497Information Flow along the Supply Chain
Improve Customer Relations
The need to improve customer relations can sometimes take a strange turn. Rainer and
Cegielski (2011, p. 309) offer an interesting example. On January 15, 2009, U.S. Airways
Flight 1549 crash-landed in the Hudson River after striking a ock of Canada geese on
takeoff. Fortunately, all 155 passengers survived. Like all carriers, U.S. Airways had a
playbook for such incidents. Their network of gate agents, reservation clerks, and other
employees were dispatched to handle the survivors in the most customer-friendly way
they could. They provided cash and credit cards for employees to buy medicines, toiletries,
and personal items that passengers needed. They had cases of prepaid ...