...Back From Spring Break!

... I have good news and bad news. The bad news is my spring break is over, but the good news is that Southwest got me home safe in the midst of a terrible northeastern snow storm. The service was great and on time. I was very satisfied. Below are a couple pictures I took from the plane, enjoy :)

Giving To The Community Through Ronald McDonald...

The president of Southwest Airlines, Colleen Barrett, said directly on the Southwest website, “You give life, personality, spirit, and LUV to our Company, and these are qualities of which few companies can boast. It is quite a privilege to have you share with us your individual and collective achievements.”

Southwest believes in giving charity and the company has effected the lives of many people. Over the past twenty years Southwest has been apart of the Ronald McDonald House Program, it is the company's primary corporate charity. The Ronald McDonald House Program helps to improve the well-being of children and their families who are in need.

Southwest sponsors an annual "LUV Classic Golf Tournament" and all the proceeds go to the Ronald McDonald House Program. Southwest has helped raise over nine million dollars in the past twenty years!!

I Interrupt This Intense Blogging Session To Tell You...

.....I coincidentally just got off the phone with a Southwest employee who was very helpful to me. I am flying to Orlando for spring break this weekend and needed to change my return flight home. I booked the flight through my credit card company, they said the itinerary could not be changed and was non-refundable. However, when I called Southwest they told me different. The company allowed me to change my flight for no penalty fee, I actually saved $70, wow! I am also a fan of Spirit Airlines, but last time I changed my flight plans through their company I was charged $50, not cool. Anyways, I know this post is totally random, but I just wanted explain how I just experienced Southwest's mission, I am a satisfied customer.

TODAY In The News...

I found an article from the Dallas Morning News tittled, "Southwest plumps its image as other airlines cut amenities." The article explains how many airlines are starting to charge passengers for snacks and even contemplating the idea of charging for soft drinks, but Southwest is not traveling down that path. The article goes on to mention how Southwest finds it humorous that other companies are charging their passengers for things that should be included in the airfare, one Southwest commercial shows someone having to insert a coin in order to use the overhead luggage compartment.

Southwest wants their customers to know that they are not like other airlines and will not change to be like them. Today, airlines are experiencing heavy competition and many have filed bankruptcy, but not Southwest.

Southwest has never been known as an airline that offers satellite television or full meals. Southwest has always wanted to be known as the airline that gets their customers to their destination for a low cost, not known as an airline with several amenities. As this article explains, some people criticize Southwest for not having assigned seating. Southwest will continue to defend their seating policy because the company is not losing customers. Southwest will never try to squeeze all the pennies out of their customers, always remember Southwest puts customers before profit.

...Humor Above The Clouds...

Southwest is known for having funny flight attendants. I found this video on YouTube, it is a clip of a flight attendant singing to the passengers on Christmas Day, everyone was clapping and seemed to have loved the entertainment.

In an interview with CEO Herb Kelleher, done by Strategy & Business Magazine, the interviewer asked him why the Southwest flight attendants sing and he answered with, "Southwest flight attendants sing because they want to. We don’t program our flight attendant training to teach people to sing or tell jokes. What we say is, “If that is your basic personality, feel free to go ahead and do it.” We’re not trying to train you to be anything different from what you really are. If singing buoys up your heart, makes you feel good, go ahead and do it. We have tried to say to our people, “You don’t have to put on a mask, you don’t have to be an automaton when you come to work. You can just be yourself.” Wasn’t it Robert Frost who said, “Isn’t it a shame that people’s minds work furiously until they get to work?” Well, that’s because they feel that they become artificial and constrained by the workplace."

Well, while I have you in the humorous mood, take a look at this clip. The clip is about a funny Southwest flight attendant named Matt, he explains why he likes to tell jokes on the aircraft and you can watch some of the funny things he does to enlighten the passengers.

Enough With The Seriousness And Onto Some Fun Facts...

While surfing Southwest's website I found some fun facts directly from their Southwest Airlines Fact Sheet. These facts are very interesting...

• Southwest received 284,827 resumes and hired 3,363 new Employees in 2006.
• In 2006 Southwest served 61.5 million cans of soda, juices, and water; 10.9 million alcoholic beverages; 5 million bags of pretzels; 93.8 million bags of peanuts; 16 million snackpacks; and 35.4 million other snacks.
• Southwest consumed 1.6 billion gallons of jet fuel in 2006.
• In 2006 Southwest moved 265 million pounds of cargo and mail.
• The shortest daily Southwest flight is between Ft. Myers (RSW) and Orlando (MCO) (133 miles). The longest daily Southwest flight is between Philadelphia (PHL) and Oakland (OAK) (2,510 miles).
• Southwest has 1,133 married couples. In other words, 2,266 Southwest Employees have spouses who also work for the Company.

......WOW!! 284,827 resumes and Southwest only hired 3,363 new employees. Those numbers prove that Southwest is looking for employees who are really eager to help the company with customer satisfaction. When I read the fact that Southwest moved 265 million pounds of cargo and mail I was shocked, I had no idea the company dealt with cargo. I was astonished when I learned the number of married couples working for the company... how cute ;)

Take A Look Into The Blogosphere... I'm Not The Only Southwest Blog In Cyberspace!

Southwest has created their very own blog on their website titled, "Nuts About Southwest," I urge you to check it out! How ironic, the opening of their blog says, "FORTUNE'S MOST ADMIRED COMPANIES."

Anyone can leave a comment on their blog, it is very interesting to read other's comments about the airline. I think I'll comment on Southwest's blog, after all I do want to become part of their BLOGOSPHERE

In relation to Southwest being one of the TOP 10 companies on Fortune's 500 List, one person commented saying, "Southwest should be ranked #1. They are the GREATEST company in the world!!!!!" How's that for customer satisfaction??

I came across an article written in USA Today titled, "Southwest Airlines blog takes off." The article was written in April of 2006 and it explains how Southwest created the blog because they figured it would be a great way to connect with their customers. An interesting point was brought up in this article, what would Southwest do if a negative comment was posted on their blog? After posting my own comment on "Nuts About Southwest," the website told me that my comment would be viewed and approved before becoming public. This article states that Southwest will expect negative comments and the company plans on dealing with them from an airline carrier's point of view.


SIDENOTE: After the USA Today article explains how Southwest plans on dealing with negative comments on their blog, the article states, "Southwest took the same approach when it decided a couple years ago to participate in a cable television reality show that follows its employees as they deal with angry passengers and other problems." I have personally watched Southwest's television show on A&E and I believe it is a great way for the company to show their customers that their company isn't perfect but will do all they can in their power to help satisfy their customers, even their angry customers and show what it is they do to solve company problems.

On the top left of my blog I have included an RSS feed to Southwest's company blog, enjoy :)