United’s bulldog blunder
Last April, United Airlines obliterated its customer service reputation by having a passenger dragged off an overbooked flight at O’Hare. As part of its mea culpa, here’s what CEO Oscar Munoz pledged to flyers: Every customer deserves to be treated with the highest levels of service and the deepest sense of dignity and respect.
In the 11 months since then, United has operated about 1.5 million flights, and surely many of them met Munoz’s standard, while others fell short. Then came Monday.
According to reports, a puppy owner traveling with an infant and older child stowed the pet carrier under the seat in front of her, but apparently it didn’t fit. The flight attendant’s solution was to instruct the woman to stow the pet carrier in the overhead bin. The passenger protested, but the flight attendant was adamant: The dog will be fine, and your alternative is to leave the flight.
On arrival, the passenger retrieved the carrier to discover her 10-month-old French bulldog was dead.
While there are details of this incident to be investigated, United failed basic tenets of caring and common sense by ordering the dog to be stowed in a compartment without adequate ventilation. The airline said it takes responsibility because “pets should never be placed in the overhead bin.”
The larger issue for Chicago-based United is how this decision violated the pledge Munoz made last year to provide great service and treat customers with respect and dignity. After the passenger disaster at O’Hare, the airline rewrote its overbooking policies but also promised to empower employees to act in the moment to put customers first.
Munoz made his pledge after the overbooking incident because reputation hung in the balance. He understood the good will engendered by millions of great flights can be undone by one or two debacles. “This is a turning point for all of us at United and it signals a culture shift toward becoming a better, more customer-focused airline,” Munoz promised last April. “Our customers should be at the center of everything we do and these changes are just the beginning of how we will earn back their trust.”
Munoz is free to expound on his commitment to dignity and respect. Wary passengers can choose whether to believe him.