JetBlue today is considered one of the top airlines in the world, and its customer ratings are as high as its airplanes. But not that long ago JetBlue was a prime business school example of a nightmare scenario displacing 130,000 passengers. The airline recovered—and that's the point of this collection of research and readings about head-on collisions between corporations and consumers, how to think through potential problems in advance, and course-correcting when the inevitable disaster occurs.
A Good Place to Start
JetBlue’s Valentine’s Day Crisis
It was the Valentine's Day from hell for JetBlue employees and more than 130,000 customers whose flights were cancelled, delayed, or diverted. How did the airline make it right with customers and learn from its mistakes?
The Hidden Cost of a Product Recall
Product failures create managerial challenges for companies but market opportunities for competitors.
Tesco’s Stumble into the US Market
UK retailer Tesco was very successful penetrating foreign markets—until it set its sights on the United States.
What Mark Zuckerberg Can Learn About Crisis Leadership from Starbucks
While Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson stepped up to take responsibility, Mark Zuckerberg delayed action and side-stepped responsibility.
Two Million Fake Accounts: Sales Misconduct at Wells Fargo
Coming out of the financial crisis, Wells Fargo was one of the world’s most successful banks. But then its sales culture went wild.
Juul's Mission: Convince 1 Billion Smokers to Switch Habits
Juul vaping products have become a cigarette alternative for adult smokers and a growing concern among parents of teens. What the company did initially to head off concerns.
Cost-cutting Leads to Turbulence in the Airline Industry
When a business known for delivering an exemplary customer experience faces cutbacks, what services get chopped?
Fix This! Why is it so Painful to Buy a New Car?
Car-buying sends shivers up the backbones of American consumers, so why hasn’t the industry stepped up to create a better experience?
Research Papers
Mitigating the Negative Effects of Customer Anxiety Through Access to Human Contact
This study finds that customer anxiety during self-service transactions can reduce customers’ trust in the service provider. Operational design choices may help.
Calculators for Women: When Identity Appeals Provoke Backlash
With calculators designed for women and laundry products aimed at men, examples of identity-based labeling—or “identity appeals”—abound in advertising and marketing. Five studies show when and why they backfire.
Image: iStock
