United Airlines is not having a good week. It all started after this shocking Facebook post went viral.
In it, a horrified passenger, Audra D. Bridges, describes her ordeal watching a man being violently dragged out of his seat.
Passengers and activists on Twitter also shared several videos showing the very visibly shaken passenger running back and forth on the plane repeatedly saying: “Just kill me”.
Activists said the man insisted he was a doctor who needed to see patients the next morning, which is why he refused to voluntarily give up his seat based on United's request.
The company then asked Chicago Aviation Security Officers to remove the passenger from the flight to make room for United Airlines crew traveling to Louisville.
What followed was a flood of tweets both shaming and mocking United Airlines’ violent spin on the notion of customer service.
Ignoring the mistake
United Airlines’ pinned tweet written by CEO Oscar Munoz only made things worse:
The company’s failure to immediately apologize to the passenger, turned thousands of activists against United and launched calls to boycott the company.
The hashtag quickly turned into its own Twitter account @BoycottUnited_
United CEO sent a letter to employees explaining the situation. The letter, which was also shared on Twitter, blames the passenger for refusing to deplane and becoming "disruptive and belligerent."
His choice to avoid addressing the violence shown in the video not only ignores the trauma also suffered by other passengers but also creates an opportunity for the company’s main competitors.
Deliver customers to competitors
While United Airlines struggled to sway public opinion, its competitor Southwest Airlines grabbed what appeared to be a golden opportunity to welcome dissatisfied United customers.
This not only shows United Airlines weakness in managing such incidents, but also shows Southwest's sharp and fast approach to turning an otherwise tragic incident around.
People on social media also pitched in, changing the airline's slogan. This poster below was not made by Southwest. (The person who made it said their intention was to make light of the entire situation).
Sugarcoating facts
United claims that the passenger refused to comply to “polite” requests to leave the plane, although the video shows nothing polite about the way he was dragged out and humiliated.
Even if that were the case, United fails to mention that he is a paying customer and it is the company’s own fault for selling more seats than what was available.
Although CEO Munoz says there are “lessons we can learn from this experience” he did write to his employees, “I emphatically stand behind all of you and I want to commend you for continuing to fly right.”
No company is immune from public relation disasters or at the very least mishaps committed by one or more employees. Yet a swift and correct response can either help put matters to rest or simply compound an already messy situation.
This requires a deep understanding of the power of social media and an urgent plan for corporates to soften their image rather than alienate paying customers.
As this story continues to unfold in the next few hours, social media has again showed us the immense power of a single tweet: