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This is not hacker news.

by msmith 16y ago

meterplech 16y ago
It certainly isn't specifically tech, but it does show how much treating a customer properly can have a huge effect on that customer and thus your business. Because of that pilot, Southwest is now getting a ton of great free press. Seems like a great lesson for any startup. Also, the article mentions that the flyer who was delayed was a repeat customer (as he had a number of free flights). You should treat your loyal customers well.
- jemfinch 16y ago
  One of the hallmarks of successful people is that they can derive useful lessons from practically anything. "Is there a lesson in this story?" is a terribly low bar for what should comprise hacker news; it excludes practically nothing.
  - terrym 16y ago
    I agree with you, but I don't think that's what's happening here - the main content of the article is about an interesting and remarkable approach to customer service from a company that every business can learn from. The format for it is as from from "hn material" as you can get, but the content is there. I agree that you can find lessons in practically any story, but I think it's whether or not the core of the story is relevant to hn that distinguishes what's appropriate to post here, not how it appears on the surface.
  - Natsu 16y ago
    True, but I know that I come here more for the comments than the stories. The fact that there are people who can learn from almost anything around here makes it even more interesting to come here and get their insight. So maybe the 'bar' should be set based on the comments: get rid of the stories that trigger lots of griping and keep everything that generates good comments.
topherjaynes 16y ago
Yes it most certainly does. How many articles have been on the front page about Zappos's insanely over the top customer service. No it doesn't having anything to do with coding, but it has everything to do with starting a company. If don't think that customer service stories belong here you don't really get all aspects of starting a company. Everyone here should aspire to have their employees go above and beyond like this "As my husband walked down the Jetway with the pilot, he said, “I can’t thank you enough for this.” The pilot responded with, “They can’t go anywhere without me and I wasn’t going anywhere without you. Now relax. We’ll get you there. And again, I’m so sorry.”
terrym 16y ago
I'd agree with you if this were just a link to a local news story covering the event, but since the bulk of this article is an anecdote about two ways of doing customer service -- compassion vs. indifference -- and what a difference it can make, especially when the company stands behind it - there's definitely a business lesson to be learned here.
qjz 16y ago
Hacking isn't only about software. He showed up 2 hours in advance and was still unable to board his flight in time. If any system is screaming out for a hack, it's the screening process in US airports.
scotch_drinker 16y ago
Short version: Given the fact that it's sitting on top of the front page with 87 points, the community seems to disagree. Long version: I don't specifically come to HN to read about why Google stopped doing something with H-2xx in Chrome. I don't specifically come to HN to read about Clojure 1.2. I don't specifically come to HN to read about a fantastic human interest story based on excellent customer service and human decency. What I do come to HN for is the over all quality of the content whether it's technical in nature or not. It is an extremely narrow view to hope that articles submitted to HN are only technical or related to whatever narrow "belongs on HN" viewpoint you hold. I enjoy reading about Clojure but I also enjoy reading about a tiny little thing going right for humanity because one person (and by extension a huge company) did what was right and I think the community at large does as well.
- nir 16y ago
  >Given the fact that it's sitting on top of the front page with 87 points, the community seems to disagree Since we can't downmod, it just means 87 people in the community were really moved and upvoted. I don't think HN should be strictly tech either (though I do absolutely think "how I built/sold X" is much better than "here's my opinion on Y"), but I don't see how this story is HN material.
  - scotch_drinker 16y ago
    >Since we can't downmod, it just means 87 people in the community were really moved and upvoted. Sure but certainly that's one of the risks you accept as a community member here. The guidelines here say "Anything that would gratify one's intellectual curiosity". Maybe it's a stretch but I have intellectual curiosity about how businesses treat their customers. Seeing a large, successful corporation like Southwest treat a customer with dignity and humanity satisfies my curiosity in the same way. Granted, this is a very specific case but I think the concept is generalized to the bigger picture. It just happens to be wrapped up in a reasonably heartwarming anecdote.
- davidw 16y ago
  Actually, despite having all these points, it looks like one of the moderators hung a stone around its neck and kicked it off the plank. It's nowhere to be found on the front page. It's easy to get points with emotional hot-button stories here, just like anywhere else. It's not a sign of 'worthiness'.

This is not hacker news.

by msmith 16y ago

This is not hacker news.

It certainly isn't specifically tech, but it does show how much treating a customer properly can have a huge effect on that customer and thus your business. Because of that pilot, Southwest is now getting a ton of great free press. Seems like a great lesson for any startup. Also, the article mentions that the flyer who was delayed was a repeat customer (as he had a number of free flights). You should treat your loyal customers well.

jemfinch 16y ago
One of the hallmarks of successful people is that they can derive useful lessons from practically anything. "Is there a lesson in this story?" is a terribly low bar for what should comprise hacker news; it excludes practically nothing.
- terrym 16y ago
  I agree with you, but I don't think that's what's happening here - the main content of the article is about an interesting and remarkable approach to customer service from a company that every business can learn from. The format for it is as from from "hn material" as you can get, but the content is there. I agree that you can find lessons in practically any story, but I think it's whether or not the core of the story is relevant to hn that distinguishes what's appropriate to post here, not how it appears on the surface.
- Natsu 16y ago
  True, but I know that I come here more for the comments than the stories. The fact that there are people who can learn from almost anything around here makes it even more interesting to come here and get their insight. So maybe the 'bar' should be set based on the comments: get rid of the stories that trigger lots of griping and keep everything that generates good comments.

topherjaynes 16y ago

Yes it most certainly does. How many articles have been on the front page about Zappos's insanely over the top customer service. No it doesn't having anything to do with coding, but it has everything to do with starting a company. If don't think that customer service stories belong here you don't really get all aspects of starting a company. Everyone here should aspire to have their employees go above and beyond like this "As my husband walked down the Jetway with the pilot, he said, “I can’t thank you enough for this.” The pilot responded with, “They can’t go anywhere without me and I wasn’t going anywhere without you. Now relax. We’ll get you there. And again, I’m so sorry.”

terrym 16y ago

I'd agree with you if this were just a link to a local news story covering the event, but since the bulk of this article is an anecdote about two ways of doing customer service -- compassion vs. indifference -- and what a difference it can make, especially when the company stands behind it - there's definitely a business lesson to be learned here.

qjz 16y ago

Hacking isn't only about software. He showed up 2 hours in advance and was still unable to board his flight in time. If any system is screaming out for a hack, it's the screening process in US airports.

scotch_drinker 16y ago

Short version: Given the fact that it's sitting on top of the front page with 87 points, the community seems to disagree. Long version: I don't specifically come to HN to read about why Google stopped doing something with H-2xx in Chrome. I don't specifically come to HN to read about Clojure 1.2. I don't specifically come to HN to read about a fantastic human interest story based on excellent customer service and human decency. What I do come to HN for is the over all quality of the content whether it's technical in nature or not. It is an extremely narrow view to hope that articles submitted to HN are only technical or related to whatever narrow "belongs on HN" viewpoint you hold. I enjoy reading about Clojure but I also enjoy reading about a tiny little thing going right for humanity because one person (and by extension a huge company) did what was right and I think the community at large does as well.

nir 16y ago
>Given the fact that it's sitting on top of the front page with 87 points, the community seems to disagree Since we can't downmod, it just means 87 people in the community were really moved and upvoted. I don't think HN should be strictly tech either (though I do absolutely think "how I built/sold X" is much better than "here's my opinion on Y"), but I don't see how this story is HN material.
- scotch_drinker 16y ago
  >Since we can't downmod, it just means 87 people in the community were really moved and upvoted. Sure but certainly that's one of the risks you accept as a community member here. The guidelines here say "Anything that would gratify one's intellectual curiosity". Maybe it's a stretch but I have intellectual curiosity about how businesses treat their customers. Seeing a large, successful corporation like Southwest treat a customer with dignity and humanity satisfies my curiosity in the same way. Granted, this is a very specific case but I think the concept is generalized to the bigger picture. It just happens to be wrapped up in a reasonably heartwarming anecdote.
davidw 16y ago
Actually, despite having all these points, it looks like one of the moderators hung a stone around its neck and kicked it off the plank. It's nowhere to be found on the front page. It's easy to get points with emotional hot-button stories here, just like anywhere else. It's not a sign of 'worthiness'.