5 Questions Retailers Must Tackle to Attract and Retain Customers

Southwest Airlines is a great example of a company that gets this right. Every day Southwest Airlines looks at every single flight that goes out because it wants to know what customers had their day interrupted, whether it's from something that the airline caused (e.g., an electronic failure) or simply weather. Every morning it convenes a morning overview meeting. In that meeting are meteorologists, operations people, flight staff and someone The New York Times has dubbed the "Chief Forgiveness Officer." This team looks at every flight from the previous day, and based on the disruptions to a customer's day, they send out personalized letters to customers apologizing. Before a customer picks up a phone they've heard from Southwest.