Remorse is one thing. But change means you took your customers’ experience to heart. The companies customers love make lasting change so no other customers experience what went wrong.
This is exactly what CEO Harry Kraemer, President of Baxter International Inc. did when dialysis patient deaths began in August 2001 across Europe. Rather than waiting to know who was at fault, Baxter took accountability immediately, with a global recall of all of the filters and a hold on distribution of warehoused filters.
It was finally determined that a fluid made by another company was not flushed out of some of the filters during equipment testing had entered patients’ bloodstreams during dialysis, causing the deaths. Even though this error, grave as it was, was not caused by Baxter, their equipment was involved. CEO Kraemer didn’t blame others and didn’t hide the facts. He apologized with heartfelt empathy and humility. He shut down the plants that made the filters. Baxter settled with all families involved.
Kraemer’s decision to act was guided by his values. Under his watch, he made sure Baxter could live those values by opening up dialogue on translating values into appropriate action. In this instance, those actions cost Baxter $189 million. And that’s not all. Kraemer asked the board to reduce his 2001 bonus by 40%.
As a result of this 2001 crisis, their stock dropped, but it soon recovered. The financial community applauded the straightforward talk and recovery. And Baxter’s employees got a lesson: the congruence between values and decisions even in a tragedy buoyed employees’ faith in the company and its leader. Kraemer was flooded with messages from proud employees. He said in an interview after the incident, “If the values are authentic, then so are the decisions and actions.”
Some decisions are tough, but making the right ones will signal your values – what you believe in and if your decisions are guided by them.
Decide to Say Sorry – How JetBlue Did It
David Neeleman, founder and CEO, didn’t mess around waiting when the ice volcano caused JetBlue Airlines operational challenges impacting their customers. this company decided to say sorry.
Words cannot express how truly sorry we are for the anxiety, frustration and inconvenience…
This is especially saddening because JetBlue was founded on the promise of bringing humanity back to air travel……
Second, they were humbled: We are sorry and embarrassed.
Thirdly, like Baxter, they took the hit for something they didn’t do: We know we failed to deliver on this promise last week….. You deserved better – a lot better – from us last week and we let you down.
AND, finally like Baxter, they promise to learn and change from a mistake!
Taking immediate corrective steps to regain your confidence in us. We have begun putting a comprehensive plan in place to provide better and more timely information to you, more tools and resources for our crewmembers and improved procedures for handling operational difficulties.
Most importantly, we have published the JetBlue Airways Customer Bill of Rights
– our official commitment to you of how we will handle operational interruptions going forward – including details of compensation.
As an added touch, Neeleman unassumingly asks the customer for another chance:
Nothing is more important than regaining your trust and all of us here hope you will give us the opportunity to once again welcome you onboard and provide you the positive JetBlue Experience you have come to expect from us.
Companies customers love make lasting changes. Follow these five steps the next time you have to SAY SORRY in a crisis and LEARN from mistakes.
1. Decide to SAY SORRY.
2. Be humble and sincere.
3. Act immediately – regardless of whose fault it is.
4. Take the customer experience to heart.
5. LEARN from mistakes and CHANGE.
| Dear JetBlue Customers, We are sorry and embarrassed. But most of all, we are deeply sorry. Last week was the worst operational week in JetBlue’s seven year history. Many of you were either stranded, delayed or had flights cancelled following the severe winter ice storm in the Northeast. The storm disrupted the movement of aircraft, and, more importantly, disrupted the movement of JetBlue’s pilot and inflight crewmembers who were depending on those planes to get them to the airports where they were scheduled to serve you. With the busy President’s Day weekend upon us, rebooking opportunities were scarce and hold times at 1-800-JETBLUE were unusually long or not even available, further hindering our recovery efforts. Words cannot express how truly sorry we are for the anxiety, frustration and inconvenience that you, your family, friends and colleagues experienced. This is especially saddening because JetBlue was founded on the promise of bringing humanity back to air travel, and making the experience of flying happier and easier for everyone who chooses to fly with us. We know we failed to deliver on this promise last week. We are committed to you, our valued customers, and are taking immediate corrective steps to regain your confidence in us. We have begun putting a comprehensive plan in place to provide better and more timely information to you, more tools and resources for our crewmembers and improved procedures for handling operational difficulties. Most importantly, we have published the JetBlue Airways Customer Bill of Rights – our official commitment to you of how we will handle operational interruptions going forward – including details of compensation. We invite you to learn more at jetblue.com/promise. You deserved better – a lot better – from us last week and we let you down. Nothing is more important than regaining your trust and all of us here hope you will give us the opportunity to once again welcome you onboard and provide you the positive JetBlue Experience you have come to expect from us. Sincerely, |
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