Bee22 Pianezza

You may have heard the story of musician Dave Carroll who took a United Airlines flight to Nebraska for a one-week tour and had his guitar damaged by luggage handlers. Though he complained to the airline for over a nine-month period, the company refused to pay him for the damages.

Carroll decided to air his feelings on YouTube. He wrote a song and his band filmed the music video "United Breaks Guitars", which was watched over 3.6 million times. Carroll even told United that he would be writing this song, plus another two songs and videos in the future. It was only after this music video was viewed by millions that United decided to reimburse Carroll for his loss. But Carroll refused, saying he is still going to produce those two other songs.

This is a common story. Employees, customers, and clients have multiple ways of airing grievances in public about anything a company does. For HR, this can mean a damaged reputation that can be a slap in the face for recruiting efforts. This can be alleviated by stressing to employees the importance of customer service nowadays. Also, to prevent employees from airing grievances online, encourage managers to listen to complaints. Employees will look for alternate ways to get attention if they feel they are not being heard by their employers.

Has your company been affected by a grevious employee lately? Do share with us.