Revenue Journal®

Last week, over a 5-day period starting on Thursday, I flew to from Providence to San Jose to meet with a new client, then to San Diego and Tucson to visit family, then back to Providence. I flew Southwest all the way. It was pleasant, as it always is. Whenever I fly domestically, Southwest is my first choice.

Southwest is famous for its "love" theme, tenuously connected to Love Field in Dallas, where they started. It's such a departure from the other airlines, whose snarly bureaucratic behavior I've covered here before. What I want to focus on this time is how that "love" manifests itself in the customer's interaction with the airline.

Of course, it starts at the top. Herb Kelleher, in this great interview in Portfolio.com, says that his new role - as he scales back his involvement in the company - is that of a "servant" to the new CEO. That alone says volumes about why Southwest has so many loyal customers. How many CEOs would say they were now going to be a "servant" to the new guy? Colleen Barrett, Southwest's president, is also stepping down. In her farewell letter, she talks about her "Proactive Customer Service" and their "expectation (and requirement) for a display of Golden Rule behavior among and from our Southwest Family at all times."

There were four obvious manifestations of the "Proactive Customer Service" as I flew Southwest. I'm bringing them up so you can ask yourself this question: "Is there anything we could be doing right now, along these lines, that sends the 'we care' message to our customers?" In this time of financial uncertainty, overindulging the customer may seem counter-intuitive, but it's actually the smartest thing you can do - no matter what the economy is doing.

1) A plug for the traveler. Ever drain your laptop battery on the plane, and when you landed between flights, tried to find a place to plug in? Usually you end up sitting on the floor, plugged into a fiendishly inconvenient vacuum cleaner outlet. Southwest has now added a countertop with outlets and metal stools ("power stations"). They've also added small tables between the chairs in the waiting area, also with plenty of plugs. There is no marketing copy on these tables, saying how wonderful Southwest is for providing these conveniences. They just did it. And people appreciate them.

2) Waste not, want not. During the long flights, the Southwest flight attendants used to deliver up a box filled with different bagged snacks. People didn't eat everything; a lot was wasted. Plus, there was all that trash. Now, the flight attendants go through the cabin with the items that used to be in the box, and ask you which ones you want. No more boxes to toss, no more wasted food, and travelers get to choose.

3) Relax until it's time to board. Using the "A, B, C" method of boarding caused people to line up in the A, B, and C lines well before takeoff. Now, you get not only a letter - A, B, or C - but a number. And, they have little posts at each gate with number ranges on them. No one has to stand in line for an hour to hold their place anymore; everyone stays seated until boarding time, and then they line up - A first, in the right order, then B, and so on. You still get to pick any seat you want, and the boarding process is much more civilized.

4) Mobile boarding passes - print at airport. For a while now, you could get a boarding pass as much as 24 hours ahead of your flight time. Problem was, if you were on the road, and you didn't carry a printer around with you, you had no way of printing it out. Southwest solved this problem with their "mobile" boarding passes. You can log in to mobile.southwest.com, and secure your boarding order (e.g., "A22"). Then when you get to the airport, you can go to a kiosk and print out your boarding pass, with "A22" on it.

Southwest is one of those companies that is always trying to find new ways to make their customers happy. Which is why I always fly Southwest. All the "little" things I just mentioned are easy to notice and appreciate. The smallest gesture, the slightest improvement, will be noticed by your customers, who will think, "Wow - they really are thinking about what I need."

If you stay awake nights thinking about how to serve your customers better, your customers will look for opportunities to spend money with you. That's one of the main reasons why Southwest is the only airline making money right now.