Southwest service
exemplified
IN THE BOOK The Simple
Truths of Service (Blanchard
Family Partnership, 2005), by
Ken Blanchard and Barbara
Glanz, Blanchard, noted business consultant and author,
demonstrates Southwest
Airline’s commitment to customer service.
Blanchard was due to fly
one day but forgot his identification. With no time to return
home to get it, he proceeded to
the airport. One airline gave him
nothing but hassles. But Southwest was a different story.
“I was treated very differently at Southwest Airlines,” he
writes. “When the curbside porter asked to see my identification I said, ‘Will this do?’ ”
Blanchard presented a copy
of a book he wrote with former
football coach Don Shula with
their pictures on the cover.
“One of the baggage handlers said, ‘Why don’t I go in the
terminal with you? I know the
folks in security.’
“I could have been given the
runaround, but I wasn’t. Because
Southwest Executive Chairman
Herb Kelleher and President
Colleen Barrett not only want to
give customers the lowest possible price, but also the best possible service. They set up the
whole organization to empower
everyone to make decisions, and
carry out the vision of high-quality customer service.”
Moral: “The real competitive edge you have today is how
you treat your customers.”
Barrett gave special editions of the book to her
employees, with her personal
message: “It is sent with love
and respect, and with my
thanks for all that you do on a
daily basis to enrich our
Legendary Customer Service
reputation.… Let’s go out there
and Kick Some Tail—in a
Golden Rule sort of way, of
course!”—SF
18 The Costco Connection SEPTEMBE
Colleen Barrett says,
“Our employees aren’t
shy. They’ll tell us
when we’re messing
up. And they know
we’ll listen.”
approach to air travel. It flies only Boeing 737s. There
are no reserved seats (it’s strictly first come, first served);
no food, except for snacks; and no onboard entertainment, except for the personalities of the flight personnel.
Ground crews work with the precision of a NASCAR pit
crew, turning flights around in 10 minutes.
Since beginning in three Texas cities—Dallas,
Houston and San Antonio—Southwest has expanded
to about 65 cities in 30 states. Of particular importance
to the Wall Street crowd, it has been profitable for 34
consecutive years in an industry that often finds itself
profit challenged, especially with volatile fuel prices
and rising labor costs.
Barrett was there, almost from day one, as executive assistant to Kelleher at his law firm. Finding that
most of her work concerned Southwest Airlines, she
made the formal leap to the company in 1978, serving
as secretary of the corporation, then as vice president
of administration from 1986 to 1990, executive vice
president of customers from 1990 to 2001 and president from 2001 to the present. She will serve until July
2008, when she will formally step down.
Although her training was as a legal secretary,
Barrett has a passion for communications. “I love to
communicate,” she says. “Customer service was a natural thing for me. I actually formed our first customer-relations department.”
While much of Southwest’s success and growth are
due to her insights and contributions, she is loath to
take credit. In fact, in a booklet on the history of
Southwest Airlines, commissioned for the company’s
30th birthday, Barrett’s name and picture do not
appear until the penultimate page. For many of those
who are aware of the Southwest story, Kelleher is the
face of Southwest Airlines. But many of those who
work there consider Barrett the soul.
“It’s just one of those things that evolved,” Barrett
demurs. “I was in the right place at the right time.”
When it’s pointed out
that one would be hard-pressed to find women in
leadership positions at other
airlines, Barrett quickly adds,
“They’re not there.” But she
refuses to take any credit
for shattering the so-called
glass ceiling.
SOU THWEST AIRLINES
“This wouldn’t have
happened at anywhere but
Southwest,” she laughs. “I’m
a girl from the sticks of
Vermont, I had no college
education really to speak
of, I had nobody pushing
me along to succeed. But
Southwest started 52 percent
female, and it’s still 52 percent female. There is no glass
ceiling at Southwest Airlines.
I don’t think we even see
gender particularly.”
She gives credit to Kelleher for that. “I know
Herb didn’t see gender,” she says. “He saw performance, pure and simple.”
Building the team
In any endeavor, having the right people in place is
the overriding factor in success. A play or movie fails
without the right cast and creative people. A sports
team ends up in the cellar without the best talent at
key positions. And a business cannot maintain profitability without dedicated employees with the best
skills and attitude for the work. Barrett, above all else,
recognizes this.
“We’re very, very disciplined about hiring and
we’re very, very disciplined about mentoring and
coaching,” she explains. “We’re a very forgiving company in terms of good honest mistakes, but we’re not
at all forgiving about attitude and behavior and
demeanor.”
Beyond the initial makeup of the employee,
Barrett stresses empowerment. “I think that’s one of
the neatest freedoms that we give to our people: We
give them the freedom to be themselves, the freedom
of individuality.”
Listening to Southwest employees speak, especially Barrett, you won’t hear the word “I.” The company promotes a team attitude, and every employee
has a vested interest in Southwest’s success.
(Employees own 13 to 14 percent of company stock
and share in profits.) Nevertheless, while teamwork
is important, the contribution of the individual is
paramount and thoroughly encouraged.
“Our folks really get that it’s OK to make decisions on their own,” boasts Barrett. “They don’t have
to go through 15 layers.” As to the argument that
lower-level employees might give away the store,
Barrett says, “That’s baloney! They are just trying to
do the right thing for people. They know when
