I have been following the Kevin Smith/Southwest debacle because it is what is happening in the Twitter universe.  I have been asked who do I think is right and quite frankly I have no opinion.  Why, because I am not sure of all the facts despite all the comments being tweeted.  What I do know is that this sure puts customer service and bad PR into a whole new realm.  Regardless of the reasons that Kevin Smith was removed from the plane the fact remains that he was savvy enough to share it easily with the world.  And then Southwest was able to respond as quickly.  This whole conversation gives great reason that all businesses should become social media savvy.

What I do not agree with is the way Southwest handled the written apology to Mr. Smith via a post “No So Silent Bob” on their blog.  It was great that they gave a public apology but then they proceeded to outline the situation and why they felt they were correct in removing him from the plane.  They should have said, we have a policy, we stand by it, it caused an unfortunate situation and we apologize for the inconvenience to Mr. Smith.  By addressing all the details, makes that apology seem less than sincere and as if it was more of a PR positioning than an apology.

This brings up two great points for all business owners, large and small.  First, you need to know the working of social media and reputation management.  You should be familiar with the platform and when to address the situation, good or bad.  Second, you should know the rules of protocol and etiquette.  Especially, how to give a proper apology and when to apply common sense rules to certain situations.

I would love to know your comments on reputation management and the business rules of protocol and etiquette.

All the best,

Related articles by Zemanta

• ‘Oversized’ Kevin Smith ejected from flight (msnbc.msn.com)
• Kevin Smith Oversized? Ejected From Flight (abcnews.go.com)
• Kevin Smith oversized? ejected from flight (seattletimes.nwsource.com)