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JetBlue Valentine’s Day crisis—The case for Chief Reputation Officer (CRO).

Written by: Emmanuel A. Smart

Article Overview: A good organization reputation is invaluable. CEO’s spare no expense in their efforts to restore their company reputation when threatened or damaged in a crisis. This article examines JetBlue’s response strategies in the 2007 Valentine’s Day jetliners’ grounding crisis on New York’s JFK’s frozen airport runway. It makes the case for chief reputation officer. Reputation is simply too important to be left to chance.

JetBlue Valentine’s Day crisis—The case for Chief Reputation Officer (CRO).

JetBlue founder and CEO, David G. Neeleman, deserves an A+ in his crisis management efforts in the Valentine’s Day jetliners’ grounding. Underscoring his appreciation for the seriousness of the crisis and the danger of reputation damage, he has been front and center in the fight. He has appeared on every form of media to communicate with JetBlue’s stakeholders. Contrite, direct and to the point, Neeleman’s well-crafted messages have been: “We learned a huge lesson.” “We made a mistake, we take full responsibility.” “I am humiliated and mortified.” – A refreshing change, according to the editorial page of February 22 Houston Chronicle. Evasiveness, pontification, shifting the blame only exacerbates the crisis, increasing the chance for further reputational damage.

A damaged reputation has far reaching, long term negative ramifications on a company’s good name, operations and bottom line. ExxonMobil still bears the scars from its 1989 Valdez oil spill environmental crisis; Houston based Enron Corporation is no more. The cost of reputation neglect is simply too high to pay. Smart organizations, therefore, spare no expense and no efforts in their quest for survival when facing a threat to their reputation.
That’s the reason for announcing the $30 million dollars overhaul of procedures at JetBlue. That’s the reason for proposing a rather capitulating passengers’ bill of rights guaranteeing refunds and vouchers for delays caused by the airline in the future. It remains to be seen, however, how effective JetBlue’s efforts are long term, based on the number of return passengers.
Though nearly flawlessly executed by David G Neeleman, crisis response strategies, by themselves, have inherent flaws. Firstly, they are reactive, missing two very crucial elements: benchmarks and right timing to launch. Secondly, they depend on too many unknowns for success: possible new damning revelations, misquotes, unexpected lawsuits, and so on. Thirdly, cynics are more likely to question JetBlue’s motives for such generosity after a potentially devastating crisis. A proactive approach to crisis management, on the other hand, provides a better chance for survival. Imagine if the bulk of the same proposals from Neeleman were put forward before the crisis, by a duly appointed chief reputation officer of the company. Not only would the overhauling price tag be far less than $30 million, the proposed customer bill of rights would probably have been less conciliatory, yet be just as effective, possibly enhancing JetBlue’s already solid reputation. From a proactive stance, the chief reputation officer would have carefully monitored the situation for benchmarks and the all-important crisis “tipping point” to launch a planned response, saving the company precious time.

“What were they thinking?
The 2007 JetBlue’s Valentine’s Day crisis falls in the category: “what were they thinking?” Firstly, it was Valentine’s Day. Secondly, most of the travelers literally could not wait to get to their destinations to see their loved ones. Thirdly, and most importantly, any form of captivity for one, two, three, four, five, six, and in one case, nine hours on an airport runway was simply bad PR! Six to nine plane-loads of stranded, hungry, tired and angry executives, men, women and children, for however many hours, was the wrong image to project no matter JetBlue’s pre-crisis stellar reputation.

Chief reputation officer
Because JetBlue built its reputation as a low-cost carrier, financial considerations possibly dominated the company’s thinking during the crisis. More than its bank account, this debacle will dent JetBlue’s reputation, an even more valuable, and hard to replace asset to the company. Just as JetBlue has a chief financial officer in charge of financial matters, it needs a chief reputation officer or CRO to take charge of company reputation. His or her core mission will be to create, shape and fiercely protect the company’s hard earned reputation. The cost of reputation neglect is simply too high to pay.

Emmanuel A. Smart is founder of SMART EXPRESSIONS a strategic communication and public relations firm based in Houston, TX. Smart Expressions conducts in-house and monthly public seminar on building, managing and capitalizing on individuals’ and organizations’ good reputation. For more information, visit http://www.smartexpressions.com; call 443-824-0780 or email: esmart@smartexpressions.com.

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