No, not because I was one of the unlucky passengers to be stranded at JFK last week (or detained on a plane on the tarmac for 10 hours… my idea of hell). But because I FedExed overnight a signed copy of The Corporate Blogging Book to CEO David Neeleman at JetBlue’s headquarters in Forest Hills, NY.
I enclosed a note, commending Chapter 5 (with tips on CEO blogging) and suggested a number of ways JetBlue could improve Neeleman’s blog.
Quick fixes for JetBlue CEO David Neeleman’s blog
#1 is to make it a real blog, powered by blogging software, accepting Comments, offering an RSS feed, etc. #2 was to update the blog. When I sent my book on Feb. 21st, the blog hadn’t been updated since Feb. 1, 2007. #3 was to hire me to help them power up the blog with a new strategy, etc. Well, it never hurts to be direct…
Less than 24 hours after I dropped off the book at FedEx, “Carol” from his office called and left me a voicemail. “We got your book,” she said, “and we’ve passed it on to Corporate Communications. If they’re interested, they’ll get in touch with you.”
Well they haven’t gotten in touch with me. But JetBlue’s corporate comms team did update the blog on Feb. 22nd, the day they received my book. Coincidence? Perhaps. (Whether or not there’s a connection, I was impressed that they took the time to acknowledge receipt of the book and make a phone call.)
The Feb. 22nd entry is a re-post of the JetBlue mea culpa email that many folks received, myself included. (Er guys, don’t recycle content on your blog. Write something new even if it’s just a few sentences; then link to the text of the email if it’s posted elsewhere on your site. And if it’s not the CEO blogging, say so.)
The post also includes a link to David’s YouTube video announcing JetBlue’s Customer Bill of Rights. (I suggested in my letter that they embed the video in the blog; this is a start.)
Finally… Neeleman posts to his blog
A second new post appeared on Feb. 23rd. (I just noticed it; I was on jury duty yesterday.) This one sounds like Neeleman might possibly have written it himself. It starts off:
Hi everyone,
I can’t thank you enough for the letters,
emails and phone calls to our company expressing your support and
graciously accepting my apology. We are making good progress on the
necessary changes we have to make to ensure you never go through again
what happened last week.I’m also hearing from a lot of
customers who we may have confused with our Bill of Rights. Below are
some Q&A that our team put together to answer your most frequently
asked questions. I will also post an easier-to-read compensation chart
by Friday (Mar. 2) so check back here.Thank you again for giving us another chance to earn your business and loyalty.
-David
A multi-author blog like SouthWest’s might work better for JetBlue
The blog still needs work. Call me, JetBlue, if you read this. I’d be delighted to work with you. One idea (thanks John Cass; I’d already thought of this): make it a multi-author blog like SouthWest’s. Neeleman comes off as not very articulate in this Face Time Q &A with BusinessWeek’s Maria Bartiromo. No doubt
he’s under a lot of pressure. But perhaps he’s not the right guy to be
authoring JetBlue’s blog.
P.S. Thanks to author Andrea Nierenberg for giving me the idea of sending my book to JetBlue.
Useful Links
BusinessWeek knocks JetBlue off its list of Top 25 Customer Service Companies.
JetBlueHostage.com – passenger Genevieve McCaw’s blog (twice featured on CNN)
Technorati (blog posts tagged “jetblue”)