Friday FaceOff: United Airlines, Flying The Unfriendly Social Media Skies

0 Comment(s) | Posted Dec 4, 2009 by Peter Wylie

Peter Wylie

Let’s face it, airlines have their work cut out for them appeasing their customers.  Long waits, delays, baggage loss, rude staff, and paying for the first checked bag are only some of the negative things associated with air travel.

In the 2008 University of Michigan American Consumer Satisfaction Index, the airline industry ranked last of all major US industries in customer satisfaction.

And bringing up the rear of the rear, so to speak, is my vote for most mishandled corporate social media presence: United Airlines.

With a whopping 56 percent customer satisfaction rating, the worst among major US airlines, you’d think United would take every opportunity to try to improve its general image.  Social media presents an excellent opportunity for a brand to listen to customers and try to improve its image, but United has largely neglected its online users.

One caveat: United does have an active, useful Twitter feed, with 42,000 followers.  It sends out “twares,” discount fares only for its Twitter community, which is an admirable use of its social media presence.

But United also has let its Facebook opportunity pass.  There is a United Airlines Fan Page with 11,000 fans, but United has never posted anything to the page.  Talk about a wasted chance to set the record straight about PR disasters like “United Breaks Guitars,” an online video about poor customer service at United that has been viewed more than 6 million times.

United would have saved face and promoted positive brand equity if it had responded to Dave Carroll, the maker of the video, in a proactive manner online, much like Domino’s Pizza did after its own online video debacle.  But United failed to utilize the communities that had formed around its service already, and the problem festered and “United Breaks Guitars” became one of the top 10 most viewed online videos of 2009 (excluding music videos).

United should sit down and plot out a comprehensive social media strategy for 2010 to reach the customers that are unhappy with its service.  Compared to other methods of branding, the online outreach is the most cost-effective, because communities have already formed around the company.

Maybe with some solid social media effort, United can improve its poor customer satisfaction rating.

Filed under: Emerging Media, Friday Face-Off, Online Communities, Twitter-related