Why Southwest Air gets it

Sure, no airline is perfect. But I have to admit Southwest comes pretty darn close.

Why? They know that good PR comes down to one thing: happy customers. It’s a tough job, especially when you are an airline.

But when they do it, they do it well.

I just learned on Twitter, directly from Southwest (Yes, even they are on Twitter!) that they’ve teamed up with The Container Store to wrap passengers gifts at the Southwest Airline Gates in Dallas, Denver and Phoenix.

It may not seem like a big deal but think about it for a moment…

Thousands of passengers carry their gifts on board, because they don’t want them lost. (Hey, even Southwest can’t control ALL of the delays!) But the gifts have to pass through security unwrapped – a real bummer if you have to fly then wrap.  So by providing this service, they spread a little more cheer.

And when passengers are happy, they become repeat customers – and evangelists.

I’ll even admit that I am one of their evangelists. When I was in the early stages of my pregnancy with my twins, I was sicker than a dog in the morning when I had to catch a flight from LA to Albany.  When I step out of the cab and threw up at the airport. When I explained the problem, they gave me some crackers and water, found me a quiet place to lay down, took care of my check in and bag, and escorted me to the plane when it was time to take off. They also made sure the crew knew of my situation, as well. (And they did just a good a job as they ground folks did!)

So I do sing their praises.

But the real question is: how are you going to create that experience so others sing your praises?

Image credit: maniacmiler18, on Flickr