Think Customers: The 1to1 Blog

Crewmembers, he said, are the one attribute that cannot be duplicated by a competitor. Hard assets, like snack and legroom, can; but not people. "People make the difference," he said. "Pick the right people and keep them engaged and informed."

The company has 11,000 crewmembers and none are union. According to St. George, JetBlue prefers this because it wants an open relationship with crewmembers in which there is direct communication. One way the airline communicates is through orientation, which every new employee attends, including senior leaders. Another is through JetBlue's core values and five Be's, which St. George said are integral to the airline's success.

The values are safety, caring, integrity, fun, and passion; they're printed on the back of everyone's ID badge to remind crewmembers how important they are. The five Be's are behaviors that earn customer satisfaction. They include be the answer, be engaging, and be personal.

"It's impossible to predict every customer scenario," St. George said, so you need to empower and inform employees to enable them to make best decisions they can for the customer and the company.

JetBlue also supports its crewmembers with a no-furlough policy. It may be tough to do in the current economy, but it's worth it, St. George said. Knowing that the company is behind you is a great way to build employee engagement. In fact, standing behind employees is also an aspect of JetBlue's social media strategy. Some customers who don't get the resolution they're seeking (for example, being charged a change fee they don't want to pay) are complaining on Twitter or other sites to try to go around the original crewmember and get the outcome they're seeking that way. JetBlue's approach is to stand behind its crewmembers' decisions, so as not to undermine their authority and demotivate them.

One fun way JetBlue engages crewmembers is to share its successes with them. Like the NHL's Stanley Cup, shared briefly by each member of the winning team, some crewmembers get time with the JD Power & Associates awards JetBlue has won for outstanding service. The award actually gets a seat on a plane (and the crew makes an announcement to passengers about it) as it goes from city to city. Crewmembers can take it around the city to take photos of themselves and the awards with city landmarks.

St. George reminded attendees that customer today are desperate for value, so it's vital be positive and remember your brand's roots. "We recognize that we're only as good as the last customer experience," he said. And crewmembers play a vital role in delivering that experience.