United, Some Big Help You Are

You’re liable just admit it.

Mackenzie Davids

Jessi McKain

Alyssa Nickles

Vincenza Passalacqua

Companies in the age of Web 2.0

Social media has changed the way companies receive & handle bad press

Research

• Baggage policy

• System to handle complaints

• Post-trip baggage help pages

• Link to baggage tracing/claim form

What should have been done?

• Demographics of customers

• Customer satisfaction with baggage handling and complaint resolution

• Medium choice for customer news and communication

Key Publics

• Customers

• Stockholders

• Employees

• Environmental Groups

Key Public: Customers

•Affects returning and prospective customers

•Comments from angry customers who have shared similar experiences

•Responding to negative customer responses via twitter

•United is listening, and they care

Key Public: Stockholders

• July 22, 2009: stock dropped 10% = $180 Million

• $180M = $51K Guitars

• June - Oct. 2009: United’s stock was below S&P Index

• 1996 - 2009: Customer Satisfaction ratings dropped 21.1%

• United had been losing money following the 1978 deregulation

• Did “United Breaks Guitars” cause stock to drop?

Key Publics: Employees

• Employee-employer relationships are crucial to the function of a company

• Employees are often stockholders

• Employees don’t want to be blamed in a crisis

• United provides benefits for part-time & full-time workers

Key Public: Non-profits

• United donated $3,000 to the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz

• Ongoing partnership

• American Red Cross and Haiti relief

• Environmental Groups

United’s Response

• United took responsibility for actions

• Facebook: Unofficial page & at the time had around 9,000 fans

• YouTube: Had negative comments with no response from United

• Traditional Media: Answered journalists’ inquires

• Twitter: Main Medium used

United Breaks Guitars: Song 3

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P45E0uGVyeg

• “There’s a long line of people with a story like mine”

• “United needs to change in a big way”

• United claims 99.95% of luggage doesn’t break

• “You say that you’re changing and I hope you do cus if you don’t then who’d fly with you?”• http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=P45E0uGVyeg

United’s Messages vs. Values

• Messages not consistent with values

• United damage claim

• Restrictions & Requirements for oversized baggage

• “It occurred to me that I had been fighting a losing battle... the system is designed to frustrate affected customers into giving up their claim and United is very good at it.”

Communication or Cmomunictaoin

• Most of the harm was already done once “United Breaks Guitars” went viral

• The initial comment of “struck a cord” was repeated

• Did not respond on United’s website nor YouTube

• Use video for training purposes

BFF

That was a mistake that we made, have apologized for, have fixed, and most importantly, learned from too.

Recommendations

• Offered to compensate Carroll Immediately

• Posted apology and training videos on its website and YouTube

• Responded in a positive, professional manner

• Improved its microblogging image

Questions?