“Dear Ms. Crabapple, We Will Miss You. Love, Herb;” 3 Lessons

Ms. Crabapple was a Southwest Airlines Customer who complained in a letter after every flight; she didn’t like the lack of meals, assigned seating, first class, etc. When Southwest’s founder, Herb Kelleher, saw all the letters, he penned this famous response: “Dear Ms. Crabapple, We will miss you, Love Herb.”

We love this story b/c it illuminates three excellent business lessons:

1. Focus your marketing; you can’t please everyone. Trying to please everyone pleases no one. Southwest focused on fare-conscious customers only, and did not try to please upscale customers.

2. Protect your employees. Ms. Crabapple abused Southwest employees, and Herb was famous for putting his employees first. This created the famous Southwest culture that in turn resulted in way better service.

3. The customer is not always right. Sometimes customers and companies must part ways for the good of all b/c they are just not the right fit.

At JVM, we focus on clients and referral partners who value 24/7 ultra-premium service above all else; employee happiness and culture reign supreme; and we often have to part ways with customers who are not the right fit for JVM.

Jay Voorhees
Founder/Broker | JVM Lending
(855) 855-4491 | DRE# 01524255, NMLS# 335646