Generating Customer ill-will from unrelated events

Unfortunate events happen in relationships between customers and vendors.  Doctors run late for appointments. Items that you order fail to show up on time due to a snow storm and sometimes an airplane lands and doesn’t have a gate to park at yet.  We’ve likely all had one of these things happen.

But when you mix an unfortunate event together with a company policy that annoys the customer, your customer is much less likely to dismiss the unfortunate event as an annoyance and will hold you accountable.  As you can likely surmise, I am getting personal here.

I am writing this post coming back to Boston from Buffalo on Jet Blue.   I don’t fly them often, and since their unfortunate (there’s that word again) event at JFK a couple of years ago, I have tended to not fly them if JFK is in the itinerary.  But my brother has been having a good experience with them of late, and I figured with a direct flight to Buffalo, I’d be okay.  The flight left on time and got in on time and was just fine until we landed and parked – not at the terminal.  It seems that Jet Blue only has 2 gates in Buffalo and had a broken aircraft at one and the other was full.  So we sat on the ground for 25 minutes till we could park.   I thought of JFK and those trapped passengers, but figured “what the heck”, its an isolated incident, not worth writing or complaining about.   Until I got on my return flight.

Now if you want to guarantee yourself an exit row seat on Jet Blue, you can have one for an extra $10.   On Southwest, the equivalent would be to purchase the early-bird check in for $10 – which makes it more likely you get the seat you want.  I did not pay the $10 and took my chances.  So I was on the flight and there are 2 exit row seats open in front of me.   I moved up and took one.  No sooner than I had buckled the seat belt than a flight attendant showed up, asked me for my boarding pass and told me I had to pay for the seat if I wanted it.  He said it “wasn’t fair” since the other guy across the aisle had paid $10 for his seat.  And my point back was that the other guy was guaranteed an exit seat for that $10.  I wasn’t.  He got what he paid for. (I wonder if everyone else on the plane paid the same fare I did – I kind of doubt it – and is that “fair”) . Anyway, I had to move back to my seat and the exit row remained open for the flight.  And you can be pretty sure that I am not getting on Jet Blue again unless there is NO other choice.

So, my point in all this is that isolated events get dismissed – either one of those events that occurred with Jet Blue, by themselves, would not have really bugged me – both together, however, provoked a response because I really do question their commitment to having satisfied customers.  Its no different than the utility that wants to charge you for a home visit and then doesn’t show up, but won’t respect your time back by giving you the next visit for free or a credit on your bill.

Maybe I’m off base, and I know the customer is not always right, but letting the “little things go” earns you good will with your customers.  And goodwill in the bank makes your next mistake as a vendor a little easier for your customers to accept.

So is my thinking wrong here?   What do you think?

– Additional comments added February 11, 2010:  Jet Blue sent me a customer satisfaction survey to fill out.  When I my first comment was that I was unlikely to recommend them, they offered to let me leave the survey immediately (didn’t want bad news?).  But I continued.  2 pages into the survey, the survey tool froze.  Seems like they can’t get the feedback part right either!

Tagged as: Customer Service, Jet Blue, Travel hassles