A full page ad from JetBlue airways was published in the February 21 edition of the New York Times. The ad was an apology to JetBlue customers who were caught in the web of winter ice storm delays that occurred earlier in February. Several flights were cancelled or delayed, leaving hundreds of people stranded in airports or on the airplane. The ad stated how sorry JetBlue was for the anxiety, frustration and inconvenience that their customers experienced.
JetBlue was founded on the promise of bringing humanity back to air travel and making any flying experience more enjoyable. A set back like this caused the company extreme hardships and cuts to the company.
A full page ad in the New York Times is by no means cheap. JetBlue looked for one of the best ways to express their message of apology. They mention in their ad they have published a JetBlue Airways Customer Bill of Rights. They state that this Bill of Rights stands as the company's commitment to their customers or how future interruptions will be handled.
So, you're all asking what are the ethics behind this ad? Is it ethical that the company spends hundreds of dollars to promote apologies following their mistakes? The CEO of JetBlue, David Neeleman, has a personal message for customers that the ads states can be found at jetblue.com/promise. Neeleman also appeared on shows such as Today to promote his promise that customers won't have such a negative experience with his company in the future. Is it right that the CEO makes all of these statements? Should the company have sent their PR manager, who wrote these apologies be the one making these appearances instead?
Most would probably agree that hearing words of gratitude from the CEO means the most. He is accepting his position of mistake and plans on improving.
The most ethical thing for the company to do might be to move forward with what customers they will have. However, it is difficult to regain trust and this ad, the Bill of Rights, and awarding airline tickets and money for the number of hours customers waited, may help them prove to customers that they can be trusted once again and everyone, including major airline companies make mistakes.
*Readings Relating to the JetBlue Mishap:
http://www.insidebayarea.com/dailyreview/localnews/ci_5394009
http://www.beingpeterkim.com/2007/02/my_jetblue_fias.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/02/15/national/main2480665.shtml
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/17/business/17air.html?ex=1329368400&en=3be3789cffa0910a&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
http://abcnews.go.com/ad/moneyscopeintroad.html?
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Travel/story?id=2905812&page=1&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312&Business=true&Business=true
http://blog.fastcompany.com/experts/jdesjardins/2007/02/three_reasons_why_i_will_still.html
http://dr-mabuses-kaleido-scope.blogspot.com/search/label/Jet%20Blue%20Apology%20Video
http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/03/07/jet-blue-bad-airline-good-stock/
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment