Southwest Airlines
Paul in Cannon Beach
4,703 Posts
I am slowly working my way through "Nuts" the story of Southwest airlines. Anyone else read it? It weighs in at over 300 pages and could have used a tougher editor but it has some interesting information.
For one, their motto is "Customers come second, employees come first." Thats a fascinating philosophy in terms of customer service. They really try to look out for their employees and emphasize that SW employees are part of a "family".
Hard work and innovation - if you have a great idea at SW, you can pretty much run with it. There isnt a lot of beuracracy or red tape you have to navigate through to try something new. They pride themselves on being a very creative and cost conscious airline and have remained profitable for over 20 consecutive years.
POS - positive outrageous service. Thats their catch phrase for doing whatever it takes to make customers happy.
Dont take yourself too seriously - anyone who has flown SW knows that the employess have fun. This is part of their culture.
737 - these are the only planes SW flies. That means that they save money by only needing parts of one type of plane. Also, their crews only need to know how to work on one type of plane.
Thats just the tip of the iceberg. I fly as little as possible and its been awhile since I have flown SW but I was pretty impressed with the way they have built such a strong and successful culture. SW has consistently been among the top 100 companies to work for and despite their growth, they have managed to keep their "small company" approach.
Interestingly, alot of their culture and beliefs are not written down. Instead, its just ingrained into their culture by constant repitiion and affirmation.
For one, their motto is "Customers come second, employees come first." Thats a fascinating philosophy in terms of customer service. They really try to look out for their employees and emphasize that SW employees are part of a "family".
Hard work and innovation - if you have a great idea at SW, you can pretty much run with it. There isnt a lot of beuracracy or red tape you have to navigate through to try something new. They pride themselves on being a very creative and cost conscious airline and have remained profitable for over 20 consecutive years.
POS - positive outrageous service. Thats their catch phrase for doing whatever it takes to make customers happy.
Dont take yourself too seriously - anyone who has flown SW knows that the employess have fun. This is part of their culture.
737 - these are the only planes SW flies. That means that they save money by only needing parts of one type of plane. Also, their crews only need to know how to work on one type of plane.
Thats just the tip of the iceberg. I fly as little as possible and its been awhile since I have flown SW but I was pretty impressed with the way they have built such a strong and successful culture. SW has consistently been among the top 100 companies to work for and despite their growth, they have managed to keep their "small company" approach.
Interestingly, alot of their culture and beliefs are not written down. Instead, its just ingrained into their culture by constant repitiion and affirmation.
Comments
Their newsletter is called "LUVLines" I believe and its a pretty big deal. Their philosophy is communicate, communicate, communicate.
They want every SW employee from the top dog to the guy loading bags to know how the company is doing financially and where SW ranks in the competition with other airlines who are tryingt copy their success.
SW is so confident they even allowed cameras to film their staff for a reality show called "Airline" which showed what happens at a typical SW boarding gate. Not every customer leaves happily but its an interesting show.
Recently Southwest got a lot of bad PR for making a (supposedly) scantily clad young girl get off a flight before it departed. When it came to light that she really wasn't that provocatively dressed, everyone expected a big apology from SW but instead they stood behind the ee that made the decision to toss the customer off the plane.
BTW, Libby's written a ton of interesting-sounding books, Paul, since you like that kind of reading.
I read today that airline fares have increased 20 percent. I wonder if that includes Southwest.
Putting employees first really makes sense when you think about it. The customer is NOT always right. Some customers are grade A jerks and should be shown the door. When your employees know you care about them, I think that will trickle down to how they treat the customers who walk in the door.
SW does a lot of things right. I would have enjoyed listening to their HR person as it sounds like you did.
I recall the story about the woman who was booted off the airplane for being scantily dressed. She was a waitress for Hooters apparently. I was suprised by the decision because her clothes were not that outrageous really. Probably pretty standard apparel around the MLS offices.
The young lady has parlayed her 15 minutes of fame into a Playboy pictorial so alls well that ends well. One might even wonder if she isnt an evil mastermind with an endgame strategy from the start.
I'm not a regular flyer, but I have flown SW from Florida to LA and TN. They used to sing a thank-you song to their passengers upon landing at the target that was to the same tune as the Flinstones cartoon song. They have had a price increase. Their lowest fair price for a trip I sometimes take has been $47 OW for best available nonstop. I noticed about a week ago that it had increased to $80, nearly double.
I didn't know about the book but may look it up for pleasure reading during a holiday school break, as if work won't be enough to keep me busy.
At times the book is a bit exuberant in singing SW's praises and it could have used a tougher editor (330 pages) but overall it will make you think alot about how your own organization could learn from what SW has accomplished.
Or it will just frustrate you if you are in an organization that is unwilling to change and resistant to new ideas...