United Airlines Forgets To Fill In Blanks In Apology Note That Goes Viral
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- An apology letter from United Airlines (UAL) to a customer who complained is drawing blanks, after the airline forgets to fill in a few key blanks of its own.
A Reddit user posted the note she received from the airline after filing a complaint. It starts off normal, saying "Our goal is to provide a consistently reliable product."
Then the note reads, "Your comments regarding (SPECIFIC EVENT) will be used for coaching and training our employees. To encourage you to fly with us again and as a tangible means of acknowledging your disappointment, enclosed is (SPECIFIC ITEM). (CUSTOMER NAME), I ask you that you allow us another opportunity to serve you."
"You don't need a Ph.D. to say 'Oh my God, I can't believe they were stupid enough to do this,'" Michal Strahilevitz, a professor of marketing at Golden Gate University told KPIX 5.
United Airlines also left out compensation, along with the customer's name.
"Twenty years ago if you were upset you told your friends and maybe you told the people you work with," said Strahilevitz. The professor said nowadays, complaints are everywhere and companies need to change their approach.
"They haven't done a good job of figuring it out so it hasn't revolutionized what marketers do as much as it's revolutionized how powerful a customer is," Strahilevitz said.
