Digital Crosstalk

United Airlines don’t break guitars… oh yes they do!

Posted by Brian | Filed under air, blogging, hotels

Most people would have simply ranted and raved when their air carrier lost or damaged their luggage, but Canadian singer Dave Carroll went a step further than simply complaining to his carrier, United Airlines, when he penned his ditty ‘United Break Guitars’ in protest at the airline’s refusal to accept responsibility they had broken his prized Taylor acoustic guitar at Chicago’s O’Hare airport last year.

The song was accompanied by a video which went on to become an internet phenomenon, attracting four million views on video sharing website, You Tube, which is owned by Google. It was so successful that after nine months of trying and failing to gain admittance from United Airlines, the carrier has now paid up.

“You broke it, you should fix it/ you’re liable just admit it/ I should have flown with someone else or gone by car,” Carroll sings, “’cause United breaks guitars.”

However, sadly for United Airlines the damage isn’t going to stop there, despite the settlement as Dave is in the process of recording a second track, which will form part of a trilogy against the airline by the singer. The original song even managed to cause United Airline’s share price into a temporary drop, such was the publicity surrounding Dave’s ditty.

United Airlines aren’t the first company to become embroiled in an internet slanging match between customers and companies and they won’t be the last either as the upsurge in social media websites continues to create a rebalance in communication between consumers and businesses; helping to spread both the good and bad word about customer experience.

In a Twitter post, United Airlines admitted they made a mistake and would donate $3,000 to a music charity, but also that they liked the video if not the song. The carrier even hinted that they would like to use the video as a training aid to ensure a better level of service for their passengers.

Dave says he is no longer angered by the incident and he no longer cares about getting compensation, despite repairs to his guitar coming in at some $1200 – which still doesn’t play correctly. He will however press on with the second tune, which will feature his dealings with United Airlines’ customer service agent Ms Irlweg, who flatly refused Dave’s claim for compensation; with a third track following later.

Tags: airlines, complaints, Dave Carroll, United Airline, United Break Guitars