Mastering the Art of Strategic Apology

Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan apologized for over 15,000 canceled flights over the winter holidays. "I am extremely sorry. There's just no way to apologize enough. …The storm had an impact, but we had impacts beyond the storm," Jordan said in a letter. Despite the airline's stellar record in customer service, the jury is still out on the effectiveness of his recovery response, even after giving each impacted Southwest passenger 25,000 frequent flyer points. But Southwest did a lot correct in their attempt to regain betrayed passenger trust.