Transportation

Everyone wants to feel like they're getting a good deal. They want to feel like their opinions matter and that their needs are being met. Especially in the airline industry. It seems that disgruntled airline passengers are everywhere, fuming about everything from poor service to lost luggage. And why shouldn't they be upset? They pay tons of money every year for a mediocre experience. Most of us would agree that flying should be more fun. So does David Neeleman, and he decided to do something about it. Neeleman founded JetBlue; the easy to love, affordable airline.

JetBlue's origins date back to 1993, when CEO David Neeleman sold his first airline; Salt-Lake City based Morris Air, to Southwest Airlines. It was as a founder and President of Morris Air that Neeleman proved that innovative, high-quality airline service coupled with low fares will attract a strong and loyal market. Following the sale of Morris Air, Neeleman went on to help launch WestJet, a successful Canadian low-fare carrier, and to develop the e-ticketing system he had implemented at Morris Air into Open Skies, the world's simplest airline reservation system. Neeleman sold Open Skies to Hewlett Packard in 1999. With three successful aviation businesses under his belt, Neeleman decided the time was right to bring his airline formula to the world's largest aviation market, New York City. In July 1999, having secured a hand-picked management team and $130 million in capital funding from investors such as Weston Presidio Capital, George Soros and Chase Capital, Neeleman surprised the aviation industry with the announcement of his plan to launch a new airline that would bring "humanity back to air travel." JetBlue Airways took to the air on February 11, 2000 with the inauguration of service between New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport and Fort Lauderdale, FL. The airline now serves 32 cities around the country and the Caribbean with a fleet of 68 new, environmentally friendly, Airbus A320 aircraft. Every JetBlue aircraft is outfitted with roomy all-leather seats, each equipped with the DIRECTV® System offering up to 36 channels of DIRECTV® programming.

In addition to the comfy accommodations and reasonable prices you'll find at Jet Blue, there's an emphasis on making sure that customers have a good experience. It isn't uncommon to find Neeleman onboard serving snacks and chatting with customers about what they'd like to see JetBlue do next. The dedication from JetBlue's CEO to stay connected to the staff and passengers assures travelers that this airline actually cares. It makes them feel important and needed, and transforms a ho-hum flight into a Wow Experience. In order to further enhance the onboard customer experience, JetBlue is now offering complimentary spa products on their red eye flights. Bliss, a spa company owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts, is stocking JetBlue flights with eye masks, lip balm, ear plugs, and moisturizer that helps customers get comfortable - something that's notoriously hard to do on late night flights. In a further effort to increase customer travel during "Shut Eye" hours, this people friendly airline is also featuring an open pantry loaded with snacks and hot towels- a small, but still significant offering for sleepy travelers. JetBlue's focus on quality and service is something other airlines only dream of delivering. While the other guys might talk about being customer oriented, JetBlue has stepped up to the plate to actualize their mission of brining "humanity back to air travel."

Enterprise founder Jack Taylor started his company on the simple premise: "Take care of your customers and employees first, and growth and profits will follow." With their first and primary emphasis on individuals, Enterprise has grown from a small, seven-car operation to the largest car rental company in North America. Their business approach is studied by CEOs and MBA students alike, with much attention given to the fact that it's never been about just the numbers. It can be said that a true commitment to customer service begins with the customer. Enterprise has thrived off of this concept by striving to put the customer first in every aspect of their business. Enterprise took a big risk by going against car rental industry trend of setting up a primary base in airports. Instead, Enterprise saw a different need for car rentals in various communities. Service and value are essential even more so for Enterprise as they strive to establish themselves in the hearts of the locals they serve.

Enterprise realized that local communities often found themselves needing an additional vehicle for whatever reason; contrary to what was previously thought, cars were not only being rented by transitory businesspeople in airports. By listening to customers' needs, Enterprise established a neighborhood office network that now operates branches within 15 miles of 90 percent of the entire U.S. population. With their tremendous reach comes a tremendous responsibility to be thoughtful â€" and accountable â€" corporate citizens. Enterprise has not only successfully accomplished getting themselves into the public eye, but they've also won the trust of their customers through their intense focus on service.

The Enterprise service standard begins long before a customer walks onto their lot (or calls to be picked up). Enterprise makes a point to buy their vehicles, products, and services locally, making them an immediate contributor to the local economy. In addition, they hire and train women and men who live in the community that have a special interest in their city or town's development. By surrounding themselves with locals and buying locally, it's easy to see how Enterprise quickly establishes themselves as an integral part of any community. Rather than focusing their business solely on the occasional businessperson passing through town, Enterprise builds loyal, long-term relationships with their customers and neighbors by treating them fairly, exceeding their expectations, and earning their trust. These relationships, sustained by personal honesty and integrity, are the foundation of their success.
In 1957, Enterprise car rental began as a leasing business in the basement of a Midwest car dealership with the simple goal "To exceed customer expectations." Enterprise Founder Jack Taylor looked around his small office one day and saw a handful of co-workers fielding phone calls, calculating rates and prepping cars. But he saw something else too. He saw people doing ordinary, everyday things with extraordinary passion and focus. He saw people willing to go well beyond their own jobs to get the whole job done rightâ€"people who believed in his vision and made it their own. Thus, the foundation was laid â€" superior customer service â€" for what would become the largest car rental company in North America.

The environment at Enterprise is truly unique. Even today, decades after he founded Enterprise and many years after he stepped down from day-to-day management, Jack Taylor still greets employees with the question, "Are you having fun?" Enterprise is known for their enthusiasm, high energy, healthy competitive drive, and team spirit. The people at Enterprise understand that as they grow, the best fuel for sustainable appreciation is through workforce community highly committed to each other's success and focused on collective success of the entire company.

People feel validated as they are listened to and assured that their needs are being met in the best way possible. The challenge of operating in such a talented and competitive world today is finding a way to bring out great, innovative ideas from such a large pool of talent. Enterprise has found a simple solution: listening. Day-to-day, face-to-face, listening leads Enterprise to working more effectively together with both its employees and customers. They recognize that an open and respectful exchange of ideas is critical to maintaining a high standard for service and personal success. As Enterprise continues to grow they thrive off of the philosophy that at the end of the day, a business is only as strong as the reputation it maintains in the minds of customers, potential customers, and employees.

To ensure that their ability to provide superior customer service is never compromised, Enterprise created a unique way to measure customer service satisfaction. The Enterprise Service Quality index (ESQi) rates its service ability based on whether or not customers are "completely satisfied." Every month, customer satisfaction is measured with each local branch through telephone surveys of hundreds of thousands of Enterprise customers. Each branch earns a ranking based on the percentage of its customers who say they were "completely satisfied" with their last Enterprise experience. Its good to know that Enterprise is competing to completely satisfy their customers, and its paying off. By taking the time to listen to customer responses, Enterprise builds lifelong relationships, the essential principle to sustainable growth, with their customers. ESQi is one of many ways in which Enterprise puts customers' needs first. The result has been millions of satisfied Enterprise car rental customers, thousands of successful employees, and a company that just keeps on growing.

The Day Jet Corporation is the next big thing in air travel, offering a unique service that gets tired business people home in time for dinner. Day Jet is founded on a "Per Seat, On Demand" business model that bridges the gap between once hard to reach regional markets and major airline flights. Day Jet prides themselves on flexibility, affordability, convenience, and control; and will work to ensure that their schedule complies with your needs, not the other way around. They look forward to improving the balance between work and home life, and hope to make business travel timely and efficient in ways never before seen. Day Jet's prices are comparable to what you might spend on an overnight business trip (including things like airfare, hotel, and dining costs). Day Jet is capitalizing on breakthroughs like advanced airplanes, integrated avionics, and efficient engines to get the job done right. They're going to merge cutting edge, small jets with their own operations system in order to offer what they anticipate will be the "most responsive, flexible and reliable transportation to meet your individual needs." Day Jet plans on launching their much-needed services near the end of 2006.

And while Day Jet's services aren't officially up and running, it doesn't mean that they haven't been hard at work. Since 2002 they've been working with flight operations experts, mathematicians, statisticians, demographers, market researchers, complexity scientists, and software engineers to determine whether or not a service like this is in demand, and more importantly, whether or not it's even logistically possible. The Day Jet team has conducted thousands of interviews with business people and corporate management in order to get an accurate idea of what people really want. Overwhelming results have shown that a "Per Seat, On Demand" option is the best way to go in order to strike a true balance between business travel and personal life.