August 23, 2008
An Apology From JetBlue Airways
This is a follow-up to a recent experience I had with JetBlue Airways while traveling to a destination wedding in Vermont. I was not expecting any sort of compensation, so the $75 travel voucher was appreciated. However, they could have saved $75 and a lot of grief by just delivering on their “Jetting Cares” statement to travelers.
Thank you for contacting us concerning your recent and difficult experience with JetBlue Airways. We appreciate you sending us the link to your blog so we could read your challenges at John F. Kennedy Airport when your flight to Portland was canceled. We apologize for the frustration this caused you and that you did not receive the service you needed from our JFK Crewmembers.
We recognize the customer inconvenience when a flight does not operate as scheduled, and we make every possible effort to prevent such irregularities. Cancellations are at times unavoidable, but necessary to ensure the safest possible operation. We regret that your flight was canceled due to weather.
We are especially sorry you were not able to make the flight you were moved to, and the further inconvenience this was for you. We are pleased your airfare (for the portion of the flight to Portland) was refunded and gratified you were able to find accommodations on another airline.
Randy, we admire your writing and photographic talents! We also appreciate the sense of good humor you were able to maintain during a difficult situation. We look forward to welcoming you on board another JetBlue flight soon, and hope to inspire a more positive blog post!
What they need to understand is that the only reason I had such a great sense of humor about all of this was because my wife was able to secure a way home in the midst of this chaos. If my return to Portland were left in the hands of the caring JetBlue agents, I would have been stranded at JFK for four days without any luggage or assistance with meals and lodging.
I understand weather delays and agree that safety is a paramount concern when traveling by jet. On the other hand, they made no effort to help me secure another way home when it was apparent I would be stranded for nearly a week. Getting a refund for that portion of my flight required great insistence with the agent and I was made to feel they were doing me a favor.
I realize that with a long line of upset travelers in similar situations, these agents were facing a customer service nightmare. I witnessed first hand the yelling and screaming of frustrated travelers at their wits end. I just had to laugh or I would have gone insane. In the end, I arrived home two days later than planned, but no thanks to JetBlue. It’s frustrating that the mishaps I experienced at the hands of their representatives was never fully acknowledged. Especially from a company that is trying to set the tone for customer service and a new jetting experience.
Subscribe and eat it up!
Wow, a whopping $75 compensation
Still, good you managed to get home safe … and that $75 can go towards another trip … maybe not New York again, though, huh?
Gill
It is a shame that JetBlue’s “We Care” statement didn’t match up to their actual service. And because of your experience, I would be very hesitant to fly Jet Blue but I’d be willing to sacrifice for a trip to NYC!
What a weak apology! We’re sorry that your flight was canceled due to the weather. That is a polite way of saying it wasn’t their fault. Obviously they can’t control the weather and safety should come first so the canceling of the flights was appropriate. How they handled you once the flights were canceled is something else entirely.
Instead of trying to make themselves sound like heroes for sending you a $75 voucher which you will never use (I hope) perhaps they should have read the rest of your original post and learned a lesson from Frontier in the correct way to take care of their boss (the customer!) in less-than-ideal situations.
I’m reminded of a story that Bob Farrel tells in his customer service video about a Flight Attendant making a rude comment about his Granddaughter on her first flight. He put himself in their shoes afterwards and asked the question “What harm can one rude comment about a 12 year old kid do?” To which Bob answered his own question and informed his audience that he had told that story to tens of thousands of people!
I’m going to link your original post to my blog and do what I can to spread the word Randy. That was a bogus, half-assed apology and you deserve better.
Mat
Thanks Mat!
I agree that they missed the point. I’m honestly not out to bash JetBlue or as my friend David calls them “JetBlows”. I simply shared a personal story of horrendous customer service that only got worse.
I’m finding more and more that people don’t read emails or listen very well. They read between the lines, scan over words. It’s becoming epidemic and frustrating.
Seth Godin recently posted:
from the article “You get what you pay for”
and the word keeps spreading…
I could enumerate all the ways that they didn’t take accountability for their actions but I don’t have all day…
I sensed a patting on the head. Did you feel it?
Good boy — now go take your purty pictures :-} He he
I would light a cigar with the voucher. Take a picture of it, put it on the blog and send THAT to them. In this competitive industry, you would think they would be tripping over themselves to make it better, especially for a prolific blogger.
Well, at least we all had the opportunity to laugh our heads of at your expense.
Thanks! L