When my five-year-old son saw his little red suitcase fall through baggage claim at the SouthWest Airlines terminal in Salt Lake City, he cried. It looked like he’d been hit by a tanker truck, probably because he’d done it. The plastic handle was torn off, the zipper was shredded, and the top showed possible tire marks. Jack sobbed, “It was my favorite bag, Dad.” I felt bad, but a full day of air travel can be hard on anyone, especially a five-year-old, so I took the tears in my stride. For me it was the end of our vacation and I just wanted to go home. My wife, on the other hand, (who is more sensitive to the sobs of a five-year-old than I am) decided to take him and what was left of her luggage to baggage claim to see what SouthWest Airlines could do. .
10 minutes later my son came out with a new bag, still wrapped in plastic. “That lady gave me this,” he announced. “She said they didn’t have any reds, so I chose blue.” The smile on his face and the quick hello from the friendly SouthWest agent behind the baggage counter capped off an amazing 8 day vacation. I was happy that he was happy and I have been thinking about my experience with SouthWest Airlines ever since.
This morning I called SouthWest’s public relations department to share my story. Brad Hawkins, Communications Manager, took my call, listened carefully to my story, and kindly answered a few questions. What I really wanted to know was why they replaced my son’s garbage bag with a new one. Frankly, Hawkins explained it to me. “We promised to provide a great experience for you and your family and we fell short of that expectation. So we did what we could to make it right.”
I argued that the cost of replacing the bag must have obvious short-term financial ramifications on your bottom line. “It’s true,” he assured me, “but building a long-term relationship with you and your family is our most important goal here at SouthWest Airlines.” That sounds great in theory, yet fewer and fewer companies are taking that relationship seriously. Today it is all about making money fast and automating as much as possible. Non-human technology is increasingly driving our human interaction, and sometimes that’s sad. In the rush to be the fastest, many have forgotten the art of being friendliest first. “We have guidelines to train people to do the right thing,” Hawkins explained. “It’s the golden rule. Treat people the way you want to be treated.”
What started as tears of a weary five year old ended in a great family experience with SouthWest Airlines. They seem to understand the benefits of earning our business in the long run. Will they earn our repeat business? Absolutely. Does this attitude prevail at other successful companies like SouthWest Airlines? It is his mantra. There’s a reason companies like these continue to grow in a down economy. They understand what it takes to build a long-term relationship with a family that has a crying toddler who has been flying all day.
