Social Media Etiquette Project

Here is a link to my loom video presentation with audio: https://www.loom.com/share/3b5bf3b018744addac263590c06020de?sid=bfaac6f9-b003-4151-906e-47a39dae0c3b

    

    On April 9, 2017, United Airlines flight 3411 from Chicago to Louisville was accidentally overbooked. Although the airline offered compensation to give up their seats, nobody wanted to leave the plane so random passengers were selected to be bumped. Dr. David Dao, one of the selected passengers, refused to leave his seat, leading to airport security physically dragging him off the plane. The incident was recorded by fellow passengers and went viral instantly on Twitter and Facebook. 

    Rather than apologize for the incident, Oscar Munoz, United Airlines chief executive, released a statement that appeared to justify the actions of the crew, downplaying the dragging as a necessary “re-accommodating” of the passenger. He apologized to other passengers on the plane, but did not mention Dr. Dao’s treatment. These messages were seen as careless and insincere by the public. To make things worse, an internal email from Munoz to his employees was leaked online, which described Dr. Dao as “disruptive and belligerent” which peaked the public’s anger and distrust for United Airlines, which was reflected by their stock dropping significantly.

My Presentation Notes: 

    “Social Media Etiquette is a set of guidelines that can help create a positive online environment. Companies and people follow these guidelines to preserve their reputations. These guidelines can involve things like being respectful, considering your audience, and giving credit to original creators. For companies, these guidelines can look a bit more like posting relevant and valuable content, responding to comments and messages quickly, properly apologizing and owning up to mistakes, avoiding sensitive topics, and maintaining a professional and respectful tone overall. 

    I believe that this problem could have been avoided if United Airlines had issued a proper apology after the incident. Many companies have come back from far worse controversy after issuing a proper apology online that appeals to both the damaged parties and also as a promise of change for all of their customers. However, Munoz’s apology was seen as disingenuous by many. At this point, United airlines could have possibly rectified the situation by apologizing again, correctly. Although this wouldn’t fully rectify the situation, United might be able to take responsibility for what happened and apologize for the insincerity of the apology and win back some customers as many companies have done before. The company might have even been able to give free airline tickets to Dr Dao and his family, apologize publicly, and promise to underseat planes from now on as alternative apologies that might have saved the companies public image. However, the leaked email shaming Dr. Dao’s actions seemed to put the nail in the coffin for the company instead of rectifying it. It was Oscar Munoz’s insincere apology and his lack of taking responsibility that originally tarnished the airline's reputation, and it was later his blaming Dr Dao for being “disruptive and belligerent” that pushed the company’s reputation into the ground. If I found myself in this situation, I would make sure to make a public apology quickly and take accountability for the actions of my employees. I would have also made sure to solve the issue that causes the overseating, and maybe underseat planes by one or two seats to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”