I admire Jet Blue the brand, and I like the airline. Jet Blue has done a terrific job at creating a distinctive brand and generating customer loyalty. Many adore Jet Blue. One savvy business traveler I know flies nothing else, if he can help it. But I’m not sure I love Jet Blue as much as I’m supposed to–or quite as much as they love themselves.
Plenty to like
As a brand, JetBlue is distinctive and memorable. Customer-centric focus permeates the experience, starting with an easy website and low fares. Check-in is streamlined and orderly. Roomy seats, DirectTV and ample free sodas and snacks make the in-flight experience pleasant. Crews tend to be affable, real people who seem to enjoy their work. Jet Blue’s friendly, irreverent advertising complements the feeling of difference vs. ordinary airlines.
Indeed, with two cross-country trips on United vs. Jet Blue within two weeks, I could experience the difference first-hand.
United in outrage
United left no opportunity to irritate customers untapped, from a clunky website with relentless upselling (reprised afresh at airport check-in kiosks) to a cumbersome and anger-provoking boarding experience. Predictably, United’s steep checked baggage fees created a carry-on nightmare. I actually heard a customer yell “I hate United!” while we were stalled in the jetway, as dozens of passengers were forced to gate-check bags unexpectedly. By contrast, my Nerd Bird Boston/San Jose trip on Jet Blue was a breeze.
Post-flight letdown: The self-satisfaction survey
Bathos: an effect of anticlimax created by an unintentional lapse in mood from the sublime to the trivial or ridiculous. –New Oxford American Dictionary
I enjoy everything about Jet Blue…until I get their little e-mail survey. Whoever writes their survey has been so thoughtful, they’ve even invented new happy faces to give us extra options to rave about them!
Were we a Wow?
Or merely Outstanding?
Smug is ugly. And entirely unnecessary. In Greek mythology, Icarus ignored instructions not to fly too close to the sun–and plunged to his death. Hubris has led to the fall of many a company as well. Jet Blue would do well to bask in the glow of genuine customer delight, without fueling its own mythmaking.
Would it have mattered if they had reversed the order of the faces?
I agree that ordering them the way they did – with your first two choices being “Wow!” and “Outstanding” – does ooze hubris.
Great question, Andre. While switching the order of the smiley faces would have helped, the response options are still tilted toward a positive rating for Jet Blue. Most rating scales have an equal number of positive and negative options with a neutral in the middle. Jet Blue offers 3 positives and 2 negatives, assuming Average is neutral. So they’re still pretty stuck on themselves, I’m sorry to say.
Ha! That is funny. I stopped after glancing at Wow, Outstanding, and Terrible.
I blame my short, web-driven-attention span.