When we’re attacking an individual we can often be seen as petty or vengeful (something I address in another article). But when it comes to an individual exacting revenge on a corporation via social media, we seem to view the situation in a “David and Goliath” kind of way. Historically speaking, corporations have had seemingly endless resources to successfully fight against legitimate customer or employee claims against them. But social media has leveled the playing field by allowing individuals to skip the bureaucratic tape altogether and take their messages straight to the source of a corporation’s bottom line: the customer. A mob of angry customers united by a cause that went viral on social media can be every bit as devastating as a well-aimed stone to the forehead of a giant.

In general, the public seems very supportive of individuals (this week and in the past) turning to social media to exact revenge on United Airlines with the hope of facilitating institutional change. The public seemed similarly supportive of a recent campaign against UPS when the company acted indifferently towards a customer who had a video of one of their drivers damaging his package and then urinating on his home. The disgruntled customer posted the video to Facebook, not to get back at the driver, but because the company didn’t seem to care about the incident.

When we are attacking a systemic problem in an organization there are likely countless other people who have had similar grievances and would appreciate better customer/employee relations. In the age of social media, any tech savvy company should realize that gone are the days of successful institutional stonewalling and/or systemic indifference towards customers/employees. The fact that United Airlines is in the news again this week for some pretty significant customer service blunders is somewhat surprising since this isn’t the first time United Airlines has encountered public relations nightmares resulting from a perceived systemic institutional indifference for customer service. In 2009, after a year of unsuccessfully trying to get United Airlines to pay to fix his guitar that was damaged on one of their flights, Dave Carroll’s hit YouTube video #UnitedBreaksGuitars reportedly caused a 10% decrease in the company’s stock prices (costing stockholders $180 million) within four days of the video’s release. In the aftermath, the company called the video a “PR nightmare” and a “learning experience,” and they reached out to Mr. Carroll to make things right, but the damage had already been done.

The phenomenon of #UnitedBreaksGuitars became an impetus for an empowering revolution of customers and employees confidently demanding to be heard and respected by organizations. To be clear, customers and employees have always wanted respect and a voice, and they have certainly successfully facilitated institutional changes through strikes, boycotts, uphill legal battles, etc., but social media has exponentially magnified individuals’ abilities to organize, be heard, and significantly impact an organization’s bottom line to facilitate systemic institutional change.

As noted above, this week United Airlines starkly reminded us that the organization may still be in need of improved customer service policies. On Wednesday, May 27, 2015, Sarah Blackwood, a singer in the band Walk Off The Earth who is currently 7 months pregnant, was removed from a United flight operated SkyWest airlines in San Francisco because of her fussy baby. According to her account to ABC News, “When everyone was boarded, my son got very fussy. He started to cry really loud, he was squirming in my arms and I was doing everything I could do to hold onto him.” She then explained that she had been approached by a flight attendant who told her to control her child (who was sitting on her lap because he was still under 2 years old) or she’d be asked to leave the plane. Thankfully, Blackwood’s son fell asleep as the plane was taxiing, but then Ms. Blackwood said the pilot announced they were going back to the gate to refuel. When they arrived at the gate someone came from the airport and escorted Ms. Blackwood and her son off the plane, much to her embarrassment and the chagrin of her fellow passengers who fruitlessly came to her defense.

Hours later Ms. Blackwood was finally able to get onto another flight. The incident is gaining momentum on social media via a YouTube video she posted of one of her interactions with the only United employee that seemed to care about her predicament. Additionally, a CTV News interview posted on the official Walk Off The Earth Facebook page had nearly 500,000 views in less than 12 hours. In the interview they read the official statement from United Airlines:

The crew made a difficult decision to remove Ms. Blackwood and her child from the flight based solely on safety concerns. Despite numerous requests, the child was not seated, as required by federal regulation to ensure passenger safety… The child was not seated and was repeatedly in the aisle of the aircraft before departure and during taxi.

But Ms. Blackwood insists that she was in a window seat next to another passenger who was in the aisle seat and that her son had not been in the aisle. Her assertion that her child was asleep when the plane turned around seems to add insult to injury.

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She responded, “Well I’m sorry I just can’t give you an unopened can so no diet coke for you.” She then brought the man sitting next to me a can of UNOPENED beer. So I asked her again why she refused to give me an UNOPENED can of diet coke. She said, “We are unauthorized to give unopened cans to people because they may use it as a WEAPON on the plane.” So I told her that she was clearly discriminating against me because she gave the man next to me an unopened can of beer. She looked at his can, quickly grabbed it and opened it and said, “It’s so you don’t use it as a weapon.”

When Ms. Ahmad tried to point out the discrimination to her fellow passengers, she said a passenger across from her unleashed a profanity and hate-filled tirade against her. She felt humiliated and disappointed that none of her fellow passengers came to her defense.

After the story broke, Ms. Ahmad wrote another post where she expressed disappointment that United’s official statement about the incident “dismissed [her] entire narrative and trivialized it to a can of soda.” She emphasized that she had been served unopened cans of soda on many occasions and that her complaint was not about the can but the discriminatory double standard in which it was assumed that a Muslim woman in a head scarf would use an unopened can as a weapon but the man next to her wouldn’t pose the same threat.

In both cases, these women are seeking institutional change at United Airlines and its smaller operating airlines. They are not looking to get individuals fired, but are rather trying to get the airline to admit that there was harm, apologize, and then change their practices so other passengers will never have to experience the same humiliating experiences. As Ms. Ahmad told the Guardian, “This isn’t about me and a soda can. It’s about systemic injustice that is perpetuated throughout our community.” Additionally, both women are receiving overwhelming positive support from people who have heard their stories. Their causes and the public’s support are pretty well summed up in these comments on their Facebook posts:

Jacob Milliken to Ms. Blackwood:
Next time you violate someone you should make sure they don’t have hundreds of thousands of Facebook and Twitter followers… #Unitedairlines needs to get their crap together. If it wasn’t so sad, it would almost be comical.

Raquel Cabistan to Ms. Ahman:
I’m not surprised because many people, including myself, have had horrible experiences with United. I pray I NEVER have to fly united ever again. Maybe they will get some new owners who will actually care about people. I believe this type of terrible service comes from the top. Btw, when I yelped united airlines their rating was 1 star and numerous complaints.

There are always two sides to a story, so it will be interesting to see how this will all play out over the next days and weeks. So far both Ms. Blackwood and Ms. Ahmad seem to be coming out on top with regard to public opinion, and perhaps their experiences will help make United Airlines a better airline and the world a better place. But at what cost to them personally and the individuals at the heart of these incidents? Even if a majority of the general public and media is cheering them on, will it all be worth it in the end? Only time will tell.

Update (June 3, 2015): United Airlines issued Ms. Ahmad an official apology, and the flight attendant in the incident has essentially lost her job.