David vs United Airlines: An Internet Lesson

If you have any doubt that the Internet changes the dynamics of "business as usual", take a moment to consider the case of Mr. Dave Carroll.

According to his side of the story, while flying United Airlines his guitar was broken. After 1 year of frustrated attempts to receive compensation for his loss he was told "No".

5 to 10 years ago that would have been the end of the story.

Not so today.

Dave Carroll told United Airlines that he was going to write 3 songs about the incident and produce videos for them for the whole world to see. Installment 1 was released 3 days ago.

In 3 days, "United Breaks Guitars" has been viewed over 700,000 times. My search for "United" brought his video up as the #3 result in Google. All within 3 days. Wow.

And of those 700,000 views (and who knows how many more to come), how many do you suppose will side with United? The next time you go to book a flight and see the name United, will you remember the catchy chorus to "United Breaks Guitars"? How much will that cost United in the end? Will it be more than just doing the right thing 12 months ago? Probably. Probably by a lot.

If your business has survived by dominating the voiceless consumer, or thrived due to lack of competition... times are changing.

On the other hand, if your business is based upon providing remarkable products or services delivered with class, never before has there been the opportunity for the news to spread like there is today.

So the next time you have a difficult interaction with a customer: Remember the story of David vs United. Then do the right thing.

Your Turn
What has been your experience? Have you seen first hand how the internet has changed the face of business?