Over the weekend I traveled up to Buffalo to watch my brother play ice hockey at the 2011 States Tournament with his team. I booked JetBlue for my travel, as I have had nothing but great experience with them in the past. However, I had the absolute WORST experience imaginable with two JetBlue employees while waiting for my returning flight. I have NEVER been spoken to in the manner in which these two employees spoke to not only me, but all of the passengers waiting for the flight at the gate. Due to the employees misjudgment, I even had to “sleep” in the airport, after finding out MYSELF via my cell phone at 1AM that our flight back to JFK was canceled (the two employees at the gate didn’t even know until I alerted everyone)
To make a long story short, I immediately called the 1-800-Jet-Blue number to express the appalling series of events which took place, and the demeaning and disrespectful way these two employees addressed us. I was told from the representative on the line that I would hear back within 24 hours of my complaint. I had a feeling this wouldn't happen (and I was correct...still haven't heard a word) so I took to Twitter for a more immediate response. Low and behold, I heard back from JetBlue via direct message within hours after I tweeted them, which said they were "sorry for my bad experience" and to fill out a Speak Up form. First off, my experience was beyond "bad," to the extent that an airport employee heard the two JetBlue gate staff members screaming from about 100 Feet away, and was equally appalled at what had occurred. Once I replied to JetBlue's DM on Twitter letting them know that my form was filled out, they asked for the confirmation number of the Speak Up form. Since the JetBlue representative filled it out for me via phone, she never game me a confirmation number. I instead gave them the confirmation number that my mom received when she filled out the Speak Up form herself. In the meantime, I am waiting to see how long it takes for them to actually "hear" me after I "Speak Up."
Relating this to PR, it's amazing and interesting to actually witness and experience the shift in how a consumer can connect or reach out to a company. If I had this horrific experience with these two disrespectful and demeaning JetBlue employees a couple years ago, I would have to keep calling the customer service line, and write a letter to send in. Now, I can tweet them minutes after the situation occurred and get a more immediate response, which will hopefully lead to direct actions. I am hoping JetBlue will reach out to me via email or phone to rectify the situation that transpired to ensure this doesn't happen to any other customer.
Employees are a direct representation of the brand, which can either make or break the company’s image in the eyes of the public. Does JetBlue have another Steve Slater on their hands? These two disgruntled employees could just fit the bill, and could lose their cool at the drop of a dime. I think JetBlue should take a closer look at the employees they hire to represent their brand. Stay tuned to see how long it takes for me to finally be "HEARD."
I think your experience is a great example of how social media has changed our society. I've heard tons of stories of people who have tweeted at companies and have gotten responses. If they tweeted about a bad experience, the company has compensated in some way. If they tweeted about a good experience, the company tweeted back a "thank you" and in some cases sent a coupon for their product. Twitter is powerful. It makes sense that they would not want all of your followers to see that you were unhappy with their services, so hopefully you get compensated in some way!
ReplyDeleteSorry for your bad experience. Hopefully Jet Blue will somehow make it up to you! I do think that it is great that they actually take the time to read and respond to what consumers are saying about them. However the fact that they sent you a DM is a little odd to me. I can understand using a DM to attain personal information that should not be shared with everyone, but sending a DM instead of posting a public tweet can be viewed as trying to conceal the issue as well. If it was a compliment, they probably would have retweeted it and mentioned you. Just an example of how social media is so complex that not only is it necessary to have one, but follow a certain etiquette for it as well.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting story. I am amazed at how quickly Jet Blue replied to you as a result of your twitter message. It just goes to show that Jet Blue realizes the importance and also danger of social media to their company. I will be very interested to see what their response to your customer complaint is. Knowing that you are an active twitter user may force them to be a little more generous in their compensation. It is amazing how incidences like this where internal communication is poor leaving untrained staff members to deal with the situation can really affect a companies public image if not handled appropriately.
ReplyDeleteI definitely understand how you are feeling and I would be just as upset if I were in your shoes--I usually fly JetBlue as well and have never had any problems. Unfortunately, there are always a few bad eggs that get through the hiring process and the brand usually ends up suffering for it. It's great that they responded to you so quickly, hopefully they continue to follow through!
ReplyDeleteThat's crazy! I've never heard of such bad Jet Blue experience. However I'm actually pretty shocked that, since they responded to you so quickly on Twitter, that they didn't do something more on that outlet. They could have offered to email you directly to solve the problem, or even online chatted with you rather than basically use the same customer service steps as your phone call would have done. Definitely keep us posted if you hear anything, and maybe if you get a good response from them, you could mention that they should continue using social media to their advantage!
ReplyDeleteSorry for your bad experience Danielle! Employees are in fact the direct representatives of a company and/or brand and when they fail it reflects negatively on the company. Although, that's pretty amazing how much social media, in your case Twitter, has taken over. Perhaps the customer service aspect of Jet Blue should take some lessons from the social media.
ReplyDeleteIts interesting because this isn't the first time Jet Blue had a problem with lack of communication between their employees and between the employees and the customers. This scenario reminds me of the 2007 "Valentines Day Massacre" case study when they had the serious delays, customers stuck on planes for hours, and continuous lack of communication. Your situation goes to show that communication is really important in a corporation/business, and apparently Jet Blue hasn't learned how to appropriately incorporate it into theirs.
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