SWA publishes this type of stuff all the time internally, but I imagine that most of you never have a chance to see this type of stuff, so this story comes from this month's Ask Gary (Gary Kelly is the CEO of Southwest).
My shout out this week goes to BWI-based Captain Rudy Feijoo. I always enjoy hearing about the great things you all are doing, but it's especially meaningful when one of your own Fellow Employees recognizes you. In this case, Baltimore-based Flight Attendant William Fleming writes, “In July, I had the privilege to Crew with several wonderful Southwest Employees on Flight #4876 from Phoenix to San Antonio. I wanted to acknowledge our Captain, in particular, who went above and beyond for a family of five that were traveling from Phoenix to Baltimore via San Antonio. They had three small children, and they were running late for their first leg, so they never had a chance to eat before their flights. When we landed in San Antonio, the family asked if they could get off to get something to eat, but we were unable to allow them to deplane because of a very tight turn. We offered them snacks, and although they understood, I could sense their disappointment. So Captain Fiejoo overheard our conversation, and without hesitation, ran to get them something to eat. He returned a few moments later with pizza for the entire family. He refused any payment from the family, and simply said “You're welcome.” I spoke with the Captain later, and emphasized what a wonderful act of kindness and Hospitality he'd shown. His response to me was simple, “I have kids too.” As we see our larger society becoming less and less civil, true examples of empathy and kindness like this are exactly what we need. Our beloved President Emeritus Colleen Barrett championed The Golden Rule, and you just can't go wrong with that as your guiding principle: Treat others how you wish to be treated. And thanks, Rudy, for this wonderful example of that.
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