Dave Carroll, leader of the band Sons of Maxwell, has single-handedly created a disaster for the United Airlines brand with the release of the first of his tri-part single named “United Breaks Guitars”. By Wednesday his video became #1 on YouTube with more than 160,000 views. His popularity has grown ever since. He even made it onto CNN:
CNN: Man Goes After United Airlines On YouTube [United Breaks Guitars]

Why is this a part of our blog?

Because it points to how easy it is for a company’s brand to be tarnished by a single act that breaks client trust. Actually in this case, more than one trustpoint has been abused.
1) The baggage handlers were seen throwing Mr. Carroll’s $3,500 custom-made Taylor guitar which is a travesty in of itself.
2) United Customer Service refused to immediate action to rectify the situation – a 9-month battle ensued between the customer and United with Mr. Carroll turning to music for justice.

Regardless of who is responsible, the results are clearly in Mr. Carroll’s favor – United is all of a sudden cooperative with the intention of saving their reputation. There’s even talk of this case acting as catalyst for industry-wide change.

I conclude by mentioning that this can happen to any company at any stage of their development. Managing client / customer experience is essential in building positive intent and long-term trust.

“It takes a lifetime of effort to build a good reputation, but only a moment of stupidity to destroy it.”
Shiva (taken from www.enlightenment.multiply.com)