Stuck in DFW airport

What happens when two videographers' flights are cancelled and get stuck over night in an airport with their video gear? They make a great video. I'm envious.

STUCK from Joe Ayala on Vimeo.

Then they post it on their account at Vimeo and very quickly a million people see it and start commenting on it. Companies really need to understand that their service failures can become public very quickly. Like the brilliant United Breaks Guitars video, a couple of talented media creators got some payback for their treatment from the airlines.

United breaks guitars

Time was when a consumer was abused by a company they had little recourse. Social networking sites have changed the game, and a bad service provider is subject to retaliation. Some companies are still waking up to that fact.

Case in point. United Airlines breaks a musician's guitar, then refuses to pay for the damage. The musician posts this brilliant song on YouTube about his experience with United, and the video gets 4 million hits in less than three weeks. User-generated content on sites like YouTube have helped chang the balance of power between companies and consumers, mostly for the better.