United Airlines Customer Service
For a long time, United Airlines has been able to brag that they are not the worst airline at Customer Service in the United States. Spirit Airlines has always held that #1 spot, while United has always been the second worst airline. However, the events that happened last week may have catapulted United to first of the worst. It is never just one thing that does a company in; A Week United Would Like To Forget A United flight was overbooked so the airline started offering Customers $400 and a hotel room if they offered to take a later flight. After the passengers boarded and still nobody had volunteered, United upped the ante to $800 announcing that the flight would not leave until four stand-by United employees had seats. After there were still no takers, a manager allegedly told passengers that a computer would select four passengers to be kicked off the flight. |
*Learn from the best at America’s #1 Customer Service Conference A doctor, one of the passengers on the United flight to Louisville, Kentucky was randomly selected to give up his seat. When he refused, he was thrown against the armrest before being dragged, bloodied and screaming, up the aisle and off the plane. This whole event was proven by witnesses and numerous videos posted online. The passenger suffered a significant concussion, a broken nose, and lost two front teeth. Let’s be clear here, it was not United employees who removed the passenger. They called the security of Chicago O’Hare Airport who decided to be physical with the passenger. Somehow the Chicago Aviation officer, who chose to use excessive physical force, has not gotten the public backlash deserved. However, it was United who overbooked the flight, trying to maximize revenue, and has a policy that stand bye crew members take priority and can bump full paying passengers. Why Do Some CEO’s Make Bad Things Worse? Clearly what happened on the Zero Risk – Anticipating your service defects and having protocols in place to make it right
Losing A Billion Dollars Will Definitely Make You More Sorry Once the videos started to circulate all over the internet and after United’s stock dropped about 4%, which is $1 billion of market value in a few hours, Munoz finally improved his position by calling the event “truly horrific.” In the statement, Munoz has pledged a full review by April 30 to fix what is broken so this never happens again. “I want you to know that we take full responsibility and we will work to make it right,” Munoz said in a statement. “I promise you we will do better.” He also promised that United is looking into how it moves crews and deals with oversold flights, as well as how it works with airport authorities and local law enforcement. Brand Assassination
Because of how incredibly bad United handled this situation and Munoz taking three tries at offering a true apology, there has been a tidal wave of public backlash. United is now the best punch line on social media, talk shows, and even by their competition. #NewUnitedAirlinesMottos was a top trend on Twitter, with users suggesting slogans such as “not enough seating, prepare for a beating.” Own It United, and more importantly Munoz, needed to take full responsibility, figure out exactly what went wrong, and create a process so it will never happen again. This is one of the X Commandments of The DiJulius Group consulting process, one of the most critical, VII Zero Risk, which is where anticipate your service defects and have protocols in place to make it right. 4 Steps To Service Recovery
Top Service Recovery Screw-Ups Of All Time Here Is A World-Class Service Recovery Story Employees of The DiJulius Group have a great deal of pressure on them. If |
