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Promoted tweet used to complain about British Airways

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Old 3rd Sep 2013, 20:50
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Paxing All Over The World
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Promoted tweet used to complain about British Airways

Here is a man that has used a sledgehammer for a nut - but BA should be deeply grateful to him for the lesson he has taught them. I suspect they will not learn the lesson ...

BBC News - Promoted tweet used to complain about British Airways
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Old 3rd Sep 2013, 22:32
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It reportedly cost him about a grand, though he did get his baggage back.

Somehow, I don't see this as the start of a trend.
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Old 4th Sep 2013, 07:39
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Yes but, if BA can figure a way to get even 10% of the amount they would double their profits.

Unless something has changed in the last couple of years BA's customer service is a contradiction of terms.
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Old 4th Sep 2013, 07:53
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I agree DaveReidUK, he wasted his money. My observation is that BA need to note the power of social media and be faster on seeing something like this when it first appears in 'the twitter-sphere' as I believe they call it.
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Old 4th Sep 2013, 13:02
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Did anybody else notice the route his father's bags were taking?
Chicago to Paris (presumably via LHR or maybe Open Skies via Newark).
It's no wonder the runways are at 99.8% capacity at Heathrow.
Surely it would make more sense to take a direct flight between the two cities.
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Old 4th Sep 2013, 15:22
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Surely it would make more sense to take a direct flight between the two cities
It probably would - except that there are only 3 direct flights per day, and they all leave in the space of a single hour, in the early evening.

And one of those is Air France ...
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Old 4th Sep 2013, 17:49
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I believe it was Open Skies.
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Old 4th Sep 2013, 22:51
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It reportedly cost him about a grand,
Close. he was interviewed on the radio today and said it cost about £750
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Old 5th Sep 2013, 08:30
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I think the man concerned is an idiot. What a ridiculous waste of money; I've no doubt the bags would gave been delivered in any event (that's happened to me the two times my bags have gone missing).

My business (not an airline!) spends a lot of time monitoring and responding to any complaints raised by our customers on social media. The real problem though, is that unlike a "traditional" complaint, the complaint is broadcast to all and sundry.

Furthermore, there is, seemingly, no realistic restriction on what people can say. They can lie or act out of spite simply because the amount of stuff that's generated every day makes it virtually impossible for any company to stop it; and once it's out there, it's out there.

I'm all for free speech but that doesn't mean there shouldn't be consequences if that free speech is libellous or defamatory.

Rant over!
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Old 5th Sep 2013, 09:26
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I can't see too many following this mans lead. It seems like an incredible waste of time and money seeing as how most delayed baggage, if reported properly, is delivered within 48 hours anyway. It's unacceptable for bags to go missing, of course, but if it happens then a bit of patience is needed, not a loud mouth.

I saw one social media user recently mouthing off abuse at the Thomas Cook and Gatwick airport twitter feed staff because he claimed his bag got wet at some stage between the plane and the baggage belt. He clearly had some kind of vendetta against both TCX and LGW as all of his tweets from previous days seemed to be aimed at them (looked as if he had taken time out from his holiday to send this abuse) with especially aggressive messages towards TCX.

If I was TCX or LGW I'd simply refuse to deal with such people unless they took a more adult approach and at least used official channels to complain. I'd make a point of doing nothing but offering them a constructive way of complaining rather than allowing them to continually air out their problems in public.
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Old 5th Sep 2013, 12:36
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I did not have time to read the whole article. overall - I think it was a silly thing to do. My reason for posting was the change in customer behaviour.

I agree that companies are going to have to monitor this kind of frivolous use of social media. If they don't track it and behaviour of some particular customers, they could find a much bigger problem waiting down the track.

The Customer Service and IT departments need to talk. Then formulate new policy based on current experience. Big and old companies are god at having the meetings, often good at developing policies but not often so good at making them work.
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Old 5th Sep 2013, 14:54
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It's all very well when the bags appear within a day and you're not moving around the country. I had some colleagues fly Minneapolis to Amsterdam on Northwest, KLM to Copenhagen two days later, Copenhagen to Stockholm two days later, and then Stockholm - Amsterdam - Minneapolis. They got their bags back five days after getting home, despite having given the full itinerary to the airline.

I had a bag missing on American for 13 weeks.
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Old 5th Sep 2013, 15:50
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The other problem with this, and many similar things, is that people who live their life online seem to forget that there are time parameters involved in many things which still require manual input. Tracing, locating, re-routing and couriering bags that have gone missing is not something that can be achieved in the space of a few minutes. It takes time for people to locate, collect and re-route bags. And this does not just apply to this scenario, but to others which still involve people.

This guy had not even waited 24 hours for it to be sorted before spitting out his dummy and doing this. All a bit pathetic really. Just reminds me of a child stomping their feet in a shop because they can't have something there and then.
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Old 5th Sep 2013, 17:40
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Watched this on CNN and they ended by saying BA delivered his bag personally to his door after this episode.

Well I had my bag delivered personally by courier when it was delayed and I was bloody staff!


What a non story.
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Old 5th Sep 2013, 18:19
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Lost baggage is what is defined as a "natural event" Statistics show that it happens every so often per 1000 passenger legs.
The problem in this instance is that
1) BA isn't 24/7 on social media (which is either negligence or a profound lack of understanding of marketing)
2) This idiot wants to gain notoriety by preening himself in a bought audience
3) Said bought audience responds affirmatively with "Yeah, I once flew with Delta and they didn't lose my bag. I hate 'em. I'm never gonna fly ever again. EVER" or similar.

His statements weren't libelous, but for the effect they had, they could well have been.

Idiots the lot.
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Old 5th Sep 2013, 18:57
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Spot on Tray Surfer. 24hrs? In lost bag time that's equal to 24 seconds!

As I say, it's not this prat but it's the others that come after him. I do like the bit about personal delivery. Yep, most of them are.

As a counter, on an occaision that BA bashed my bag (almost) to bits, they fessed up right away and paid the max whack without question as they knew it was their fault (single sector) and I'm guessing that others had same problem. They did not even ask for a receipt. So their customer service was top notch and I have not forgotten how good they were.

Fortunately, the bag was not totalled and I am still using it today some six years later.
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Old 5th Sep 2013, 21:45
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I'm with many on here - this "gentleman" behaved despicably. He's just another of the "me-me-me" generation that expects the whole world to revolve around him.

As noted, there is no way to make the problem of missing baggage go away - it is inherent in any system. There is a finite time in which the problem can be sorted out, and it is unlikely that it will be much less than 24 hours (though the once it happened to me, my stuff was reunited with me about six hours later. I'd been rushed through CDG to make a connection, my bag hadn't made it, and so it followed on the next available flight. I've had a soft spot for AirFrance ever since).

It is shame this has been reported as if this pock is some sort of customer champion. He isn't.
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Old 5th Sep 2013, 22:36
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I think the thing that irritates me the most is the championing of this man by the press and the way that he thinks he's won.

BA were always going to get the bag back to him. It had a tag, he filled out the loss report properly, there was no reason it would vanish forever. He was always going to have to wait at least 24-48 hours for it to be returned and it was always going to be delivered personally to any address he chose. Perhaps he has to think he's won some little victory to justify to himself spending the "undisclosed sum" which I bet he regrets now. I bet he secretly hope the saga would run for longer so he could get his moneys worth, but in reality the bag was probably being loaded on to a delivery truck long before he even wrote the tweet in question.
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Old 6th Sep 2013, 08:47
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Regardless of the motives of the original Twitterer, BA's marketing department has clearly been caught on the back foot and learnt some valuable lessons, summarised here:

The Value of Social Media | Jeannine O'Neil

Social media isn't about being present, it is about having a presence. Therefore you need to be online, ready to respond 24/7.

Being on social media isn't about sharing the latest news about your business and talking about you. It is about building relationships with your customers, engaging your audience and most importantly listening to what your customers are saying.

When negative comments occur, jump on immediately and set the record straight. Go above and beyond to make it right for this person. Not only showing them you are a stand up brand but showing all the other social media users who are listening as well.

Set alerts to notify you when your business is being talked about. Better yet, set up alerts about your competitors so you can jump in the conversation to turn the scenario in your favor.

When apologizing be genuine and don't give an excuse. There was no need for the world to know BA was on a 9-5 social media schedule. It actually makes the brand appear worse.
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Old 6th Sep 2013, 10:03
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>BA were always going to get the bag back to him. It had a tag, he filled out the loss report properly, there was no reason it would vanish forever.<

Would you have said the same about my bag disappearing for 13 weeks on American Airlines? Plus many of the contents ruined - left out in soaking rain and then hot sun and the clothes gone mouldy?
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