What Southwest Airlines Can Teach Us About Saying Thank You

The first thing you notice when you get this in the mail is, it’s a fairly large-size package – something that stands out, even in the over-sized crush of holiday mailings.

The second thing you notice is, it’s from Southwest Airlines. So you figure, “Hey, this must be something cool.”

Why do you think this must be something cool? Because Southwest has ingrained in your brain that they ARE cool.

How’d they do that? Because you’ve seen their TV ads where their people throw penalty flags at other airlines, do rap songs about “Bags Fly Free”, and a bunch of other crazy, human things.

So you open the box and here’s what you find…

In case you can’t see the image, inside the box says:

Please enjoy this token of our appreciation for choosing Southwest Airlines and Rapid Rewards.
– From the Rapid Rewards Team

And then – and this is my favorite part – the box is SIGNED by every member of the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Team.

What does THAT say to your brain?

It says to your brain, “Wow, Southwest Airlines is not some stuffy, bureaucratic, faceless corporation.

“It’s a place where REAL PEOPLE work every day. People JUST LIKE ME. Look, these are their REAL SIGNATURES!

“It’s a place where, when you call, you aren’t locked in some voicemail hell and can never get a REAL PERSON on the phone.

“It’s a place where, when you call, an ACTUAL HUMAN BEING answers the phone and actually HELPS YOU.

“Wow, I LOVE Southwest Airlines!”

And then you look at the lower part of the box and see this…

It’s a shiny metal tag thingy for your suitcase that has the Southwest Airlines name and logo on one side, and your name and Rapid Rewards number on the other.

(Mine is not in this photo because I was so excited that I put my new shiny metal tag thingy right on my suitcase before I could even take these pictures.)

So now, guess what?

Every time you go through an airport, which airline are you flaunting?

I actually wrote that sentence, “Whose airline are you flaunting?”

Because guess what my brain did?

It actually TOOK POSSESSION of Southwest Airlines – as in, “That’s MY airline!”

By the way, did you know…

• Southwest Airlines is the ONLY airline – that’s right, the ONLY one – that has never had a non-profitable quarter?
• Southwest has grown from a tiny operation in Dallas to become the largest and most profitable carrier in the United States?
• They’re the only large U.S. airline that has never had a layoff?

I have said to my clients for years that if I ran an airline, I would fly into Dallas, walk into Southwest headquarters and say, “How do you guys DO that?” And then do it!

So kids, what can we learn from Southwest Airlines and how they say “Thank you” to their customers?

Some quick ideas:

1. Just being WILLING to say “Thank you” will put you in the top 3% of people in your industry right off the bat – because almost no one else does it.

2. Go the extra mile to stand out from the crowd, no matter what time of year it is.

3. Show that you’re, oh I don’t know, a human being and not some faceless corporation.

4. Be real by showing your customers that you’re just like them.

5. And show that you like them by giving them some extra, unadvertised added value.

Thank you for being one of my faithful readers!