Mar

20

Southwest Airlines: A model for communicators everywhere

by Mark Ragan - Filed under Uncategorized - Tags: - 1 Comment

I wrote a front-page piece last week for our news site praising Southwest Airlines and its communication policy. Some of my readers didn’t like the article. How could I possibly say good things about a company that the FAA has accused of violating its inspection policy?

Here was how I responded: Whether Southwest violated the FAA policy or not, the way the airline responds publicly says something about its  character. Let’s face it, most companies would have its lawyers write a brief, unreadable statement filled with jargon and platitudes. That is not what Southwest did.  Instead, the company came out swinging, defending its safety record and questioning the FAA allegation. It then posted a similar response to it blog, Nuts About Southwest—a blog, by the way, that allows readers to fully vent their frustration and anger with  the company. Then, a  few days later, the CEO apologized for this initial response and conceded that more needed to be done to address the airplane maintenance issue.   

Yes, it was messy.  No, the communication was not perfect. But I admire the company’s willingness to talk about its problems, to avoid the cut-and-run mentality; and most importantly, I respect the company for allowing customers to slam it daily on its blog. This kind of communication policy can only lead to good things. This afternoon, PR VP Ginger Hardage will address the IABC Chicago chapter. I plan on covering her remarks for Ragan.com and MyRaganTV. 

I hope you’ll stay tuned.