Next time someone asks you to prove the value of a good crisis communication strategy and listening to professional advice, refer them to United Airlines, who lost millions of dollars in stock value and years of effort spent attempting to boost popular opinion due to a few bad communication decisions.
While I was shocked by the video depicting the dragging of a paid customer off of a flight, I wasn’t totally caught off guard by United’s inappropriate public response. After all, we weren’t that far gone from “Leggingsgate,” where several young female passengers traveling on employee buddy passes (which apparently have a different dress code – I’ll save my feelings on dress codes, sexism, and body policing for a later time) were not allowed on a flight.
At that time, I was surprised by United’s initial response to the public outcry over that incident, which was to claim their right to refuse service to anyone they deemed wasn’t dressed appropriately, followed by a modification to announce the girls were traveling on employee buddy passes, followed by yet another response where they attempted to clarify that these rules did not apply to general customers, but doubling down on their belief that they acted correctly. I wouldn’t have recommended handling the communication regarding the situation in this manner, particularly since it involved minors, but it wasn’t a devastating blow for United. It was a good example of how something that initially seems like a minor issue can escalate, and should have served as a call to action for United to revisit their crisis communication plan with particular focus on the social media aspect.
While I don’t specialize in crisis communication, preferring a broader communication focus for my career, there are many people and organizations who do. I would assume that an organization as large as United Airlines has either in-house crisis communication specialists or an outside agency on retainer. However, many smaller organizations may not have the resources for someone who specializes in crises, so here are some basic tips that every communication professional should know:
- Assume at some point in time your organization is going to have a crisis. Attempt to prevent crises from happening as much as possible, but prepare for how to handle them
- Attempt to identify what the most likely types of crises might be and have a basic framework for crafting a response in place, including identifying and notifying the primary players
- Take advantage of the resources the Internet has to offer. People have dedicated their careers to working in or researching crisis communication and there are templates, examples, and much more available for you to access, so there’s no need to re-create the wheel
- Remember that especially in today’s hyper-connected world, speed is important but that doesn’t mean accuracy is any less so: It’s better to speak up and say you are actively seeking additional information than to say nothing or to say something inaccurate
- Take ownership of the situation and create a thoughtful response that you then publicize in multiple formats to reach the desired audience and update as appropriate when you receive additional information
I physically winced when I saw the first statement from Oscar Munoz, the CEO of United Airlines, suspecting that the communication and PR team at United had either been ignored or not consulted and was now going to have to try to dig them out of this hole. If United Airlines had a crisis communication plan in place, they veered off course somewhere along the way after the disastrous passenger removal.
While having the CEO issue a statement is a good move (people want to hear from an authority figure who is actively involved and this was certainly a large enough issue for the CEO to serve as the spokesperson), the “apology” for “having to re-accommodate these passengers” was in no way adequate and further compounded by an email sent to United staff blaming the passenger. Trying to vilify a senior citizen who was physically assaulted while nonviolently protesting his removal from a seat he had already paid for and been seated in was not a good look. Especially not in the social media age, when the video was being already being widely circulated, multiple passengers on the flight had spoken out, and the majority of airline customers have experienced the inconvenience caused by some type of flight delay, want to avoid it if at all possible, and thus sympathize with the passenger even before the physical contact. Munoz should also have known better than to expect an internal email would stay so in the heat of publicity around the incident; don’t share something in writing that you don’t want the world to see.
A halfhearted apology that tries to minimize the incident without taking full responsibility is not adequate. The subsequent re-apology is much more textbook, and would have saved United a lot of grief had it been the initial response. It includes a direct apology, an acknowledgement of responsibility, a commitment to change, details regarding the first steps of the process, and a date when additional information will be provided. But the problem remains: the initial response ensures that they are now fighting an uphill battle against public opinion and don’t have the benefit of appearing sincere or trustworthy. Not only have they already lost stock value, but the repercussions may continue for years to come. A recent poll found that people may be willing to voice their displeasure with their dollars, even at their own inconvenience. So, what’s the value of communication to an organization? According to the recent debacle at United Airlines, hundreds of millions of dollars and counting.