Devoted to Managers and those that seek to improve their management skills

Herb Kelleher said one time, "Allow employees to do what they need to do to get the job done. Make the mission clear and hold the reins lightly."

In the case of the couple of women being confronted on whether their clothing was inappropriate or not, the above belief by Herb Kelleher was exercised through Southwest Airlines employees. I've followed Herb Kelleher and Southwest Airlines (LUV) for quite some time, and sticking up for their employees is a way of life for the company.

Kelleher and Southwest has always allowed their people the latitude to deal with situations as they occur, so that isn't anything new.

As far as the issue at hand, there's been a lot of comments - pro and con - on Southwest's blog about the two incidents, covering just about all spectrums of the issue.

While the obvious cranks are always out on the Internet, it's really hard to measure whether those commenting negatively are really Southwest customers or not.

The fact that this is the second incident, seems to tell me that Southwest is behind the policy, and didn't tell their people to back down in these types of incidents. If the first problem was considered to be handled wrong, I'm sure it would have been addressed and employees would have let this one go.

Southwest is known for its high level of communication so it's very unlikely something like this would have slipped through its grasp.

More than this short-term response to the situation, the problem for Southwest will probably be an influx of screwballs dressing like this to provoke a response so they can either get popular and make money, or possibly try to instigate a lawsuit.

I'm not sure if airplanes are under the same laws as physical businesses, but physical businesses can definitely refuse service to someone if they aren't comfortable with the way they dress. You've seen the signs: No shirts, no shoes, No Service. It's enforceable also.

The question will be if it's worth it in this case. Will Southwest be hurt by this? I really don't think they will. Sure you'll get the inevitable ranters coming out of the woodwork making it look worse than it really is, but many people are with Southwest on this also.

Like I mentioned earlier, I think the problem will come when you get the publicity seekers provoking Southwest employees and customers in the future. It could end up being a stream of people wanting publicity or possibly money. That could create an atmosphere which could hurt the airlines.

To me they should clarify their policies to consumers, so they can make a decision on whether to fly with them or not.