George S. May Business Blog

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but YouTube will kill my company — Dave Carroll takes on United Airlines and wins

Next time a large company takes advantage of you, don’t file a complaint, don’t speak to a manager, just write a song and put it on YouTube.

From USA Today:

“The story of a Canadian musician whose guitar was allegedly damaged by United baggage handlers at Chicago O’Hare has become one of the most-talked-about aviation stories on the Web this week. Now, after going viral online, the story also has gone mainstream. The Chicago Tribune, U.S. national TV networks and a bevy of Canadian papers are among those to pick up the story during the past day. The move shows just how quickly the Internet can help a disgruntled customer can turn the tables on a company and its effort to manage its public image.

As for the Tribune’s take, United’s hometown newspaper writes “Canadian musician Dave Carroll could have sung the blues after United Airlines workers at O’Hare International Airport smashed his guitar and the carrier refused to pick up the $1,200 cost to repair it. Instead, he turned the experience into a witty ditty, ‘United Breaks Guitars,’ and scored an instant hit on YouTube, his first in a 16-year career.” The Tribune adds that Carroll “spent hours reasoning with United agents in Chicago, New York and India” over a nine-month period, all to “no avail.”

Carroll posted his United-themed song and video on YouTube early on Monday. As of this morning, it had been viewed nearly half-a-million times. The Ottawa Citizen notes “the song documents Carroll’s woes and frustration with the airline’s refusal to compensate him for his loss.” Carroll performs the song on the video with his Nova Scotia-based band, the Sons of Maxwell. The Citizen adds Carroll — via notes on his YouTube post — “promised the last person to finally say no to compensation … that I would write and produce three songs about my experience with United Airlines and make videos for each to be viewed online by anyone in the world.”

As for the other two songs, they’re still coming, Carroll says. Still, the buzz generated by the first song is remarkable, even earning him a mention on CNN’s “The Situation Room” yesterday. “Any day you’re on Wolf Blitzer’s screen in ‘The Situation Room,’ it’s a big day,” Carroll is quoted as saying by the Los Angeles Times.

United, on the other hand, “is facing a PR nightmare after failing to resolve the issue,” Benet Wilson writes on her Things With Wings commercial aviation blog. But, she adds “to its credit, United Airlines saw the error of its ways and is now trying to resolve the situation. And @UnitedAirlines was on Twitter explaining to its 15,603 followers on what it’s doing for the guitarist and offering an apology.” Damage control in an era of new media …

And, Carroll’s video could even lead to a better experience for other United customers, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. ”While we mutually agree this should have been fixed much sooner, Dave’s excellent video provides us with something we can use for training purposes to ensure that all customers receive better service for us,” United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski says to the Sun-Times.”

Related posts:

1. Delta, United, Continental Airlines all raising baggage fees Reuters reported that Delta Air Lines Inc., United Airlines and Continental Airlines Inc. are all getting set to raise bag fees again. “The higher fees follow...


2. YouTube Gets 2 Billion Hits for 5th Birthday YouTube began as an internet startup five years ago, and like so many, it has come a very long way from being internet larvae to...


3. Delta Airlines may buy a part of Japan Airlines Delta Airlines is considering pumping cash, (a couple hundred million, pointedly) into Japan Airlines in return for a stake in the company. Can you hear...


4. FAA slams United, US Airways with nearly $10 mil in fines United Airlines and US Airways both may be in a bit of trouble. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the two airlines had flown planes...