After seeing more images and videos of the man who was ripped off the United plane – ferociously and violently – the saddest thing is that the aviation police didn’t stop. They tried to remove him, and when he resisted, they pushed to the point of becoming violent.
Somewhat unfortunately for United, the aviation police were representing them in this, even though they’re technically not United employees. But that’s what the public sees. They see a bloodied man and a giant United logo on the side of a plane.
However, it is United’s fault for having this policy in place. That is, the policy which states that police can remove passengers from the plan if they won’t leave when asked. So now they’re “revisiting their policies” – naturally…
The deeper problem here isn’t actually the issue of overbooking flights. It’s the fact that United values its employees (or in this case the employees of another airline) – over its very own customers. It was putting airplane staff above paying consumers. And when you start to go down that road, it’s always a losing game.
So let this be a lesson to us all. When it comes to good customer service, Love Wins. And more specifically: love for the customer – above and beyond love for your own company or personnel.
Ironically enough, by putting the customer first, you’re actually putting your company in the best position possible. Sadly, United had to learn this lesson the hard way. But the least we can do is learn from their blunder – and do our best to continually make love for the customer the highest priority.
Onwards and upwards.