This article is NOT to debate the merits of what took place on each airline. As information continues to surface, it changes how everyone perceives each situation.

Here are two reasons airlines suffer from such bad publicity lately:

1 – Customer Service and Perceptions

ACSI or American Consumer Satisfaction Index ranked the airline industry as having the worst customer service in 2011. It’s been near the bottom ever since.

When videos of a passenger being pulled from a United Airlines flight and a mouthy United Airlines employee taunting a male passenger came out, they quickly went viral. They were dramatic, which plays a big role. Perceptions also play a role.

It’s easy for consumers to believe an airline employee did something wrong because the perception of the airline industry and customer service is already negative. Using Google search, you can type a fragment sentence and see perceptions of just about any industry. Before I finish typing the word employees, Google’s technology guesses what I am going to type based on what others have typed into Google.

 

 

Compare the airline employee question to a Chick-fil-A example.

 

 

 

I fly often, speaking at conventions and spend consulting days with clients all over the country. I’ve never been dragged off a flight nor have I threatened a flight attendant. But I have experienced many snippy, miserable flight attendants and other airline employees. It is already easy to believe that an airline employee was rude. Not necessarily because it was American Airlines – because of the industry as a whole.

In my book, Marketing Battleground I referenced the United Breaks Guitars video series. The videos are funny, but that’s not the only reason they are such a hit. The perception already exists that airlines are NOT careful with your luggage.

2 – Everyone is a Journalist

Cell phones now have better videography than huge, over-the-shoulder $10,000 cameras from years ago. Video footage adds drama to a story. Hearing that a flight attendant was rude to a passenger is one thing, but seeing an employee actually taunt an angry passenger is more impactful. Video footage also has the ability to go viral faster on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and other social media.

Always act as though you are being recorded, because that might be exactly what is happening.

Final Thoughts

Learn from mistakes. American Airlines took immediate action by suspending the employee in question and did NOT blame the passenger.

Mistakes will happen. How you deal with those mistakes matters too.