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Blue Pumpkin And JetBlue Airways Reinvent Customer ServiceWorkforce optimization solutions help new US airline set the standard – results include 38% improvement in service levels and $1.2M in performance gainsSunnyvale, CA – October 14, 2002 – Blue Pumpkin, an industry leader in enterprise workforce optimization solutions, today announced its engagement results with JetBlue Airways. In the first year alone, JetBlue achieved a 350% return-on-investment, helping to enhance the company’s reputation for customer service and efficient operations. As a new US airline, JetBlue is aggressive in leveraging technology to reinvent the industry. Last year, the company implemented Blue Pumpkin’s workforce optimization solutions to improve its reservations desk – an innovative, "virtual" operation with the majority of customer care agents working remotely. After the first year, JetBlue realized $1.2 million in performance improvement benefits that included: 38% increase in service levels, 30% boost in agent productivity, 50% improvement in management workload per agent and other gains. "To be a customer-centric business, you first need to be employee-centric," stated Julie Strickland, contact center administrator for JetBlue. "Blue Pumpkin gave us visibility into our people – no small feat given our virtual operations – which enabled us to quickly and strategically implement the right changes. We could now design staffing scenarios that employees were happy with and also made business sense. These motivational, productivity and financial benefits ultimately mean our customers receive the best service and the lowest airfares." JetBlue’s people represented its highest cost – even greater than the airplanes and fuel combined – so Blue Pumpkin’s ability to make the workforce more efficient and effective was mission-critical to the airline’s profitability. Blue Pumpkin gave JetBlue the visibility it needed to manage its non-traditional workforce, boosting productivity and accommodating agent preferences. Using Blue Pumpkin to quickly generate and compare different "what-if" staffing scenarios, JetBlue devised a way to offer a flexible and shorter work schedule – which was important to the stay-at-home moms who represented nearly 75% of its virtual agents. It could also accommodate other agent preferences without compromising customer service levels, with new insight into call patterns and an ability to plan around peak hours. "We are pleased to be part of JetBlue’s commitment to its customers and employees," stated Doron Aspitz, chief executive office and co-founder of Blue Pumpkin. "With Blue Pumpkin, JetBlue could empower its people, making them more self-managing, more satisfied and more likely to provide better customer care. The results are apparent in the high return-on-investment we provide and enhances JetBlue’s reputation for customer service and as a family-friendly employer." Blue Pumpkin impacts customer service and profitability by optimizing and aligning all the underlying workforce-related processes, including strategic planning, budgeting, forecasting, scheduling, time tracking, performance evaluation and more. For more than 900 customers including many Global 2000 companies, Blue Pumpkin solutions ensure that their people are performing at their highest levels and helping the customer at the right place and right time. About JetBlue Airways JetBlue is a low-fare, low-cost passenger airline which provides high-quality customer service. Since launching operations in February 2000, the airline has served more than eight million passengers. JetBlue operates a fleet of 31 new Airbus A320 aircraft and is scheduled to place into service another five new A320s by the end of 2002. All JetBlue aircraft are outfitted with roomy all-leather seats each equipped with free live satellite television, offering up to 24 channels of DIRECTV® programming at every seat (not available on flights between New York City and San Juan, Puerto Rico). With JetBlue, all seats are assigned, all travel is ticketless, all fares are one-way, and a Saturday night stay is never required. For more information, schedules and fares, please visit www.jetblue.com or call JetBlue reservations at 1-800-JETBLUE (538-2583). In February, JetBlue won Air Transport World magazine's 2002 "Market Development Award," for its successful first two years of service, and also was named Best Overall Airline by Onboard Services magazine. Last year, the airline ranked first in Conde Nast Traveler's 2001 Business Travel Awards, second in the Best Domestic Airline category in the magazine's 14th Annual Readers' Choice Awards, and number two Best Domestic Airline in the 2001 Zagat Airline Survey. With JetBlue, all seats are assigned, all travel is ticketless, all fares are one-way and a Saturday night stay is never required. For more information, schedules and fares, please visit www.jetblue.com or call JetBlue reservations at 1-800-JETBLUE (538-2583). About Blue Pumpkin Blue Pumpkin is a leader in workforce optimization, a market quickly gaining momentum and enabling businesses to leverage their most critical resource: their people. Blue Pumpkin solves the urgent needs of more efficiently deploying resources and effectively managing employee performance – significantly impacting customer service, loyalty and profitability. The Blue Pumpkin Workforce Optimization Suite applications form a closed-loop system and include Planner, Director-Enterprise, Activity Manager, Advisor and other products. Professional services implement best practices and manage change to build the right processes and fully leverage technology solutions. As the first to offer extensive services in addition to applications and customer support, Blue Pumpkin helps people and businesses successfully execute on their goals. Blue Pumpkin has more than 900 customers in a wide range of industries, including many Global 2000 companies such as ADP, Apple Computer, Airborne Express, AOL/CompuServe Europe, AT&T, Borders Group, Compaq Canada, FedEx, General Mills, JetBlue Airways, Kaiser Permanente, KitchenAid, TimeWarner Cable, and Verizon. An advanced ecosystem of over 150 partners supports Blue Pumpkin customers with other products and services. For more information about Blue Pumpkin and its products, please visit http://www.bluepumpkin.com Editorial Contact: Renee Maler Blue Pumpkin Software 925 968 9495 rmaler@bluepumpkin.com top of page |
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