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At this point I have spoken to literally hundreds of people about the @AirCanada mistake fare debacle from this week, and wanted to share a few reminders to anyone who has or works with customers.
A thread
A thread
1. I'm pretty sure it was @chrissyteigen who said that sometimes in life you have to take the L and move on. This is good advice for people, and it goes for companies, too.
When you, a company, make a mistake, take the L and move on. Don't leave customers in the lurch.
When you, a company, make a mistake, take the L and move on. Don't leave customers in the lurch.
@AirCanada should have just accepted that they made a mistake in publishing their Australia fares, taken the L, and moved on.
Now they have God knows how many customers mad at them, spreading negative word of mouth to everyone they know.
Not worth it. Just take the L.
Now they have God knows how many customers mad at them, spreading negative word of mouth to everyone they know.
Not worth it. Just take the L.
2. Relatedly: Be smart about accounting.
Customers hating you is costly, but often in ways that don't show up on the books immediately or directly. Ya REALLY sure it's worth pissing tons of people off for the $ you'll get back canceling those mistake fare bookings, @AirCanada?
Customers hating you is costly, but often in ways that don't show up on the books immediately or directly. Ya REALLY sure it's worth pissing tons of people off for the $ you'll get back canceling those mistake fare bookings, @AirCanada?
Because I'm not so sure it is.
3. Read the room.
Things are not ok for most folks right now. People are worried, sad, stressed - every version of emotionally taxed. Having something to look forward to is critical right now, and lots of people were looking forward to taking a dream trip next year.
Things are not ok for most folks right now. People are worried, sad, stressed - every version of emotionally taxed. Having something to look forward to is critical right now, and lots of people were looking forward to taking a dream trip next year.
This is not the moment to disrupt that. @AirCanada could have used this mistake as an opportunity to become a bright spot in this bleak moment, but they didn't read the room.
My prediction is that this will be remembered as much worse than "normal" bad behavior by airlines because of the moment we're in. Customers are not going to forget getting the bait-and-switch in the middle of pandemic, nor should they.
Anyway, wash your hands, hug your pets, take care of each other, and don't be like @AirCanada.
