We recently spoke to a Web One client who had their laptop broken in transit when flying on a Virgin Airlines flight. Virgin had quickly agreed to replace the laptop and made the whole process relatively simple for him.
We immediately began to reminisce about the United Airlines saga and how the viral hit on YouTube, “United Breaks Guitars” became an instant hit and did damage to both the airline’s image and their bottom-line (it has been estimated to have cost United $180 million with the stock price plunging 10%).
For those who don’t know the story goes; “Dave Carrol (an aspiring US singer/song-writer) flew United Airlines in the Spring of 2008 with his band. His guitar ended up broken at the hand of employees, and the airline offered no compensation. After almost 12 months of trying to resolve the issue with United and getting no-where, he responded by creating a music video about the experience. Now, United Airlines is feeling the back-lash of public journalism, the social web network, and the millions of airline travellers who can identify with his experience.”
