Smart Business

I have been reading a little on the net about Delta and the 'crisis' that they are in with labor issues, financial troubles and their indifference to customer complaints starting to haunt them  In 2010 they had multiple troubles, on the same day, more than once.  I'm not an expert, never been to school for business and I don't know the first thing about running an airline but I can assure you that is no way to run a company of any kind.

I'm reminded of a story I heard a few months ago but it has stuck with me.  On September 8th, 2010 a series of thunderstorms was forecast to hit the Dallas metropolitan area bringing everything you would expect; heavy rains, strong winds and the possibility of hail and even tornado's.  In anticipation of the sever weather many employees of major airlines servicing DFW either called in sick or began to take early time off as the day would be cut short by cancelled flights anyway.  As a result several flights were delayed long before the inclimate weather even reached Ft. Worth.  By mid afternoon DFW was a mass of late departing flights and a quagmire on the runways as incoming flights had no where to go.  As rain started to fall in short but heavy spurts the major airlines acted accordingly and began cancelling flights altogether.  But that was their own problem, caused by their people and not the weather.  Mother nature just provided an excuse.  By early evening it only got worse as the airport began to crawl to a pedestrian speed.

During the same time about 18 miles away at Love Field, or DAL, Southwest Airlines were running as scheduled.  Staff and ground employees along with everyone in between worked as diligent as ever to ensure that arriving flights were brought in on time, the planes were 'turned around' and departing flights would not only take off in a timely manner but would arrive at destinations on time, every time.  At sometime after 7 in the evening the local Doppler radar detected a possible tornado approaching DAL.  As expected the airport began shuffling passengers and crew members towards shelter.  Stories abound that rather than seeking shelter some of the grounds crews outside the terminal worked twice as hard to load some planes faster, button them up and then seek shelter until after the rouge cell passed.  Really?  They worked HARDER to help complete the mission?  Why would they do that?

It  turns out that the tornado passed just south of the airport but did cause some damage to the surrounding area.  Crews were immediately dispatched to check for debris on the the tarmac, in the rain and the wind mind you.  Flights got a little backed up as delays of 35 minutes were created by the weather system.  But, as you would want every airline to do, Southwest personnel buckled down and went to work harder than normal in order to get back on time.  Crazy right?

Why would the super airlines have to cancel hundreds flights, at an airport that sees thunderstorms several times a year, and yet another smaller airline at an inferior facility could continue on with minor delays?  Better equipment perhaps, better people or maybe better emergency preparedness?  No, nope and nada.  Then what was it that made their day different, why break the accepted 'normalcy' of how the others acted?  Simple really, it was the people that were willing to make it happen.  But why them, why then?  Another easy answer; Southwest treats their people right.

There are no unions for the attendants, ground crews and pilots.  There is no super structure of company representatives, union delegates and mid level third party observers to argue over minute details and cry foul while real work does not get done.  There are no memos sent out about how to treat a supervisor when you are asked to do something you don't want to do.  Instead there are open lines of communication going both ways.  Employees on the ground know that they are important and that they are part of something special, something bigger than them.  Southwest has a clear mission to provide a better travel experience than their competitors all while doing so at a lower price.  There is a sense of pride in the employees vs. the sense of entitlement you see at other airlines.  Ever had a bad experience at a Southwest counter or a snobby flight attendant?  (I did, once, and called the counter lady out on it.  She simply stated it was marital problems and she was extremely sorry for her attitude.  I've had those same problems, can't say I blamed her much if you know what I mean.)

Southwest people work at making sure you have a good experience.  There are smiles everywhere, humor in some cases and efficiency at every point.  Look at the boarding process.  There is no calling for twenty different passengers who have not checked in yet.  Nor is there any worrying about zones, silver platinum gold super passengers and what not.  Everyone in line like a stable, you pick your seat once you're on and there is definitely less waiting to sit down.  Speaking of the people, ever noticed that your fellow passengers are a little nicer too? just saying.  But what about the planes themselves.  Southwest can 'turn' a plane in less than 30 minutes on average.  That is landing, porting, debarking of passengers, refueling, replenishing, inspection, crew swap if necessary, loading of passengers, pushing off, taxiing to the runway and wheels up.  Are you kidding me, in less time than it takes Perfect Couples to go from start to finish?  The airline industry standard for major carriers, damn near twice that.

It's all about how you treat your people.  You treat them right, give them ownership of the mission and it's outcome and you can make anything happen.  You make the work place a great place to conduct business and I assure you the customer experience is amplified.  So why don't the other airlines get it?  Do they not care or is it just that they do not know how to change.  You can argue that if would be difficult to make the changes but certainly not hard.  The unions that represent the workers would most definitely fight a change as they are there to make money.  Make no bones about it, in the end that is all the unions care about, their bottom line and not the care of the people they represent.  But the airlines can make strides by simply making an effort.  I don't care what if you fly buses of sell fruits and nuts at a pet store, or manage any of the above because it's all the same.  How do you make for a great customer experience, you make for a great work place first.

And having those two together are one in the same.  Just Smart Business.