Just in case you thought the sky was falling, with Delta claiming "Today is a New Day," welcoming us aboard the "New Delta," let me reassure you that Delta is just as crappy as they've always been.

Two examples:

Twitter
Delta - either someone who was a Delta fan, or (more likely) a Delta employee started a Twitter account on May 10, 2007. It was pretty cool for a while, with updates that were seemingly coming from inside the company. The style was informative and a little irreverent, but it definitely felt like there was a personality to it - not some corporatespeak straight from a press release, which was very refreshing.

Unfortunately, this didn't last. The party ended only 5 days after beginning: May 15 is the date of the last post. My guess is that someone higher up at Delta found out about it and put the kibosh on it. This was an incredibly short-sighted and stupid move on their part. Delta actually seemed relevant again for a short while.

YouTube
And here we have the power of consumer-generated media to showcase the true nature of a brand. If you ever want to see what an enterprise is truly all about, catch them in a crisis situation.

In this case, the passengers were stuck on the tarmac at JFK for 7 hours. One passenger had the presence of mind to take a video. It's now being passed around the Web. Last night, it had about 400 views; as of this posting, it's up to over 13,000. Expect many, many more people to witness the ineptitude of Delta in action.



Delta, what's the matter with you? You're coming off of a precarious bankruptcy in a market where low-cost airlines provide better service and hipper attitude. As far as I'm concerned, "Today is a New Day" is just lip service. Today is the same as every other crappy day you've given your customers.

It'll be a new day when you understand that you're not in the airline business - you're in the customer service business.

Labels: Delta, Twitter, Video

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 Comments:

At 6/28/2007 2:07 PM,  Lorri Randle said...

I totally agree with you Scott. While a company can still say "I never saw the clip on YouTube," because of the internet they can no longer hide and pretend something didn't happen. The best thing a company can do is join the conversations that are going on with or without them.

 

At 7/02/2007 8:31 PM,  LaSandra Brill said...

Wow! I can't believe they can even do that - that should count as being held hostage!

I think the 'new Delta' is that they are worse than the 'old Delta.'

 

At 8/03/2007 10:29 PM,  Gumbo Show Joe said...

I have to say it is VERY frustrating to watch the commercials about the "NEW" Delta with promises of all of the upgrades they are offering. I have flown Delta several times since the campaign was launched, and I have seen NONE of the new entertainment options, new food options, better seats, etc. Delta, don't make empty promises...

 

New Delta? You Be the Judge

Just in case you thought the sky was falling, with Delta claiming "Today is a New Day," welcoming us aboard the "New Delta," let me reassure you that Delta is just as crappy as they've always been.

Two examples:

Twitter
Delta - either someone who was a Delta fan, or (more likely) a Delta employee started a Twitter account on May 10, 2007. It was pretty cool for a while, with updates that were seemingly coming from inside the company. The style was informative and a little irreverent, but it definitely felt like there was a personality to it - not some corporatespeak straight from a press release, which was very refreshing.

Unfortunately, this didn't last. The party ended only 5 days after beginning: May 15 is the date of the last post. My guess is that someone higher up at Delta found out about it and put the kibosh on it. This was an incredibly short-sighted and stupid move on their part. Delta actually seemed relevant again for a short while.

YouTube
And here we have the power of consumer-generated media to showcase the true nature of a brand. If you ever want to see what an enterprise is truly all about, catch them in a crisis situation.

In this case, the passengers were stuck on the tarmac at JFK for 7 hours. One passenger had the presence of mind to take a video. It's now being passed around the Web. Last night, it had about 400 views; as of this posting, it's up to over 13,000. Expect many, many more people to witness the ineptitude of Delta in action.



Delta, what's the matter with you? You're coming off of a precarious bankruptcy in a market where low-cost airlines provide better service and hipper attitude. As far as I'm concerned, "Today is a New Day" is just lip service. Today is the same as every other crappy day you've given your customers.

It'll be a new day when you understand that you're not in the airline business - you're in the customer service business.

Labels: Delta, Twitter, Video

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