Some J & J Thoughts from Ronnie

Johnson and Johnson’s handling of the Tylenol crisis is a casebook study of what to do right. I am certain everyone here is familiar with it, so there is no need to wax excessively about it here. Random bottles of Tylenol contained pills that had been laced with cyanide. The connection to Tylenol was made after several people tied. Johnson & Johnson immediately recalled the product and told consumers not to use Tylenol again until they (Johnson & Johnson) advised them otherwise. Johnson and Johnson put customers first – and in so doing assured the success of their company and of the particular product once it was put back on the shelf in tamper-proof packaging.

Those actions fit with the Johnson & Johnson credo of people first and their belief that their “first responsibility is to the doctors, nurses and patients, to mothers and fathers and all others, who use our products and services. Stockholders come last. That is not to say that Johnson & Johnson is not interested in making a profit – obviously like any corporation they are. But it does seem that they have learned to live by the idea of true customer service.

In a different kind of way, that is what Jet Blue is attempting to do as it tries to regain its footing after the bad weather debacle at Kennedy Airport that left passengers stranded on the tarmac for hours. In this day and age, the incident of course spurred a blog, http://jetbluehostage.blogspot.com. Jet Blue CEO David Neeleman has gone public with his apologies and with the presentation of the company’s own passenger bill of rights. Regaining customer confidence at any cost seems to be Jet Blue’s credo these days. Something has been learned.