Well, we had so much fun with the first blogging gate game, I thought we would go ahead and try it again.
So, for this installment, let's see if you can list (in order) the Top Ten Southwest Cities based on number of daily departures (as of April 19, 2007).
The first three folks who answer correctly, will once again, win some inexpensive SWA swag, provided by our very own Brian Lusk.
Hint: The highest number of daily departures is 231, with the lowest being 95.
Good Luck!
Comments
1 - Depends entirely on if Kim Seale is busy or bored.
2 - The quantity of calls is completely irrelevant; what is important is that each and every call answered is handled politely, by an intelligent human being.
3 - The good ones last long enough for the agent to eat 1/2 bag of candy corn.
4 - Enough to where I've never been on hold for more than a minute or so.
5 - Albuquerque, Chicago, Houston, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, and San Antonio.
You left out an important and educational question James - "How many buttons do you have to press before you can talk to a real live human being?"
1) Ummmm -just guessing, but given that there are 6 call centers and the lines are open 24/7, I'd say, a billion. No really, 7,000? Just a guess.
2) 2 million calls! (another guess) Good point Kim! I couldn't agree more. ;-)
3) I haven't made a reservation over the phone in a long time, but as I recall, about 18 minutes. (15 seems too short, 20 seems too long).
4) Oh boy, 300? ( there is a little logic behind that guess, but not much!)
5) Albuquerque, Chicago, Houston, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, and San Antonio.
There's an awesome graduate case study from MIT Sloan School of Management on SWA's journey through IT growth and building business agility. Very cool.
http://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/1721.1/39646/1/4664-07.pdf
Here's a statistic: "Southwest received 284,827 resumes and hired 3,363 new Employees in 2006." Sigh. About 100 of those were my resume. Oh well - maybe in '09! C'est la vie.
Everyone have a great day! ;-)
Nikki
Originally, it was the lines at the gate; first come, first boarded. Then, they established groups for better organization. Next, boarding became a game online of first online, first in the first boarding group.....still allowed first come, first boarded...within their group. Now, you are proposing a price for first boarded.
SWA has ALWAYS been able to make light of the worse elements of commercial passenger flying, even when FAA required the "Safety Briefing," then later, the TSA requirements. In my business CEO view, making the SWA flight experience fun is the #1 reason for SWA's success that falls to the bottom line. Of course, other smart planning and operations have their place, and for passengers, I agree that "open seating" gives passengers the most choice and control. We all know you pay a penalty for being late.
Above all, keep the flying experience FUN and LUV your passengers!
Thanks for the support, Patrick, but didn't you want to play the game?
Brian
Oh goody! I love trivia quizzes!
Oh no! This quiz is haaarrd!
Well, here go my ridiculous guesses:
1) 150,000
2) 55 million
3) 4 minutes
4) 3,500
5) Albuquerque, Chicago, Houston, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, and San Antonio (this is the only one I know with any certainty).
And here's to all the great SWA Reservations Agents. Their customer service ROCKS!!!
Why do I luv Souithwest?
I had a flight booked from Salt Lake City to Boise on Southwest.
I had another flight booked from Salt Lake City to Bozeman on Delta (Southwest doestn' fly to Bozeman.
3 1/2 weeks before my Bozeman flight I tried to change the return date on Delta. They wanted an additional $1,230 for the one hour return trip. This was on a flight that was only about half full.
4 weeks before my Boise flight I changed the return date on Southwest and I got a $10 credit.
I fly about 40 times a year. If Southwest goes where I go, I always fly Southwest. My flight plan change frequently and Southwest never tries to take advantage of me like EVERY other airline I fly does.
Thank you Southwest.
1 - On average, how many calls does Reservations take on a given day?
90
2 - How many calls do you think Reservations will take by the end of 2007?
three million
3 - How long do you think each telephone call lasts?
3-4 minutes
4 - How many Reservation Sales Agents do we have?
1500
5 - We have six Reservation Centers. What cities are they located in?
Albuquerque, Chicago, Houston, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, and San Antonio.
1 - On average, how many calls does Reservations take on a given day?
193,750
2 - How many calls do you think Reservations will take by the end of 2007?
4.5 million
3 - How long do you think each telephone call lasts?
6 minutes
4 - How many Reservation Sales Agents do we have?
2600
5 - We have six Reservation Centers. What cities are they located in?
ABQ, Chicago area, HOU, OKC, PHX, and SAT
It is a shame you had to "fix something that wasn't broke". If you are going to change why not take a look at AirTran and copy their boarding policy. We "luved" Southwest, but no more. With all the stress in life today who needs the stress of your new boarding policy? Southwest will not be our first choice now, probably our last.
The new boarding process is much improved and I like it much more than the previous one.
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