LUV Wasn’t In The Air

Here’s a cautionary–and true–tale about hospitality, the Golden Rule, and why it pays to know the players: It seems the publisher of a long-established Dallas publication was helping set up a gala luncheon at a local hotel to honor some top executives. When the publisher spotted a small group entering the room just before noon looking to find their table, the publisher told them unceremoniously to scram, to get out, to leave–because the doors hadn’t been officially opened yet. The leader of the trespassing evildoers: Southwest Airlines’ retiring president Colleen Barrett, who was one of the luncheon honorees and whose hallmark has long been good customer service. To say that feathers were ruffled would be an understatement.