United Strikes A Wrong Chord

Lisa France

Kristina Johnson

Drew Monroe

Kelly Pace

Alicia Van Bourg

Core Statement

Although some representatives used Twitter extensively, United Airlines failed to have an overarching communication

response that aligned with the “customer commitments” listed on its website.

Evaluating United's Website

• United's 12 customer commitments.

• Limits of Liability Statement.

• Lack of Direct Line of Contact for Passengers.

• Online Damage Claims.

United’s Twitter Use

• Twitter has become a popular social media resource for corporate businesses.

• “psssst…@UnitedAirlines breaks guitars!” United response: “This has struck a chord w/ us and we’ve contacted him directly to make it right.”

• Utilized Twitter to take responsibility for this incident and let customers know they were trying to make things right.

• United should be proactive in their response and not wait for until negative feedback comes their way.

United Airlines, Broadcast Something!

• In the month of July this incident represented 43% of all news for United Airlines.

• United should have responded to the video on its YouTube channel.

• United did not identify active YouTube consumers as a key public.

• Not posting video content minimized the effectiveness of United’s response.

Mainstream Media Outlets

• Use of traditional media outlets for corporations.

• T.V. appearances, interviews and comments about the situation were provided by Carroll.

• No comments or information were given to the media by United Airlines.

Public Perception

• Public response to the video was huge: over 27,000 comments on the first video.

• Blogging helped create the "United Breaks Guitars" viral sensation:         - Peak: 420 blog mentions in one day.         - Average: 67 blog mentions per day.

• Twitter users fueled the conversation.

• Did not strengthen or repair relationships.

Recommendations

• Prioritize customer service.

• Develop an online damage claim process.

• Provide a direct contact line for damage claims.

• Respond through the same media outlet from which the problem originated.

• Provide a link to their YouTube channel on official website.

• Hold a press conference and provide press releases immediately following the situation.

• Be present in mainstream media discussions and designate a representative to speak to reporters and appear on television.

• Communicate more effectively and proactively through Twitter.