Media ShopTalk:   w/c 15 February 2010

For many of us technophobes, the digital arena is a place that is extremely daunting. The thought of going online to source items, information, join social communities etc is enough to make some run away forever.   But for those that are keen to learn, it is necessary to rely on the guru’s to inform us and keep us up to date of changes, opportunities and most of how to use it to our  full advantage. Moti Grauman, our Digital Media Manager, shares below his feelings on Responsible Whinging on the internet.  We are sure many of you will find interesting! Responsible Whinging   

There is a story on the internet that’s practically legendary, and when I heard it a few years ago, it went something like this: Sometime in 2004 a young man discovered that he was able to open the market’s most popular bicycle lock with nothing more than a Bic Pen. He contacted the company – Kryptonite Locks – and requested a refund. When they denied him he went to the blogosphere to tell his story and as legend has it, the company lost 95% market share almost overnight. There are currently over 150 videos on YouTube demonstrating the Bic Pen Kryptonite technique, but...... that’s not really how it happened. The young man in question did indeed make this “startling” discovery and he did post it on a web forum. Kryptonite was well aware of the growing conversation and quickly made arrangements to redesign the faulty locks and to exchange any of the older models that were currently in the market. It turns out that the lock was improved and customers still support the company. A more recent story (2009) involves a young musician named Dave Correll who witnessed United Airlines ground crew mishandling his guitar. On arrival at his destination he discovered that his guitar was broken, as he suspected it would be. He went to ask the airlines for compensation and he, too, was denied. He responded by writing a song entitled “United Breaks Guitars” and posted it on YouTube where it received over 3 million views in the first 10 days and currently stands at over 7.6 million views. According to a number of websites this little ditty cost United in the region of $180 million. The question of consumer influence over brands is well debated on the internet, but it can be taken for granted that we now have more influence than ever before. Which begs the question: Are we handling this influence responsibly? Both individuals in the stories above had legitimate complaints against a company and both turned to the internet to tell their stories. It seems to me that the first story was well resolved. Kryptonite sold faulty equipment, recalled it, refunded customers and improved their product. United Airlines on the other hand lost substantially more than the cost of the guitar. Should they have been forced into that position? I would assume that the cost of this 1 man campaign against the airlines cost someone, or maybe some people lower down the food chain at United, dearly. Could it have even spelled job loss for some? Had the company been smaller – like a Kryptonite – that would almost definitely have been the case. And therein lies the dilemma: We, as consumers, now have influence. We don’t need to take bad service lying down, but what is our ultimate objective? Can United Airlines be held responsible for every single action of every one of their thousands of employees, just in case they come into contact with a blogger?  People have bad days. It’s the human condition, and when United Airlines employees have bad days it would seem that they sometimes toss luggage. No one would question the legitimacy of Dave’s claim, but the means doesn’t seem to justify the end. Furthermore, I would submit that the false hype over the Kryptonite story and those similar to it, actually fuelled the growth of the United Breaks Guitar video. Consumers who are tired of being downtrodden are looking for a champion and they will rally behind anyone who takes a stand. Passengers annoyed with Delta Airlines, for example, are equally likely to share the United video with their friends. It seems that the objective of good service has lost significant ground to simple straight forward revenge. Had the Kryptonite story occurred more recently, I can imagine the consequences being far more serious for the company and less satisfying to almost all of their customers. Today “Grumble” Sites abound, and they are taken seriously by big businesses. What’s more is that they are moderated and everyone is given a voice. That’s a useful opportunity for a company trying to defend itself. Take the Kryptonite case. They were lambasted by bloggers for ignoring customer requests for exchanges and refunds. It’s not that Kryptonite ignored their customers, it’s that they took a few days to organise their processes. Not doing so would have resulted in an even larger PR nightmare. This little fact didn’t come to light until an interview with the company long after the story had faded from the blogs. Frustrated consumers should use these platforms for legitimate complaints. Users researching products would have a useful resource and companies may just be more careful about who posts what and why. In fact it’s the community that’s makes grumble sites so powerful. Because they are self regulating, they are also credible. As it stands, there is nothing to stop someone from concocting a story just to see how much damage can be caused. There seems to be no accountability on the user’s side. The modern world strives for equality and justice. Why should that not apply to businesses just because we have a keyboard and an internet connection?

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