Word was, United Airlines broke a $3500 guitar while handling passenger baggage. Moreover, they refused to compensate the musician, who tried for months, as Social Media Risk reported.
People say, Get even, not revenge. Dave Carroll was the musician in question, and he is a man of the renaissance decade of social media. He created a complaint music video that went viral on YouTube: over 13 million views, to date.
Social Media Risk said that United Airlines’ stock plunged 10%, after this video, and that it cost shareholders $180 million. Big numbers, definitely, and it’s nonsense to risk a 9-figure loss for a $3500 guitar.
In actuality, we don’t know for certain how much the video by itself contributed to this stock decline. But it should serve as a warning to companies: Don’t neglect, ignore, or otherwise mistreat your customers!
It took United Airlines a week to respond, which is an eternity in the warp-speed universe of social media, and offered to compensate Carroll. He graciously declined at that point, as it was too late, and encouraged the carrier to donate that money, instead, to a charity of their choice.
The airlines industry in the US, in particular, has had a brutal past decade, so it can ill-afford any bad PR. This one was a colossal faux pas.
Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think!
Ron Villejo, PhD
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