United Breaks Guitars
Encyclopedia
"United Breaks Guitars" is a song by Canadian musician Dave Carroll and his band, Sons of Maxwell
. It chronicles a real-life experience of how his guitar was broken during a trip on United Airlines
in 2008, and the subsequent reaction from the airline. The song became an immediate YouTube and iTunes
hit upon its release in July 2009.
. He arrived at his destination to discover that his $3,500 Taylor
guitar had indeed suffered a broken neck (shown in his video). Fox News questioned Carroll on why he checked the valuable guitar and Carroll explained that it is difficult to bring guitars onto flights as carry-on luggage. In his song, he sang that he "alerted three employees who showed complete indifference towards me" when he raised the matter in Chicago. Carroll filed a claim with the airline, and was informed that he was ineligible for compensation because he had failed to make the claim within the company's stipulated "standard 24-hour timeframe".
Media reported the story of the song's instant success and the public relations
humiliation for United Airlines. Attempting to put a positive gloss on the incident and the song, a company spokesman called it "excellent". Rob Bradford, United's managing director of customer solutions, telephoned Carroll to apologize for the foul-up and to ask if the carrier could use the video internally for training. United mentioned it hoped to learn from the incident, and to change its customer service policy as a result of the incident.
Bob Taylor, owner of Taylor Guitars
, immediately offered Carroll two guitars and other props for his second video. The song hit number one on the iTunes Music Store the week following its release. The Times
reported that the belated compensation offer of $3,000 which was donated by United to the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz
as a "gesture of goodwill" failed to undo the damage done to its image.
Since the incident, Carroll has been in great demand as a speaker on customer service. On one of his trips as a speaker, United Airlines lost his luggage.
In December 2009, Time
magazine named "United Breaks Guitars" #7 on its list of the Top 10 Viral Videos of 2009.
newspaper reported that within 4 days of the video being posted online, United Airline's stock price fell 10%, costing stockholders about $180 million in value.
However, other analysts have questioned whether this price drop can be directly linked to the video; they note that some other airlines (American
, Continental
, Delta, and Southwest
) also had drops in their stock price on that date, and that United stock had been on a roller coaster
all that quarter, including some days with drops greater than 10% in value. Musician Dave Carroll himself has not made any statements regarding this stock price drop. Additionally, since the video was posted on July 6, the cumulative stock price drop was only 2% (from 3.34 to 3.26).
Sons of Maxwell
Sons of Maxwell is a Canadian music duo who perform both traditional Celtic folk music and original compositions with a pop-folk sound. The duo consists of brothers Don and Dave Carroll, originally from Timmins, Ontario, now living in Halifax, Nova Scotia...
. It chronicles a real-life experience of how his guitar was broken during a trip on United Airlines
United Airlines
United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees (which includes the entire holding company United Continental...
in 2008, and the subsequent reaction from the airline. The song became an immediate YouTube and iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
hit upon its release in July 2009.
Background of the incident
Musician Dave Carroll said his guitar was broken while in the airline's custody. He alleged that he and fellow passengers on board a flight plane saw baggage-handling crew throwing guitars on the tarmac in Chicago O'Hare on his flight from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Omaha, NebraskaOmaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
. He arrived at his destination to discover that his $3,500 Taylor
Taylor Guitars
Taylor Guitars is an El Cajon, California‐based luthier, specializing in acoustic guitars, as well as semi-hollow and solidbody electric guitars. It was established in 1974 by Bob Taylor and Kurt Listug.- History :...
guitar had indeed suffered a broken neck (shown in his video). Fox News questioned Carroll on why he checked the valuable guitar and Carroll explained that it is difficult to bring guitars onto flights as carry-on luggage. In his song, he sang that he "alerted three employees who showed complete indifference towards me" when he raised the matter in Chicago. Carroll filed a claim with the airline, and was informed that he was ineligible for compensation because he had failed to make the claim within the company's stipulated "standard 24-hour timeframe".
The song
Carroll says that his fruitless negotiations with the airline for compensation lasted nine months. Then, thinking what Michael Moore would have done, Carroll wrote a song and created a music video about his experience. The lyrics include the verse "I should have flown with someone else, or gone by car, 'cause United breaks guitars." Carroll, who has performed as a solo artist and as a member of the group Sons of Maxwell, wrote two sequel songs related to the events as well. The second video, United Breaks Guitars: Song 2 was released on YouTube on August 18, 2009. The song takes a humorous look at Carroll's dealings with "the unflappable" United customer service employee Ms. Irlweg, and targets the "flawed policies" that she was forced to uphold. In March 2010, United Breaks Guitars: Song 3 was released. The third and final song is a coda in which Carroll says while he is satisfied by the conclusion of this affair since it has greatly benefited his career, he warns United that they must improve customer service or risk losing all their customers. The song adopts a somewhat conciliatory approach noting that not all employees at United are "bad apples." The final line of the trilogy of songs is, "They say that you're [United] changing and I hope you do, 'Cause if you don't then who would fly with you?"Response
The YouTube video was posted on July 6. It amassed 150,000 views within one day, prompting United to contact Carroll saying it hoped to right the wrong. The video garnered over half a million hits by July 9, 5 million by mid-August 2009, and 10 million by February 2011.Media reported the story of the song's instant success and the public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
humiliation for United Airlines. Attempting to put a positive gloss on the incident and the song, a company spokesman called it "excellent". Rob Bradford, United's managing director of customer solutions, telephoned Carroll to apologize for the foul-up and to ask if the carrier could use the video internally for training. United mentioned it hoped to learn from the incident, and to change its customer service policy as a result of the incident.
Bob Taylor, owner of Taylor Guitars
Taylor Guitars
Taylor Guitars is an El Cajon, California‐based luthier, specializing in acoustic guitars, as well as semi-hollow and solidbody electric guitars. It was established in 1974 by Bob Taylor and Kurt Listug.- History :...
, immediately offered Carroll two guitars and other props for his second video. The song hit number one on the iTunes Music Store the week following its release. The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
reported that the belated compensation offer of $3,000 which was donated by United to the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz
Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz
The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz is a non-profit music education-oriented organization co-founded in 1986 by the family of the late American jazz musician Thelonious Monk, opera singer Maria Fisher and Thomas R...
as a "gesture of goodwill" failed to undo the damage done to its image.
Since the incident, Carroll has been in great demand as a speaker on customer service. On one of his trips as a speaker, United Airlines lost his luggage.
In December 2009, Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine named "United Breaks Guitars" #7 on its list of the Top 10 Viral Videos of 2009.
Stock price effect
The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
newspaper reported that within 4 days of the video being posted online, United Airline's stock price fell 10%, costing stockholders about $180 million in value.
However, other analysts have questioned whether this price drop can be directly linked to the video; they note that some other airlines (American
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...
, Continental
Continental Airlines
Continental Airlines was a major American airline now merged with United Airlines. On May 3, 2010, Continental Airlines, Inc. and UAL, Inc. announced a merger via a stock swap, and on October 1, 2010, the merger closed and UAL changed its name to United Continental Holdings, Inc...
, Delta, and Southwest
Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines Co. is an American low-cost airline based in Dallas, Texas. Southwest is the largest airline in the United States, based upon domestic passengers carried,...
) also had drops in their stock price on that date, and that United stock had been on a roller coaster
Roller coaster
The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first coasters on January 20, 1885...
all that quarter, including some days with drops greater than 10% in value. Musician Dave Carroll himself has not made any statements regarding this stock price drop. Additionally, since the video was posted on July 6, the cumulative stock price drop was only 2% (from 3.34 to 3.26).
External links
- "United Breaks Guitars" video
- United Breaks Guitars, Dave Carroll's Blog of the incident (July 7, 2009), Accessed July 8, 2009.