I hate to be redundant, but since the Steve Slater story seems to be getting so much continued attention, I must.
Time for Jet Blue to make a critical distinction - Steve Slater is now his own brand and Brand Slater is beginning to present a serious threat to Brand Jet Blue.
The guy now has his own PR manager. Reality show producers are interested in a spin off that leverages his 'stick it to the man' story? Really?
Frankly I find it hard to support Steve's behavior and I'm shocked at the outpouring of support, but nevertheless his story seems to resonate. And while he's getting TV deals by the handful, Jet Blue is keeping its mouth shut about the incident, instead tweeting about upcoming airfare promotions.
Judicial nuances aside, I think it's time for Jet Blue to take a stand here. And by "take a stand", I mean make some public statement about what happened and how it supports or flies in the face of its brand promise. To repeatedly say nothing but "we don't / won't comment on the ongoing investigation" is simply not enough given all the Slater buzz.
Jet Blue may have free snacks, decent deals, a pretty good flight schedule and a cushy terminal at JFK, but it built its brand on something pretty simple - better service. Jetting, unlike flying, is supposed to be nice - and that not only involves, but revolves around the customer service supplied by its flight attendants.
Time for Jet Blue to comment, as generically as it may need to at the moment, on how Steve's behavior is not in line with the Jetting principles.
As for Jet Blue's silence thus far.....OFF STRATEGY.
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