JetBlue Buys You Pizza While You're Fogged In At Portland International Airport
Reader Karolyn was fogged in at Portland International Airport last night. She writes:
Hey. Flying to JFK from Portland tonight. The flight keeps getting pushed back and the flight tracker on the website is getting updated before the gate agents are. It's so foggy that it's difficult to see the ground below the terminal windows, so the situation is obviously out of the agents' hands. To compensate, they've set out several pizzas and bottled water for the waiting passengers. People seem pretty stoked. Might this be a new addition to their customer bill of rights?Hey, that's nice! Good job, JetBlue.
We asked JetBlue if they really do order pizza and their spokesperson, Sebastian, responded: "You know, JetBlue has been doing pizza ordering since we started seven years ago -- people seem to love it!"
Sebastian explains that JetBlue in an "innovator" in the airline pizza ordering sector:
"In fact, it seems as though our innovative approach to taking care of our customers on delayed flights has influenced other airlines. We've heard reports that other airlines have started serving pizza to their customers when delayed due to weather. Good for them - and great for the airline customer."
We had no idea.
(Photo:Thanks, Karolyn!)
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Comments:
Good job on the part of the gate agents.
Bad job on the part of the company - the gate agents should always be notified immediately of any schedule changes - even if it's just some sort of automated notification that the database the website pulls from has also changed.
It's always bad form when a customer/client has more information about a delay or problem than the companies own representatives.
You see, airlines? It isn't THAT hard, or even THAT expensive to turn a large crowd of annoyed customers into patiently understanding customers. Kudos, JetBlue.
@bedofnails: You, sir, are a narrow-minded, "omg I only want thin chicks", flaming asshole. Go fuck yourself.
Let's ALL keep comments related to the topic at hand (airline delays/customer relations). Thank you.
I was weather-dealyed in Boston and JetBlue did the same thing. The best part of their response was keeping us well-informed about the nature and timing of the delay. Most airlines force their customers to wait in line to ask the same questions over and over again (i.e., why are we delayed, when are we leaving, when will we likely be at our destination, when do we cut our losses). JetBlue told us what we wanted to know and kept us updated. I haven't had a bad experience with them yet but I didn't fly during that winter debacle.
I agree she doesn't need the pizza. Americans are just too damn fat!
@joebloe:
And apparently some are too stupid to read the moderator comment.
Good job on the customer service JetBlue. I'm sure this cost them all of about $50 to keep their customers happy instead of losing hundreds on customers who go elsewhere.
Go JetBlue! Too bad they don't fly by me. :/
In case you were wondering, it's called the "international" Jetport because it has one flight a day to canada
I wonder how they keep the rest of the airport from coming over and scarfing up the pizza. If there's one thing I know from Sims, when you put pizza out, people show up from miles around.
P.S. JetBlue rolled the plane's beverage carts out for us to get some sodas to go with our pizza that night.
You know the best thing to do in a flight delay situation is to keep travelers' minds off the delay. Pizza? Everyone loves pizza. Free beverages? Hey, we all feel a little thirsty, right? Go JetBlue.
Ahh.... Behold: the power of cheese.
I don't really care for pies when made in bulk. The kids behind the counter only cook'em halfass. I think a $5-10 voucher towards a meal anywhere in the airport would work better. They could even come up with some sort of promotional, perhaps even "Extended Delay Deals" instead of "Extra Value Meals".
Better then no pizza at all. Some creative thinking there.
@Hinomura: I worked at one for a year. Might get a snack and a drink at most.
Airport pizza always gives me stomach issues...but it's pretty sweet that JetBlue did that.
@MissJ: It's not that we can be bought off so easily, it's that the airline made an effort to treat their customers like human beings instead of enemies who need to be controlled. I think it speaks volumes about airline travel nowadays that treating customers humanely is the exception and not the rule.
Now if Jetblue could just fly me to Phoenix without having to go from Dulles to JFK first (and offer a better price) I'd be all over them.
Good job, Jetblue? Pizza is for homeless people!
@ext212: Its the tought that counts...
Heck if that ever happens to me and all they have is instant ramen, I'll be satisfied.
It's a great way to avoid angry people.
Some folks just don't care that the fog is too thick to fly safely and will happily ruin someone elses day over it.
Great work, Jet Blue!
I used to do this in my restaurants when the waits got long.
Nothing placates a bunch of pissy folks who have waited too long like mozzaralla sticks.
Maybe it's the cheese? Cheese DOES solve everything....
@CONSUMERIST MODERATOR - ACAMBRAS
@MOPAR_MAN
While I don't agree with the comment, I do want to stick up for JOEBLOE and say look at the time stamps... it's possible he didn't see the moderator comment before posting his own. Pay attention before you call someone else stupid.
@lisa1120:
Although I did not call anyone stupid, I agree that I might have jumped the gun on JoeBloe -- 2 minutes is not a long time in the blogosphere.
BedofNails, on the other hand, has had three hours to read my comment, but still hasn't gotten the message. THAT'S when I'm tempted to use the s-word.
I have to say, I have never experienced service like Jet Blue provides. They really do deserve their stellar reputation. I have flown quite a few airlines, and none of them has ever compared to the excellent service I've always received from Jet Blue. Why is it so hard for the other airlines to follow suit?
If only other airlines even attempted to keep their passengers happy during long delays. The other week, I, my wife, my toddler and a good 100 other people were stuck in LAX for an extra 7 hours waiting for China Eastern to fix a problem with our plane. Nobody seemed to know what the problem was or when it would be fixed, either at the gate or at the China Eastern LA offices. When I called the office and asked them whether we were going to be given some sort of meal voucher, they claimed they were merely ticket agents. When I asked the reps at the desk about some sort of voucher, they said the office was in charge. I told the rep what the office said about the on-site agents being in charge of all decisions and his face went red and he whipped out his cel phone as fast as humanly possible.
About 10 minutes later, a full 5 hours in to our delay (7 hours after we arrived at the gate), we were given $10 meal vouchers. Yay.
Before you all go patting them on the back, please realize they gave them pizza that was presumably bought in Portland, OR. Not even US Airways is that mean to their customers.
That girl doesn't need pizza.