Another great case study of how an angry and empowered individual with access to the internet – and in this case a catchy song and YouTube video – can force even the mightiest of corporations to back down. Canadian songwriter Dave Carroll spent almost a year trying to persuade United Airlines to compensate him for the damage they had done to one of his prized guitars. After trying and failing with all of the usual customer service routes, Carroll and his band posted a protest song on YouTube.
The video has been viewed over half a million times since it was posted on Monday and was predictably picked up by the major US networks. This how CNN ran the story.
To be fair to the PR people at United, they responded to Carroll’s musical protest within hours and smartly described the film as a “unique learning opportunity”. They issued a statement via Twitter, which read: “This has struck a chord [with] us and we’ve contacted him directly to make it right.”and also committed to using the film internally “to promote better customer service.” Dave has been compensated finally for the damage done to his guitar and United has learned to surf.