Social Media Revenge by Viral Video – United Airlines Breaks Guitars

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Face it, we’ve all been there. You’re a paying customer, you have a legitimate problem that the big, faceless corporation refuses to address. The hours being put on hold, the paperwork, red tape, and maddening bureaucracy, the endless navigation of phone systems, and repeating your story over and over again, only to be told in the end – “Fuck you.” By your airline company, your insurance company, your credit company. What the hell happened to the good old days when the “customer was king”?

Then, the best online reputation attack ever, by singer / songwriter Dave Carroll. After 8 months of stonewalling and passing the buck, United Airlines refusal to pay for the $1200 worth of damages to Dave’s guitar created a worse PR nightmare.

While I can’t say I’m a huge fan of his country style music,  Dave Carroll’s YouTube response to United Airlines breaking his guitar is a brilliant example of ordinary people using the power of social media to take back their power in the face of big corporations.

One smashed guitar, one YouTube video; 12 months and 4,467,537 views later, United Airlines is finally listening.