When in trouble, rely on friends to help you out. One woman from Houston left for her sister’s wedding in Costa Rica and only upon landing realized that she had forgotten her bridesmaid’s dress back home.
Her friends and Southwest Airlines came to her aid, in an effort that the airline company dubbed the #RescueTheDress operation. It was all documented on social media and, based on the reactions it’s getting, it’s proving to be a brilliant stroke of marketing for the airline company.
Grayleigh Oppermann flew Southwest to Costa Rica. She landed and realized she’d left her dress back home. She couldn’t do without it, since she was part of the wedding – and a big one, while at it: she was the bridesmaid.
“This is my sister’s wedding,” Oppermann says. “I can’t even imagine… I was just sick to my stomach.”
She tells Today she called her friends back in Houston, who tried to find ways of shipping the dress to her on time. They found none, so one of them made one last attempt by contacting Southwest on Twitter. As it turns out, the company had a flight out to Costa Rica the next day.
About 3 hours later, Southwest responded, offering to fly the dress to its intended destination. They dubbed the whole thing the operation #RescueTheDress and offered updates along the way. Another friend dropped the dress at the airport in Houston, where it boarded the plane. A tracking link was made public, offering Twitter users the chance to see where the dress would be at for the next 12 hours.
Eventually, it landed in Costa Rica, where it was retrieved by Oppermann. As a thank-you, she offered Southwest a shot of herself (in the dress, of course) with the bride.
The story and the hashtag went viral, earning plenty of praise for Southwest as the kind of airline company that goes beyond the call of duty to be of service to its customers. Without a doubt, the free publicity will translate into more people choosing it over other operators.
Grayleigh Oppermann flew Southwest to Costa Rica. She landed and realized she’d left her dress back home. She couldn’t do without it, since she was part of the wedding – and a big one, while at it: she was the bridesmaid.
“This is my sister’s wedding,” Oppermann says. “I can’t even imagine… I was just sick to my stomach.”
She tells Today she called her friends back in Houston, who tried to find ways of shipping the dress to her on time. They found none, so one of them made one last attempt by contacting Southwest on Twitter. As it turns out, the company had a flight out to Costa Rica the next day.
About 3 hours later, Southwest responded, offering to fly the dress to its intended destination. They dubbed the whole thing the operation #RescueTheDress and offered updates along the way. Another friend dropped the dress at the airport in Houston, where it boarded the plane. A tracking link was made public, offering Twitter users the chance to see where the dress would be at for the next 12 hours.
Eventually, it landed in Costa Rica, where it was retrieved by Oppermann. As a thank-you, she offered Southwest a shot of herself (in the dress, of course) with the bride.
The story and the hashtag went viral, earning plenty of praise for Southwest as the kind of airline company that goes beyond the call of duty to be of service to its customers. Without a doubt, the free publicity will translate into more people choosing it over other operators.
UPDATE: The dress has arrived at Houston Hobby!
— Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) March 1, 2019
(Shout out to the bridesmaid’s friend Rachel, who dropped it off at the airport this morning. We all need a friend like Rachel.) pic.twitter.com/K7aqVb25DY
Ladies and gentlemen, it has arrived.
— Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) March 1, 2019
Operation #RescueTheDress: COMPLETE! pic.twitter.com/vxNH812IXG
Yep. That was totally worth it. pic.twitter.com/aM81Y9amUE
— Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) March 3, 2019