That’s almost PRECISELY what United Airlines is encouraging.

Corporations are going to have to drastically change the way they handle complaints given the impact social networking can have if they leave upset customers out there.

I’m not sure what the solution is to Companies, however, but a change is going to have to happen.

I believe United didn’t respond to email or phone calls because that is only between the customer and the person on the phone and hurts a small portion of their business. However, when you make your complaint public and it can possibly reach a large crowd, then you have to react because it could affect a much larger portion of your business.

I’ve done the same thing with Twitter when Travelocity pulled some shady stuff with me, got a reply from a Travelocity rep within minutes who put me in touch with their corporate office, where when I called, I was basically pushed from one person to the next.

Social Media Complaints…

Just read an article about a dissatisfied United Airlines customer. After his guitar was broken while flying with United Airlines, Carroll was repeatedly pushed away and told the airline takes no responsibility in damaged personal items. The long and…

It’s interesting that complaints published via social media networks seem to garner such attention. You rarely hear from customers who’s needs have been exceeded…no bands writing songs about the wonderful experience they had at United Airlines… only complaints.

[...] Angry United Airlines customer gets attention with YouTube complaint [...]

[...] Angry United Airlines customer gets attention with YouTube complaint [...]

What I love about this story is that Dave Carroll used social media to get public support for his cause. But the bigger story: by using his substantial talent in creating the video, he created opportunities for himself he might not have had if the guitar-breaking incident had never occurred (he acknowledges this in a follow-up video).

It’s important for companies to realize that, had UA dealt with the issue in a more timely and caring manner, there would have been no video that damaged their reputation. This can’t be a good time for an airline to alienate customers by handling complaints so poorly.

What’s specific about Dave Carroll’s story isn’t that he went public with his complaint, but did it in a clever enough way to make it go viral — I watched the video from start to finish because it was funny and entertaining, and a good song to boot. That’s sure to get results, as opposed to just complaining to a few friends on Twitter or MyFace.

[...] Angry United Airlines customer gets attention with YouTube complaint [...]

[...] Marktforscher von BuzzStudy haben nun nachträglich eine kleine Analyse angefertigt, die ziemlich deutlich zeigt, wie virale Privatkampagnen auf das Image eines [...]

[...] we discussed in our post about the angry United Airline customer who gained massive attention with his YouTube complaint, consumers are influencing each other [...]

[...] Marktforscher von BuzzStudy haben nun nachträglich eine kleine Analyse angefertigt, die ziemlich deutlich zeigt, wie virale Privatkampagnen auf das Image eines [...]

[...] finden sich bei bei Ed Wohlfahrt, dem Handelsblatt und bei Basic Thinking. Die Marktforscher von BuzzStudy haben nun nachträglich eine kleine Analyse angefertigt, die ziemlich deutlich zeigt, wie [...]

Kudos to Carroll! Song is great; UAL handling horrible. Nice to know someone won one from UAL. We didn’t! Will always try to avoid flying with them hereafter.

[...] Op Buzzstudy staan resultaten van analyses die Infegy zelf met SocialRadar heeft gemaakt. Met ingang van maart 2009 is een maandelijkse top50 van meest populaire merken gepubliceerd. De winnaar van de Amerikaanse Idols werd in de laatste ronde correct voorspeld. De aandacht voor de de 1e muzikale recensie van United Airlines werd ook op BuzzStudy geanalyseerd. [...]

[...] Interessante Analyse von Buzz Study mit Social Radar [...]