The Power of the Internet

I've seen the video before, of course, but some of the back story here, and the outcome of the video is new to me:

Musician Dave Carroll had difficulty with United Airlines. United’s baggage handlers damaged his $3500 custom guitar, and he spent over 9 months trying to get United to pay for damages.

During his final exchange with the United Customer Relations Manager, Dave stated that he was left with no choice other than to create a music video for YouTube exposing United’s lack of cooperation. The manager responded: “Good luck with that one, pal.”

Dave shot and posted his video on YouTube. The video has since received over 11 million hits. (You’ll soon see why!)
United Airlines contacted Dave and attempted settlement in exchange for pulling the video.

Naturally Dave’s response was: “Good luck with that one, pal.”

The resulting video, made for $150.



From the book "United Breaks Guitars".

Four days after its launching, the first million people had watched “United Breaks Guitars.” United stock went down 10 percent, shedding $180 million in value; Dave appeared on outlets as diverse as CNN and The View. United relented. And throughout the business world, people began to realize that “efficient” but inhuman customer-service policies had an unseen cost—brand destruction by frustrated, creative, and socially connected customers.

 Seen at Volohk's Conspiracy.