Friday, November 23, 2007

My Grey Cup runneth over on WestJet

I arrived home at 3 a.m. today from a business trip to Calgary (the flight home was delayed departing due to a storm at Pearson Airport in Toronto). As is my wont lately, I chose to fly WestJet (www.westjet.com) rather than Air Canada (www.aircanada.com), since as a marketer I’m always interested in watching how companies ‘live their brand.’

I was tired at the end of the busy day, and had initially hoped to sleep on the trip home. But as I boarded the flight after 8 p.m., I was surrounded in the jetway by the hoots and hollers of Western Canadian football fans heading to TO for the Grey Cup.

Although I didn’t catch a wink of sleep on the flight, I did have a brief chat with the boisterous fans beside, behind and across from me; did get some Marketing Hall of Legends (www.marketinghalloflegends.ca) volunteer work done; and most significantly, did observe the grace and mastery of the WestJet crew in their handling of my new Western Canadian pals.

Not only was I reminded of the importance of the Grey Cup in uniting Canadians, but I watched how the flight crew conducted themselves with humour, cheerfulness and humanity while never compromising the flight’s safety.

It reaffirmed my respect for the airline, and for its recruitment policies in attracting employees who aren’t afraid to ‘be real’ on the job.