Southwest paying the price for love

Southwest Airlines Co., the discount carrier that touts itself as an “efficiency machine,” decided that it was a good investment to spend $100,000 for beverage stir sticks topped with a heart.

That was Southwest’s projected annual savings by switching to straws from the red-plastic sticks adorned with a heart in a nod to the airline’s “love” marketing theme. Instead, it dropped the idea after some employees protested.

“Feedback from our flight attendants was that they felt the benefit of keeping the heart stir stick outweighed the potential cost savings,” Beth Harbin, a spokeswoman for Dallas-based Southwest, said. “It’s a handy little tool.”