Gurus On Marketing

Service with soul
‘There are 50 ways to leave your lover,
but only six exits from the airplane…’
START OF THE SAFETY ANNOUNCEMENT SOUTHWEST AIRLINES
‘Southwest Airlines is so far ahead of the
competition it hardly seems fair…’
While Kelleher gives his customers a great deal and a great time, he’s
clear that people of Southwest come first – even if it means dismissing
customers! Are customers always right? ‘No, they are not ‘, Kelleher
snaps. ‘I think that’s one of the biggest betrayals of your people you
can possibly commit. The customer is frequently wrong. We don’t
carry those sorts of customers. We write them and say, ‘Fly somebody
else. Don’t abuse our people.’
Want to increase customer-service consciousness? Forget banking
orders. Or issuing a ‘Customers First’ vision statement (plasticised,
of course). Instead:
• Prominently post customer-service statistics all over the
place.
• Distribute all good and bad customer letters to everyone. (Do
mark over any offending employee’s names in the letter – public
humiliation is hardly the point.)
• Plaster pictures of customers (buyers, products, facilities, etc.)
all over the walls.
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GURUS ON MARKETING