Today we have another great example of a corporation caught on tape with our smart phones for wrong-doing and the humiliation they have caused to themselves – not to mention a marketing campaign that is going to shoot them in the foot by creating a negative image of customer treatment that is going to stick in the minds of current and future customers for a long time.
It’s sad – but United Airlines may have planted the seed of its collapse today.
Folks – if you haven’t seen the video of the Asian gentlemen being dragged through the airline (just google it or look it up on YouTube) you are going to be first-hand witnesses to the initial fallout of a corporation just taking root. It’s pathetic – and you know what? It could have been avoided with some diplomacy.
Here we have a classic example of David vs. Goliath at the sub-conscious level – thanks to the help of smart phone cameras and social media outrage. What corporations don’t realize is that nowadays – every single move and action is being tracked, stored, and commented on – and it sucks! So you got to be aware of your image.
Moral of the story: You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, I am telling you why – the Internet is in town – and its your social media platform! According to Statista (an Internet site dedicated to statistics) – In 2017, 81 percent of U.S. Americans had a social media profile. What this means is that visibility of something bad can be caught on phone, uploaded, and go viral in an instant creating an uproar. Just watch all the traffic regarding this incident on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube today.
We are not talking about a week after an incident occurs that people find out about it. We are not talking about an email message that landed in your junk folder. We are just talking about being on one of the main social media platforms out there and just getting this information pushed to us – for our award of signing up to leverage the platform – and the information coming your way can be good or bad.
What we learned from this incident is how not to treat the customer. I mean knocking him out, dragging him through the aisle – as if it was a Gladiator victory in the ring of honor within the Coliseum? C’mon – the folks at United Airlines need to understand the value of treating customers with respect and advocating “Fly the Friendly Skies” – one of their marketing slogans.
Ok – so something negative happened and what did United do?
- The CEO – the highest position in the company – initially never apologized directly to the customer victimized. The only apology was having to “re-accomodate the passengers” in the airplane. Note: it is the passengers with an “s” at the end, not the passenger in the statement. Just shows where the focus is of some people. It’s evident they think they are the ones in power and the that the customer can be treated as they please.
- They labeled the passenger as belligerent. Wouldn’t you be upset if you purchased your ticket months in advance, had to go through security to take off your shoes including your little 311 bag and laptop, patiently stand in line to enter the plane, and sit in the seat you paid for? He was a doctor who had to be at his destination the next day to see his patients. I mean – wasn’t Rosa Parks the impetus for one of the greatest civil rights movements in recent history for not giving up her seat on a bus? I am not surprised if this too causes a movement.
- They acted as if they just didn’t care. They forced him out of his seat and dragged him down the airplane aisle by his legs. It seems like we are entering in to the world of Neanderthal men. How disrespectful!
I am not sure what the fallout between United Airlines and passenger will be moving forward but we as current and future customers have PLENTY OF OPTIONS of airlines to fly and we CAN CHOOSE not to fly United Airlines if we do so. I will leave that decision to you.
I am more concerned about how some companies can have the audacity to treat people like this. I mean so much negative energy has been created due to poor decision-making and poor actions. It is for this reason that United Airlines is on the negative side of minds today – and it has no choice but to own up and be accountable for their actions.
We have a major problem in society today. We are impatient. We don’t seek to understand others. We can’t find better options to create a win-win scenarios between ourselves. We look to the bad others. We feel that force is the answer to get people to do what you want.
All of this is due to poor judgement and the rush to find solutions to your own problems quickly.
This incident could have easily been avoided saving United Airlines from their now disgraceful image and poor conduct. They could have put the passenger on another flight. They could have given him a free ticket. They could have found another volunteer to give up their seat. They could have put the staff – who eventually took the seat – on another flight. There are so many options that could have worked – but sadly they took their worse course of action – and one that caught them on tape.
If I were them, I would just shut up, pay up, and figure out a way to improve their PR campaign.
Perhaps, this is may make them “Great Again” – but for now they are not even close.