The real issue here is Kevin Smith's attitude. His extensive use of profanity, his attempt to bully Southwest on Twitter and his overall oversized ego makes his a Customer Southwest can do with out. Instead of an apology the airline should have first waited to find out exactly what happened to avoid all these conflicting stories. Even if it apologized to Smith for an error, they should have also suggested that he find another airline he prefers. Unless you stand up to this kind of bully others seeking their 15 minutes of fame will do the same thing. Airline employees will feel paralized and will be afraid to enforce any policy for fear of having their company take a beating in the news media. Message to Kevin. We will miss you on Southwest.
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02-15-2010
11:51 PM
While I admire Southwest's willingness to go the extra mile to apologize it unfortunately just enpowers bullies like Smith. His profane rant against Southwest and its employees does not deserve the carefully measured response it received. Mr. Smith had ample opportunity to make his concerns known without the use of profanity and without acting like a spoiled 2 year old. Unfortunately, a polite response to this childish behavoir will only encourage others to do the same thing. Southwest is a great airline with great employees and a world class public relations department. That said, I wish they had told Mr. Smith in no uncertain terms to take his business and his potty mouth someplace else. I certainly would not want to be on a plane with him.
Crisis Expert Asks, 'Was Southwest Airlines Too Polite to Overweight Passenger?'
DALLAS, Feb. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Was Southwest Airlines too polite to director Kevin Smith when he posted a profanity-laced Twitter tirade against the airline and its employees on the Internet? Smith was asked to leave a Southwest flight because his weight had him encroaching on the seat next to him. The airline has had a long standing policy that requires passengers who can't lower their armrests between seats purchase a second seat. Smith acknowledged that he was aware of the policy and had in fact purchased two seats but tried to get on an earlier flight as a standby passenger.
"Too many companies back down from reasonable policies because they are afraid of negative publicity," said crisis management expert David Margulies. "We urge our clients to use a devil's advocate approach to avoid problems when possible but to stand up for themselves when their policies are fair and reasonable.
"Southwest certainly took the high road when it posted a strong defense of its policy on its blog," said Margulies. "Southwest's reasoned approach is in sharp contrast to Smith's attitude, allowing consumers to see the difficulty airlines and other service businesses have with unreasonable customers.
"Most large corporations want to be very careful with how they respond to this type of over-the-top reaction by a customer," said Margulies. "In this case, I think the public would have understood if Southwest pointed out that Smith's profanity and overall negative attitude toward the company and its employees would make it a good idea for him to find another mode of travel.
"Southwest has taken a very reasonable and fair approach to dealing with the issue of overweight customers and should be applauded for their actions," said Margulies. "This is the time that customers and employees should take to the Internet in defense of the company."
David Margulies is a former award-winning journalist who covered the aviation industry. He is currently a leading expert on crisis management and crisis prevention. For the past 23 years, The Margulies Communications Group, a leading public relations firm (prexperts.net) has worked with government agencies, corporations and non-profits providing litigation support, crisis management, media training and crisis prevention programs.
SOURCE The Margulies Communications Group
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02-15-2010
11:50 PM
While I admire Southwest's willingness to go the extra mile to apologize it unfortunately just enpowers bullies like Smith. His profane rant against Southwest and its employees does not deserve the carefully measured response it received. Mr. Smith had ample opportunity to make his concerns known without the use of profanity and without acting like a spoiled 2 year old. Unfortunately, a polite response to this childish behavoir will only encourage others to do the same thing. Southwest is a great airline with great employees and a world class public relations department. That said, I wish they had told Mr. Smith in no uncertain terms to take his business and his potty mouth someplace else. I certainly would not want to be on a plane with him.
Crisis Expert Asks, 'Was Southwest Airlines Too Polite to Overweight Passenger?'
DALLAS, Feb. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Was Southwest Airlines too polite to director Kevin Smith when he posted a profanity-laced Twitter tirade against the airline and its employees on the Internet? Smith was asked to leave a Southwest flight because his weight had him encroaching on the seat next to him. The airline has had a long standing policy that requires passengers who can't lower their armrests between seats purchase a second seat. Smith acknowledged that he was aware of the policy and had in fact purchased two seats but tried to get on an earlier flight as a standby passenger.
"Too many companies back down from reasonable policies because they are afraid of negative publicity," said crisis management expert David Margulies. "We urge our clients to use a devil's advocate approach to avoid problems when possible but to stand up for themselves when their policies are fair and reasonable.
"Southwest certainly took the high road when it posted a strong defense of its policy on its blog," said Margulies. "Southwest's reasoned approach is in sharp contrast to Smith's attitude, allowing consumers to see the difficulty airlines and other service businesses have with unreasonable customers.
"Most large corporations want to be very careful with how they respond to this type of over-the-top reaction by a customer," said Margulies. "In this case, I think the public would have understood if Southwest pointed out that Smith's profanity and overall negative attitude toward the company and its employees would make it a good idea for him to find another mode of travel.
"Southwest has taken a very reasonable and fair approach to dealing with the issue of overweight customers and should be applauded for their actions," said Margulies. "This is the time that customers and employees should take to the Internet in defense of the company."
David Margulies is a former award-winning journalist who covered the aviation industry. He is currently a leading expert on crisis management and crisis prevention. For the past 23 years, The Margulies Communications Group, a leading public relations firm (prexperts.net) has worked with government agencies, corporations and non-profits providing litigation support, crisis management, media training and crisis prevention programs.
SOURCE The Margulies Communications Group
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