Be Warned: Angry Customers Going Berko!
Ben Motteram, a Melbourne-based customer experience specialist, says an angry customer ranting on social media can have serious and long-term consequences for businesses who don’t take immediate action.
Social media has effectively turned customers into broadcasters. We all know the old statistics that a satisfied customer will tell 2-3 people about their experience with a company while a dissatisfied consumer will tell 8-10. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter where a post or tweet can be shared thousands of times have amplified those numbers exponentially.
Over the last few years we’ve seen a lot of damage to brand equity when a dissatisfied customer took to social media and then went viral. In today’s post I want to look at something a little different though. These next few customers were so frustrated by their experiences with companies that they actually spent considerable amounts of time and/or money to vent their anger with the intention of damaging that company’s brand.
United Breaks Guitars
As he was sitting on the tarmac waiting to disembark his Delta Airlines aeroplane, Dave Carroll looked out the window to see luggage handlers throwing his band’s guitar cases around as they were being unloaded. Upon discovering that his $3,500 Taylor guitar was broken as a result of this, he complained to the airline.
The airline’s response was less than sympathetic: they claimed he had waited longer than 24 hours to process a claim, and was therefore not eligible for compensation. For nine months, Dave went backwards and forwards with United trying to his claim processed. The response was always a firm and consistent “no.”
Eventually, frustrated at United’s response, Dave took the time to write a catchy little song called, you guessed it, “United Breaks Guitars”.
It went viral and within four weeks, United’s stock price had dropped by 10% – a decrease in valuation of $180 million.
As of this morning, the song has now had over 15m views on YouTube. Add to that the press coverage that has since accompanied its release and this has been a public relations disaster for United.
Don’t Fly @BritishAirways
United isn’t the only airline to be publicly humiliated by an angry customer though. When British Airways lost the luggage of Hasan Syed’s father and then neglected to reply to emails, Hasan didn’t just vent his dissatisfaction to his 500+ followers. No, Hasan paid US$1,000 for some promoted tweets.
In addition to this, he tweeted “BritishAirways is the worst airline ever. Lost my luggage & can’t even track it down. Absolutely pathetic.” and “Thanks for ruining my EU business trip #britishairways. I shouldn’t have flown @BritishAirways. Never flying with you again.”
He targeted his ads at all 302,000 followers of British Airways and vowed to continue running the ads until “BA fixes this mess.”
Eight hours after the first tweet and after the tweet had been picked up by news sites, the airline meekly tweeted back, “Sorry for the delay in responding, our twitter feed is open 0900-1700 GMT.”
That was back in September, 2013. BA’s twitter account (now @British_Airways – I wonder if this episode was the reason they changed their handle?) now proclaims “We love reading your tweets & are here 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to help.”
Bad News Billboard
George Prokas bought a phone for his son from South African telco Cell C in 2013. Unfortunately for Prokas, the phone’s number belonged to someone else, who ran up a bill of R5,000 (just over A$500) by the time it was detected and fixed.
Prokas was unaware of the unpaid bill until he tried to buy a car earlier in 2014 when he was told he was listed as a bad debtor. He sought to have the bill waived by Cell C and to be removed from the list of bad debtors but got nowhere with the company.
One of his employees explains what led to his next action:
“We tried every which way to get hold of somebody, anybody to speak to at Cell C to explain to Cell C what the problem was, and we were stonewalled all the way. We could never get through to anybody senior; we eventually got one e-mail address but they block all the other e-mails and when we couldn’t get any further my boss sat me down and said ‘this is what they do to every little man out there, I’ve got money! On behalf of everybody watch me I’m gonna put up a board and then we’ll see what they do’.”
In early November, 2014, put up a board he did. On a busy intersection in Sandton, just outside of Johannesburg, Prokas paid R61,000 (~A$6,500) to have a huge billboard erected claiming that (in his opinion – this was in very small writing) Cell C was “The most useless service provider in SA”. For good measure he included the name and phone number of the Franchise Manager who in his opinion had been unhelpful.
Rather than try to solve the customer’s problem, Cell C chose to fight him in court taking legal action against Prokas and the World Wear shopping centre to have the banner removed. They lost and were ordered to pay Prokas’ legal costs. The billboard remained up.
After much publicity, the CEO has since expressed his disappointment that the company failed its customer.
Hijacked Domain
When HSBC sold Christopher George what he thought was unnecessary insurance on a business loan that in his words played “a part in the demise of (my) business”, he took matters into his own hands.
In September 2014, George trademarked the domain name for HSBC’s original name, The Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation, and set it up as a sperm bank.
thehongkongandshanghaibankingcorporation.com is no longer active but George says his point was made:
“Many people in my position would have no idea how to stand up for themselves against a financial behemoth such as this –- but in registering this domain name, I have proven that there are ways in which these banks can be got at, in the most public manner.”
These are just 4 examples of extreme measures that customers have taken to right perceived injustices. In each case their stories went viral, got picked up by the media and the brand damage was enormous.
If your company has policies that could to lead to this type of anger (and with rigid, non-customer-focussed policies this is often the case), I don’t need to tell you how important it is that you have escalation processes that will deal with customer complaints before they get to this point.
In today’s hyperconnected world its a must.
Latest News
The Mars Agency Announces Latest Findings Of Retail Media Report Card
The Mars Agency has developed a scorecard that assesses the capabilities of leading platforms across key criteria required to optimally plan, execute, and measure effective retail media programs. The scorecard aims To help brands efficiently evaluate their spending options across retail media networks in Australia (and New Zealand). With spending on retail media advertising in […]
‘It’s The Lesser Of Two Evils’ – NRL Eyes US Betting Market As Aussie Regulators Circle
US betting firms will be delighted by the circa 50,000 Americans who could soon watch the NRL on their favourite app.
A-League In Deep Discussions With New Partner To Keep Games On TV After Production Company Enters Administration
The A-League's insatiable appetite for scoring own goals continues.
TV Ratings (27/03/2024): Jungle Members At War Over Concealed Lipstick
A heated argument between two jungle members did the numbers for Ten last night, with I’m A Celeb obtaining a total national reach of 1,282,000. Fans were delighted as Candice Warner and influencer Skye Wheatley got into it over a stick of lipstick, leading Warner to dub the Instagram star “selfish.” Wheatley, best known for […]
Is The Australian Music Industry In Trouble? Inquiry Launched Following Splendour Cancellation
Earlier this week, an inquiry was launched into the challenges and opportunities currently facing the Australian live music industry in the wake of multiple festival cancellations. On 25 March 2024, the Minister for the Arts, the Hon. Tony Burke MP, asked the Committee on Communications and the Arts to inquire into and report on the […]
Liana Dubois, Leandro Perez, Aimee Buchanan & More Gather For Inaugural Compadres Leadership Event
Didn't get the invite? Perhaps you're not as important as you thought.
Cathay Captures The Unforgettable Thrill Of Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Rugby Sevens, Via Publicis
Nobody does rugby like Hong Kong, apparently. Certainly nobody does it as badly as Australia.
Cocogun Nabs Christine Watts, Kirsty Reynolds & Shev Tan Bolstering Management & Creative Teams
Cocogun bolsters its team with new hires. Committed to purchasing a bigger sofa, too.
The Media Store’s Jacquie Alley & Sam Cousins Take The Plunge With Pro-Bono Work For Cure Cancer
B&T chats with The Media Store bosses about their great pro-bono work and sponsored swim.
Hawke’s Brewing Co. Taps Rocket Comms For PR Agency Following Competitive Pitch
We're expecting Rocket Comms productivity to crash in spectacular fashion following this win.
Spotlight On Sponsors: Patties Serves Up A Taste Of Home For Olympians & South Sydney Rabbitohs Recommit To Gambling Reform
While the Rabbitohs commits to gambling reform, B&T reckons the team should commit to a decent auto sponsor.
Google: “Inevitable” That Bad Actors Will Abuse Ads Platform As Advertiser Account Suspensions Double
Google maintains it's simply impossible for it to entirely stop bad people placing & paying for ads using its service.
Quantcast Expands APAC Sales Team With Appointment Of News Corp Account Manager
No pressure at all when you are appointed as a client success manager.
Publicis Sapient Tests Microsoft-Powered Gen AI Search Tool With Homes & Villas By Marriott Bonvoy
Given Gen AI's record for mangling stuff, B&T cannot see the problem with letting it decide your next holiday digs.
Volkswagen & DDB Group’s “Roo Badge” To Reduce Kangaroo Related Road Collisions
Watch out for RooBadge as Cannes Lions' most debated campaign this year.
Twilio Launches Unified Profiles & Agent Copilot Features To Boost Productivity & Engagement
Agent Copilot sounds like James Bond's less interesting cousin.
Reebok & Honda Among New Clients For onetwo agency
OneTwo finally lives up to its name with this double billing.
Ogilvy Report: Throw Out The Social Strategy Rule Book, The Rules Of The Past No Longer Apply
B&T was puzzled that all 'influencers' aren't, effectively, 'virtual', but here we are.
WhiteGREY & AKQA Merge In Australia, Lee Simpson Departs
Fortunately, the combined agencies aren't opting for a trite portmanteau for the new name.
Splendour In The Grass 2024 Music Festival Cancelled!
Music fans all over the country reportedly relieved they can pack away their rain coats and gumboots for another year.
TV Ratings (26/03/2024): “Fairy Bread, F***ing Disgusting”: Gordon Ramsay Slams Aussie Food In Food Stars Launch
Ramsay not one for mincing his words, even when it comes to minced meat pies.
Paramount+ International Boss Doubles Down On Aussie Content, Says Ad-Tier will Grow Audiences And Revenue
Good news as Paramount will not be binning I’m A Celebrity for re-runs of Frasier.
Brent Smart: Telstra Pushing For 50-50 Brand-Performance Split But Warns Numbers ‘Won’t Look Great’ Initially
The old brand vs performance debate continues. But here, Brent is firmly sitting on the fence.
Crowded House, Tones And I & Dom Dolla Win Big At The Shure Rolling Stone Music Awards
B&T staffer reports back with humdinger of a hangover & feeling seriously uncool after mixing with music types.
Opinion: Dyslexia “A Hidden Gem” For Brands & Agencies
Dyslexics offer underappreciated benefits in the corporate field, according to this op-ed.
David Jones Taps Criteo To Power Online Retail Media Arm
Want to see ads for things you probably can't afford? David Jones has got you covered with new retail media play.
oOh!media Sets Up Team To Target Business Audiences Across Airports & Offices
oOh! wants brands to harass you every minute of your next business trip.
QMS Launches Australian First DOOH & TV Partnership With Samba TV
Samba TV, of course, is not a channel dedicated to dancing. Much to our dismany.
Slew Of New Hires At Amplify
Four new faces join the Amplify offices. Team say desk scarcity becoming "acute".
Adobe Announces Content Authenticity Initiative Expansions To Counter Deep Fakes
Try as they might to enlighten them, we suspect Trump supporters will continue to watch and believe Fox News.
The PR Group Appoints TechCrunch Senior Reporter Catherine Shu As Director Of Content & Media
Catherine Shu makes the bold leap from journalism to PR. Says inevitable pay bump was "unrelated".
HERO Nabs Ebony Santin From AMPR
Rumours Santin cleared out the stationery cupboard before departing are as yet unconfirmed.
Karena Noble Checks Out Of EVT Hotels & Resorts To Launch Comms Consultancy
Noble still managed to squeezed in a continental breakfast before departing.
Canva Acquires Design Platform Affinity To Bring Professional Design Tools To Every Organisation
Canva & Adobe face off continues. We're not picking sides but keenly aware that Canva's office is next door to ours.
“Lean On Our Team To Help You Find An Audience”: Why Understanding Audience Engagement Is Essential In Journalism
Engaging the audience is critical to journos, apparently. We'd thought self-loathing & alcoholism were key.
Adobe Summit: Major Gen AI Developments, Data Concessions & Partnerships
What happens in Vegas stays there. Unless it's the Adobe Summit and then you get to read about in B&T.