I like to think that we all, whether an individual or a corporation, learn from our mistakes. With companies, most consumers understand that mistakes happen. And providing the mistake isn’t too extreme, it is the way that it’s handled that is important. A proper apology and appropriate actions, including those to ensure the problem doesn’t happen again, goes a long way. This reaction can be the difference between a customer remaining loyal or abandoning the brand for a competitor.
In the airline industry, apparently these lessons remain unlearned. And the case of Continental Express flight 2816, operated by ExpressJet Airlines, proves it. Last Friday night, what was supposed to be a routine two and a half hour flight from Houston to Minneapolis turned into a 13 and a half hour ordeal.
Successful Marketing Communications: A Conversation with Customers 