I agree with you that there is potential for abuse in social networking. The problem I have with this article that the topic of “Why did the video succeed?” has not been addressed in depth.

I’ve made many videos for a few websites, and only one of them went viral. Even then, it’s only at about 50,000 views in a period of one year. It’s not like anyone can make an attack online it will automatically explode online.

Did Dave do the video for promotion? Of course he did, music videos are one of the most effective forms of promotion online for a band. Was there issues that he may or may not have brought up? Probably. Do I know that they broke his guitar? No. So legally, they are correct in stating that they are not liable. From that angle it looks like United were treated unfairly, but I believe that United had acted inappropriately as well.

The reason why the video became successful and that I believe it is that people can relate to it, and it takes a frustrating ordeal and brings humor to it. I know many people who travel frequently; stories of poor customer service is often mentioned in the same breath as United.

United should have been proactive rather than reactive when it comes to policy.

I suppose I should answer your main question of the article though as it is a good one.

I think companies should respond by improving their reputation by using social media proactively instead of reactively. Voltswagon’s “The Fun Theory” is a perfect example of how social media can promote a business, they’ve improved their online presence without showing a single picture of their product. If anyone had a complaint about voltswagon’s customer service, it would be in a medium in which voltswagon already has presence in.

See: http://bit.ly/dFhsb (The suit is out there in PDF format at the bottom of the post.)

That said, how sad is it that we're actually discussing the need for large corporations to develop robust customer service policies that respect the customer first and foremost? Sometimes the basics seem so very far away.

The fact that there was a breakdown in communication on United's part is enough for a savvy manager to make the call and fix the guitar. Not sure why that didn't happen.

Thanks!

Companies need to risk honoring a fraudulent claim once in a while in order to avoid inadvertently denying a legitimate one.

At any rate, “high grade whining” in social media is a perfectly legitimate response to high-grade anti-consumer practices. When the official customer disservice channels are geared to deny claims and suspect all claimants as criminals, the consumer has to take their claims through other venues.

2. United should have dealt with the complaint better.

3. No-one comes out of this well.

1. His other music is online, where it's been for months.

2. He's stated repeatedly that he's ALREADY written United 2, but hasn't written 3. When Song 2 comes out, expect people to say, “Oh come on, you've made your point, stop milking it.” But maybe this guy is exactly what he says he is. He promised 3 songs, he's writing three songs. He says 1 and 2 were written and had been performed live before the videos were made, they were. He was given the runaround months ago, he says he's done being angry with United, sure seems that way.

United (and many others) keep thinking about this thing in dollars and cents. I don't think this guy can be bought. I think the service he got was crap and THAT's what he's decrying. That's also why it strikes a chord.

It's also why United is so overmatched in the credibility department. This guy has a response online which actually addresses the cynics in us. You can say the “Hey, don't be mean to Ms. Irlweg” thing is a “masterstroke of PR” if that's the way you see the world, but if anyone does, I'm sad for them. I think he said it because it came out of him instinctually because he's a nice guy. That's what's striking a chord with so many people and that's why United is screwed, because they have zero intention of changing their corporate culture. They have a PR problem and they want to pay money and make it go away. The longer this unfolds the more it's clear how United (and let's be fair, this could be any number of corporations) has really lost its way on customer service.