Honoring Colleen

Robert Frost said, 'Isn't it a shame that people's minds work furiously until they get to work, and then they stop.' Well at Southwest Airlines®, they worked furiously when they're at work, and they work creatively, and they work imaginatively, and Colleen has been a big proponent from the very beginning of flexibility for Employees.

Herb and Colleen came through OAK Ops when I was a new hire in 1994. I was actually a transplant from the Morris Air acquisition. Colleen’s warm and welcoming personality helped assuage any fears and uncertainty I had during my transition to the Southwest Family. A letter she sent to me 24 years later was permeated with the exact same warmth and LUV®. The true heart of SWA!

I was a mechanic and was on the airplane fixing a problem while everyone was boarding. I was exiting the cockpit and ran into Colleen who was boarding the flight. She shouted, ‘Hi John! It’s so good to see you! How are you?’ and gave me the biggest hug ever. I had never met her before, but she acted like I was her favorite son. I will never forget that LUV®!

Colleen is the Heart and soul of Southwest Airlines. 9/11 was a really hard time for everyone, and I had Customers telling me how she reached out to them and made them want to fly again. We had passengers bringing us flowers. I knew someone on one of the planes that went down, and Colleen reached out to me.

When I started in Customer Relations in 2008, I remember hearing, ‘An Employee will never get in trouble for trying to do the right thing for a Customer.’ That kind of empowerment that came from Colleen is what makes our Customer Service admired around the world. I’ll never forget the first time I received a handwritten note on a Customer letter. It meant the world to me as a new Employee and I still have notes from Colleen nearly 13 years later.

Colleen has been the Heart and soul of Southwest Airlines from our earliest days. She is largely responsible for creating and nurturing the unique and special Culture that has defined Southwest Airlines and been the envy of corporate America for 50 years. And her passion and commitment to ensuring that our Employees provided Legendary Customer Service has made Southwest Airlines famous for our Hospitality. Her love for our Employees is an inspiration to us all, and we love her right back.

Herb used to say that Colleen was many different people packaged into one body. That stuck with me, but over the years, I’ve seen every one of those people! Her loving side comes out when you have a life event or need a boost to your morale; her business side comes out when you need her opinion on something; her tough LUV comes out when you need a good course correction; and her playful side comes out when she knows you need a good distraction or a moment to de-stress.

I remember sitting in one of my first Companywide Culture Committee Meetings at HDQ and we were discussing an issue in the Field. The issue itself isn't important, it's how we solved it. Colleen was listening (which she does very well at) and she stood up and said, "Why are we continuing to talk about it - just change it! Do it. That's how we get things done." I've learned sometimes issues that arise can be solved easily by just changing your approach and just getting it done. There is no need for numerous meetings, polls, or one-on-one interviews. If everyone is on the same page, just do it and make it better.