagement technology to communicate efficiently with a large number of crew members during frequent schedule changes”
- “Update and enhance our crew recovery system to not only address current and future schedules, but also provide the ability to optimize established schedules as we revise them during irregular operations.”
- Jordan noted that Southwest has retained third-party global aviation consulting firm Oliver Wyman to conduct a full assessment of what went wrong, and the Board of Directors has appointed an Operations Review Committee to further assess the situation.
- Southwest also has a budget to spend “more than $1 billion of our annual operating plan on investments, upgrades, and maintenance of our IT systems.”
Jordan said the airline “will be committed to keeping you updated as we move forward with these efforts, as well as any additional steps to prevent an event like this from happening again.”
Will this be enough to win back public goodwill, especially as rival airlines seek to win over turned away customers? That remains to be seen, but if Jordan really wants to sway the public’s hearts, he’ll need more than bonus miles, and might consider going to every disappointed customer’s window with a boombox and a copy of Peter Gabriel’s “In Your.” . Eyes.” A little humiliation never hurts in these situations, after all, and if he really wants us back, he’s going to have to earn it.
