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The PR nightmare for United Airlines continues with "United breaks guitars (song 2)"
The PR nightmare that is "United Airlines breaks guitars" has resulted in a second video. As a quick reminder; United Airlines screwed up by not only breaking a valuable guitar, but also by completely failing to take responsibility for the incident.
The first video has been viewed just under 5 million times, in part thanks to its catchy tune. The second video was just released to Youtube, and while it features the same kind of funny lyrics, it just isn't as awesome as part 1.
Still, with each new song, United Airlines gets a new reminder that they screwed up.
Consumer travel advocate Chris Elliott recently sat down with the United Airlines VP for customer contact centers, and discussed what kind of impact the video had on them, and what lessons (if any) they learned from how social media can bite you in the backside.
The other lesson in these video clips is that scoring one massive viral Youtube hit isn't hard, but scoring a second one will be near impossible.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Fiznatty Aug 18th 2009 5:16PM
I was in a marching band in college and it was almost inevitable that an airline would destroy an instrument every year. They usually offered a max of $50-100 in compensation, which isn't going to fix a flattened trombone...
If anything, this story (which obviously isn't unique) serves as a reminder that airlines place limits on the amount they'll compensate you for damaged goods in checked luggage. It's in the fine print. This is why travelers should never check laptops, camera gear or other delicate electronic equipment if possible.
These guys are lucky that the airline made things right. They're in the minority.
Max
stephen Aug 19th 2009 3:47PM
The second song is just a breather for the significantly harder, Japanese speed metal version of United Breaks Guitars.