JetBlue & Gladly: Omnichannel Customer Service

Facing increased customer service scrutiny in the airline industry, JetBlue, in August 2017, announced a partnership with Gladly, a relatively new entrant in the customer service software market. JetBlue was going beyond simply using Gladly’s software. The company decided to invest in Gladly through its venture capital arm, JetBlue Technology Ventures. Frankie Littleford, JetBlue’s Vice President of Customer Support, stated, “"We are fortunate enough to be working so closely with Gladly that we are co-creating this [platform]together.”

Bonny Simi, president of JetBlue Technology Ventures group, was enthusiastic about a potential “onmichannel” approach to communicating with customers. "People just don't want to call in anymore. So we are aiming for omnichannel communication that is on at all hours, that can take advantage of AI (artificial intelligence) to resolve customers' issues as quickly as possible, and that will work with all of the important messenger apps."[1] 

Picking the right customer-service platform and then rolling it out without disrupting current operations were no small tasks for any airline, but JetBlue was committed to make it simpler for its customers to communicate with the company