Dave Carroll of the Canadian pop-folk band Sons of Maxwell just released his second music video on the treatment he received from United Airlines. The first was released July 7 2009, after almost a year’s worth of failed attempts to get United to take responsibility for smashing his $3,500 Taylor guitar.

I spoke to Dave regarding the release of both videos. He explained his reasons for writing the songs in the first place—and a little about what he (as well as United) has learned from the experience.

“The first video was born out of my frustration,” said Dave, “It wasn’t a tactic to get money out of them.” In fact, he refused the payment they offered him a week after the video came out, and told them he hoped they would offer the money to another customer who needed help with a problem.

The Taylor Story

“It was a beautiful guitar, and I remember the day I bought it at Steve’s Music in Ottawa,” said Dave. “It was the only Taylor cedar top in the shop, and when I picked it up and played it—well, it had such a wonderful, warm tone that it really stood out. Over the years I developed a sentimental attachment to it. In fact, it’s the guitar I used to write all the important songs we’ve created over the past ten years. It became an old friend.”

The damage to his beloved instrument was extensive. The plug for pickup on the guitar was driven into the sound board, leaving a long, narrow gash “that you could stick 3 or 4 fingers into” and separating the body from the neck. Even with $1,200 in repairs, it doesn’t quite play the same.

“It picks ok, but strumming doesn’t sound the same,” Dave lamented. “I’m told that kind of damage isn’t really repairable, and I haven’t taken it on the road since.”

United did give $3,000 to The Thelonious Monk Jazz Institute (a youth jazz program) in an effort to make amends with Dave (albeit late), and have been using the first video internally to educate employees, which Dave said is a good first step. However, he promised the airline when he first spoke to them that he would release three videos, and their actions won’t change that. “I wanted to make three songs that were unique and entertaining, as well as to send a message,” said Dave.

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The first creative expression of his frustration, “United Breaks Guitars” went viral very quickly (over 5,000,000,000 views since its release). Its success got United to pay attention and brought Dave and his band almost overnight recognition. But something else has been brought home not so much by the video, but by the immediacy of social media—the beginnings of positive change in customer service on all airlines.

Dave is happy that the videos seem to be having the intended affect. In fact, a passenger in an airport recently shook Dave’s hand and thanked him for helping all customers get better service: “He felt that the airlines he travels on are now more sensitive to improving customer relations—‘Keep up the good work,’ he told me.”

What Social Media Was Used?

I asked Dave what he did to promote the YouTube video, and was surprised by his answer:

“Not much…we had a FaceBook page when the first one came out, and my fans were great at disseminating the video and chatting about it. We now have a Twitter account, and lucky to have over 3500 followers, who are already tweeting about the second video. I find it ironic that what others may think was a brilliant move on my part to use social media on this really wasn’t my idea at all. I attribute all that to my fans, which are much more Internet savvy than I am. I know nothing about how to use this (other than producing the video). It just developed a life of its own, really. I’m really just one ant in a very big colony.”

Dave says that a number of university professors have contacted him about the social media aspect of this story. “It’s a classic case study, and I’ve had several from Canada, Europe and the States who want to use it in the classroom to highlight the value of using social media as a customer service tool —even write textbooks on the subject for business majors.”

Reaction to the Videos

“I’ve talked to United a few times [since the first release] about other customer service issues—and the conversation has been quite cordial,” Dave reported. He’s been in contact with officials in both public relations and customer solutions at United. “They wanted to come to the release of our second video in Halifax, but unfortunately got stuck in bad weather in Chicago,” said Dave.

Public reaction to the new video has been “awesome,” with 300-400 reviews so far, 99% of which have been positive. He wanted this one to be fun and quirky—and it really is. Ms. Irlweg (the United employee portrayed in his first video) plays the tuba with him at a picnic and throughout the piece. “Nothing says ‘funny’ to me like a tuba,” he laughs.

His favorite scene involves “secret service types” who protect the United CEO by strong-arming Dave to the pavement, shoving the CEO into a limousine and whisking him away (inspired by the assassination attempt on President Reagan in 1981).

Throughout the video Dave’s mustachioed band members wear German lederhosen and play horn instruments, and all the “extras” in each scene join him to help sing the chorus parts. Even his 88-year-old grandmother, Doreen Daley, has a cameo role, singing enthusiastically with the rest.

“It was a much bigger production, but as with the first video, everyone connected with it volunteered their time and services,” Dave noted. “It was filmed on the grounds of the Waverly Fire Hall where I’m a volunteer fire fighter, and even the use of the 40’ scissor lift used to film the overhead shots was donated. People have just been overwhelmingly generous.”

Lessons Learned

Judging from his conversations with United, Dave thinks there is some enthusiasm on their part to learn from this: “They already use the first video as an internal tool for their handlers, and they’ve told me that they’re concentrating on doing as much as they can with problems they have control over, like helping people with flight delays and baggage issues. The fact that they tried to come out to view the release of the second video says a lot. I’ve told United that if they really show an effort—make a substantive change in their policies and how they handle customer service—I’ll write about it. The third video is basically a blank page at this point.

As for Dave, he found out that even one person does have a voice, and that it pays not to become angry, but to use inspiration to solve problems. “We can make a difference if we work together,” said Dave. “I think I voiced that in the second song—there’s no reason we can’t be friends.”

How United reacts to the second video could be another social media lesson for large corporations. Embracing Dave Carroll’s efforts could be a huge public relations success for the airline, but time will tell. Hopefully they’ll use this chance to wise up, turn lemons into lemonade—and collaborate with him on the third song.