Two Black Eyes!

This weeks' winter storm brought more than just my (and yours?) aching back and stiff muscles. For some travelers it brought one big nightmare. A Jet Blue flight to Aruba departed from the terminal at around 8:30 in the MORNING. After moving from the terminal, it was put in a weather-related hold. The hold lasted all day. Finally, after cancelling the flight, the plane was brought back to a gate (first they had to free the plane from the tarmac as it sat so long that it actually froze in place!) and the passengers deplaned, grumbling and growling as they did (it WAS after 9:00 in the EVENING!). Jet Blue apologized and offered refunds and free tickets in an attempt to placate their angry (and rightly so!!!) customers! Chalk up a black eye for air travel in general and Jet Blue specifically.

Add to that the debacle in our very own state of Pennsylvania. With the snow changing to sleet and freezing rain, Penn Dot thought it best not to remove all the snow from its interstate highways. They figured having the snow down would help with traction. This was a big mistake. All it took was a couple of big rigs to get stuck on hills -- and a massive traffic jam was born. On I-78 it was especially bad. The backup stretched upwards of 50 miles, involving thousands of stranded motorists in vans, cars, buses and trucks! Some were stuck in their vehicles for over a day and a half. The National Guard was called in to deliver supplies (And I guess when "nature called" .... well, I think you can guess!). Ring up another black eye - for Pennsylvania in general and Penn Dot specifically.

So both Jet Blue and Penn Dot got hammered. Both are showing off nice "shiners!" It will take a while for both to recover from this hit to their reputations. And reputations matter! As the Book of Proverbs reminds us, "A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold" (22:1). I hope your reputation is a good one! But if not - it is never too late to start working on it. Live with integrity and a good rep will follow!


Thanks for listening,


pj