United Airline’s Flawed Apology: Lessons in Crisis Communications

Gerard BraudSo which of the three statements issued by United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz should we believe?Monday he said, “This is an upsetting event to all of us here at United. I apologize for having to re-accommodate these customers.”Later on Monday in a statement to employees he said, “While I deeply regret this situation arose, I also emphatically stand behind all of you, and I want to commend you for continuing to go above and beyond to ensure we fly right.” He went on to say, about the man dragged off of the flight, “Treating our customers and each other with respect and dignity is at the core of who we are, and we must always remember this no matter how challenging the situation.” Or do we believe the Tuesday statement that says, “The truly horrific event that occurred on this flight has elicited many responses from all of us: outrage, anger, disappointment. I share all of those sentiments, and one above all: my deepest apologies for what happened. Like you, I continue to be disturbed by what happened on this flight and I deeply apologize to the customer forcibly removed and to all customers aboard. No one should ever be mistreated this way.” He goes on to say, “It’s never too late to do the right thing.” Yes, but it’s never too soon to do the right thing either.As one who has sat in public relations war rooms on five continents, I’m constantly amazed that big companies constantly make predictable bad decisions based on out-of-date public relations standards and failed crisis communications strategies, often supervised by a team of lawyers who do not want to ever use the word “apology” out of fear of giving ammunition to the plaintiff’s attorney.

Here are four lessons you should consider to be a crisis communications expert:

Lesson #1: Never make one statement to the public and another to your employees. All audiences should always get the same statement. The incongruencies in your statements will always be released to the public by an employee. I’ve said this a thousand times to clients and to conference audiences around the world and I’ll keep saying it.Lesson #2: Your corporate response must move at the speed of Twitter. If it takes two days to get as outraged as the Twittersphere got in a matter of seconds, then you don’t understand modern crisis communications. I have more than 300 pre-written news releases on my laptop that are lawyer approved and ready to use in seconds. On average it takes 10 minutes for me to edit one.Lesson #3: If you could attach a dollar value to your words and actions in a crisis, would you make money or lose money? United is losing. The stock is crashing. The cynic in me wonders if Munoz would have foregone the Tuesday statement if it were not for the outraged world screaming advice in dollar signs.Lesson  #4: Parse your words until they are cynic-proof. Let’s break down the words parsed in the statements from United and let us add a cynic’s view. On Monday he said, “I apologize for having to re-accommodate these customers.”The cynic reads this as saying, “We needed to get four of our employees somewhere and they are more important than you are, even if we have to call the cops to drag you out of your seat.”Later he said to employees, “I want to commend you for continuing to go above and beyond to ensure we fly right.” The cynic reads, “You showed our customers who is boss. Keep up the good work. Follow the rules written to benefit us, regardless of who gets hurt.”He went on to tell employees, “Treating our customers and each other with respect and dignity is at the core of who we are, and we must always remember this no matter how challenging the situation.” The cynic looks at the video and clearly sees that the customer dragged from the plane was in no way treated with respect or dignity.The Tuesday statement says, “The truly horrific event that occurred on this flight has elicited many responses from all of us: outrage, anger, disappointment.” The cynic thinks, we all got that feeling 48 hours ago. Why did it take you two days to feel the same way?Somewhere at United there is a room full of executives, PR folks, PR agency people, and lawyers. Do you think any one of them should get to keep their job after how they have mismanaged this in the past 48 hours?The key to crisis communications is to take the steps and to make the decisions on a clear sunny day, about how you will respond to the many things that can happen on your darkest day. Yet most organizations are too focused on bringing in money to discuss the methods they should use to keep the money from gushing out the door when they screw up. [author]About the Author: Crisis communications expert Gerard Braud, CSP, IEC has been the go-to expert for organizations on five continents for nearly 25 years. He shares his passion for effective communications through his keynote speeches at conferences and conventions, as well as by helping organizations write an effective crisis communications plan. Additionally, he media trains spokespeople around the world. Braud began his career in journalism in 1979. During his 15 year career on television, you may have seen him on CNN, NBC, CBS, The BBC or The Weather Channel. In 1994 he left television to venture out into the world of public relations. This video will help you get to know him better. [/author]