The travel and leisure industry is all about customer service. Actually, every industry is about customer service, but we really hold people to account if we feel mistreated at an airline or hotel. Southwest has long thrived on the theory that employees are more important than customers, because happy workers will be happy to customers.
Perhaps that's one reason Southwest ranks at the top of the heap in the latest Glassdoor.com rankings of airlines. Glassdoor calls itself "the Trip Advisor of careers and workplaces."
It's a web site based on anonymous reviews from people purporting to be employees at a wide variety of companies. It can be a good research tool for job seekers considering a job at a particular firm, and it also allows CEO's to get an honest assessment of employee sentiment...assuming the reviewers are being truthful about who they are, what they make, and where they work.
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Here are Glassdoor's latest findings on airlines and hotel reviews.
Southwest employees gave the company a 4.7 rating (out of 5), and CEO Gary Kelly got an 89 percent approval rating ("One would be lucky to work for this amazing company," wrote a Southwest "flight attendant"). Coming in second was Continental, with a 3.9 company rating and an 80 percent approval rating for CEO Larry Kellner.
In last, United Airlines, with a 1.8 company rating and a 9 percent approval rating for CEO Glenn Tilton ("Go to another airline before you ruin your career at United," writes a San Francisco based "manager"). United consistently does poorly in Glassdoor reviews.
Then there are the hotel chains. Marriott placed first in the Glassdoor reviews, with Hyatt just behind: 3.6 versus 3.5 company ratings, with both CEO's getting a 74 percent approval rating. In last place, Hilton, with a 2.8 company rating from employees, and only a 12 percent approval rating for CEO Christopher Nassetta ("Be prepared to work your a** off," writes one "manager").
But it's not all love for the winners. While Marriott got some positive reviews, like "A great place to work" from a "controller", there were also a few unfavorable reviews, like the one from a "supervisor" that merely said "Mediocre."
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