Southwest Airlines’ new listening center making an immediate mark
Are you a reporter seeking to spring a call on a Southwest PR pro? The airline might already know you’re coming and why you’re calling. And how about that New York Fashion Week?
Last November, Southwest Airlines Listening Center staffers were monitoring a screen displaying a social media word cloud when an alarming tweet went out in Los Angeles.
A passenger waiting to deplane from another airline tweeted that they were delayed because there was a gunman in LAX. Other tweets about a shooting began boiling up on Southwest’s word cloud screen.
The center called operational staff and spokespeople. “They didn’t know what we were talking about,” says Ashley Pettit, social business advisor at the airline.
Within 15 minutes they called back. The chatter was right. A gunman had shot dead a Transportation Security Administration employee and wounded others.
And so, the importance of Southwest’s Listening Center was proven almost as soon as it started, allowing the airline to notify staff, issue safety messages, and prepare press statements.
Our thoughts are with the customers, employees, and authorities at #LAX. Please check your flight status here: http://t.co/qAa55h0U5z
Become a Ragan Insider member to read this article and all other archived content.
Sign up today
Already a member? Log in here.
Learn more about Ragan Insider.
