Oh no: United Breaks Guitars

This is the heart-wrenching dramaof a musician who really loves guitars (called united breaks guitars). What happens when an Airline crushes your esteemed belongings and is not willing to take the blame? You could bellow and kick up a fuss, but they are used to that type of thing and will likely just brush you off. But what if you wrote a song or three and posted them to YouTube. Well in Dave Carroll's case it ended up going viral, much to to the Chagrin of United Airlines.

In Spring 2008 the band called Sons of Maxwell took a trip for a week to Nebraska with United Airlines. During this flight the Airline people destroyed Dave's expensive Taylor Guitar. They opposed responsibility for the damages and as a result Dave was at a loss.

Dave complied with the United Airlines 'customer service' procedures, and found that no one wanted to take blame. They used tricks like referring him one department to the next, and even tried to pass the blame onto other Flight Services like Air Canada. Most of his exchanges was with Ms. Irlweg, a United complaints rep.

I frequently think big companies like this and their staff are retards.

Finally, out of desperation Dave Carroll decided to write a hilarious song about the experience and post it on YouTube; called "united breaks guitars". Now there have been 3 videos invented about the awful trouble, including side splitting video, clever lyrics, and lots of jokes.

This represented a win-win affair for both parties as Dave acquired a replacement guitar, and Taylor got over-the-top brand exposure.

Finally, the stupid staff at United determined what a beating they were getting in the public places; understanding that it doesn't pay to be a bully especially when dealing with someone who understands the power of the internet and social media to beam ones message. This is especially true when a viral campaign is implemented as well as Dave achieved with this one.

Dave Carroll was beyond any doubt the winner in this ballgame; massive hype for his band "Sons of Maxwell", a shiny new replacement guitar from Taylor and another backup guitar from United Airlines (albeit a little too late for them to save face). If this confirms anything, it's of the power of the internet as a apparatus of enormous free speech; secondly that you can't just squeeze people and expect to get away with it.