It's Not My Emergency Retired Crisis Manager's Brain Dump
I don’t know Rachael R., but she had her hands full last week. On June 7, two soldiers returning from overseas deployment posted a video about their encounter with Delta Air Lines customer service and having to pay additional baggage fees-personally- for personal belongings and issued equipment. The video went viral in a heartbeat – Two tired and homesick heroes ticked off and talking about having to pay thousands to bring their stuff home. The video hit Twitter and took off (pun intended) in mainstream media
I watched the video, immediately got P#$%$f, and re-posted the video. My friends weighed in and shared it too. Almost all were outraged. Only one, a flight attendant, was less than outraged. He guessed the problem was generated by a less than enlightened customer service representative, who I guess is now working in the lost luggage department in Iceland.
Rachael R. is the social media manager for Delta who had the unfortunate duty shift that day. She addressed the controversy on Delta’s blog “Under The Wing” . I must say I was impressed with her (their) response. From a damage control standpoint, the SM response seemed genuine and textbook…maybe too much so. Here is what I liked…Delta-
- responded rapidly on Twitter and their blog
- immediately apologized and said they would take care of the mess.
- personalized the situation, with Rachael noting her strong connection to the military.
- communicated a “on the fly” policy change.
Basic lessons to be learned here from a crisis communications standpoint. They were fast, direct, apologetic, caring and responsive. BUT, timing is everything. Today, the U.S. Department of Transportation released a report outlining the profits generated by recently imposed baggage fees…. Duhoooo!!!!!! The media is all over this report, noting what happened with Delta. Rachael R. did a great job at trying to diffuse a PR bomb. But, sometimes you just don’t know where others have planted landmines. Delta has stepped on one. This story is bigger than a SM manager. Delta senior leadership should be weighing in on SM channels on this issue. It’s not going away. Too many people are ticked off about baggage fees as it is. When you mess with our heroes, you open a can of “whoop ass”.
Hey airlines, get a clue. Drop the bag fees for armed service members. Period.
