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Pissed off marketing

Posted on December 14th, 2007

Alitalia lost my luggage. It happens. It’s been two days and they still haven’t delivered it. It happens.

But here’s what shouldn’t happen. When you’re at the airport registering the lostness of your luggage, the last step before they send you home to live in the clothes you arrived in is the Bestowing of the Toiletries. The little bag contains the cheapest possible bathroom utensils the airline can find: A toothbrush as rigorous as a cotton swab, a chunk of deodorant floating loose in its container, a razor blade fashioned from the sharp edge of a tuna can. But the last straw was the one piece of clothing included: A white undershirt on to which they’ve printed their logo. Not only does this render it useless if you happen to be wearing a shirt of any translucency, why do they think I want to advertise their business for them? What part of “I’m pissed off” don’t they understand?

Likewise, when you’re put on hold by a business, why would they think you’re in a mood to listen to their ads…especially if you’re put on hold while trying to get technical help? What are they thinking?

If you have an emotional IQ above than that of your average rattlesnake, you can figure out that marketing to customers when they’re pissed off at you requires apologies, extra care, patience, and humility, not happy jingles and cheery logos.

Grrrr…

[Tags: marketing business pissed_off ]

Categories: business, cluetrain, marketing

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12 Responses to “Pissed off marketing”

  1. gianluca b, on December 14th, 2007 at 3:11 pm Said:

    emotional IQ in italy is quite random these days

    enyoj the randomess david !

  2.  

  3. Ulrike Reinhard, on December 14th, 2007 at 3:39 pm Said:

    what a trip to europe these days!
    have a better one next time david!

    best, ulrike

  4.  

  5. Stephen Downes, on December 14th, 2007 at 8:39 pm Said:

    Yes, well, Air Canada has long since ceased giving out the packages. I guess It became a significant cost for them.

  6.  

  7. Eric Norman, on December 14th, 2007 at 8:49 pm Said:

    Don’t you just love/hate it when you’re on hold and every 30 seconds they tell you “Your call is important to us”?

    Right. But not important enough that you’ll answer the %$#@’ing phone!

  8.  

  9. Benjamin Kudria, on December 15th, 2007 at 2:35 am Said:

    Wow, channel Seth Godin much?
    You’re certainly lucky you got anything, and it’s good that they put some thought into retaining customers through thick and thin. A shame they didn’t go all the way, though.

  10.  

  11. barcode :: Weinberger e l’Alitalia :: December :: 2007, on December 15th, 2007 at 7:17 am Said:

    [...] Gustoso post di David Weinberger sulla sua disavventura con l’Alitalia: gli perdono il bagaglio e per scusarsi gli danno una cannottiera con il logo! [...]

  12.  

  13. andrea, on December 15th, 2007 at 7:20 am Said:

    ah ah ah!
    Alitalia is constantly improving customer service, so next time the bag will contain also a pair of logo panties…

  14.  

  15. AKMA, on December 15th, 2007 at 8:48 am Said:

    Just what David needs — Alitalia panties.

  16.  

  17. Alitalia undershirt extravaganza — Mostly Harmless, on December 15th, 2007 at 9:32 am Said:

    [...] David Weinberger got in trouble with Alitalia. Baggage lost, lousy bathroom utensils, and a undershirt with the company logo. Oh. My. Fucking. God. [...]

  18.  

  19. Marco Massarotto, on December 16th, 2007 at 5:11 pm Said:

    I still remember the lunch on my Alitalia Athens/Milan flight 2 summers ago: a wet sandwich filled with one slice of eggplant.

    That’s it.

    It was filled with one slice of eggplant. I seriously worried we were facing a major world crisis for the duration of the flight, fortunately when i Landed I still had my cabinet full of food at home…. Lol

  20.  

  21. Rick(Vectorpedia), on December 23rd, 2007 at 11:45 am Said:

    I had the same problem with Alitalia…..lost baggage and poor service !

  22.  

  23. jack black spider man, on June 23rd, 2008 at 1:26 am Said:

    jugar keno…

    Rate play slots online online poker gambling juego poker gratis omaha poker regeln texas holdem gratis…

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