美聯航粗魯待客的沉重代價
His injuries are horrific: concussion, broken nose and two lost teeth. The assault, which left David Dao bloodied, has been seen by millions. Yet what is really shocking is that Dr Dao, who had paid for his ticket, was attacked by people called in by the airline he was travelling with: he was one of its customers.
他受的傷是可怕的：腦震盪、鼻樑骨折，還有兩顆牙齒脫落。數百萬人目睹了這一讓杜成德(David Dao)流血的毆打事件。然而，真正令人震驚的是，掏錢買了機票的杜成德是被他搭乘的這家航空公司找來的人毆打的：他是該航空公司的乘客之一。Aggrieved travellers from around the world have seized on the brutal treatment of the 69-year-old Vietnamese-American doctor as a symbol of all that is wrong with air travel today, from cramped legroom to carry-on fees.
世界各地憤憤不平的旅行者抓住這位69歲的越南裔美籍醫生遭受的野蠻待遇，認爲這件事象徵着當今航空業的所有弊病，從腿部空間狹小，到針對隨身行李的收費。Dr Dao suffered his injuries at the hands of airport police in Chicago as they forcibly removed him from an overbooked United Continental flight. But by the end of the week, he had emerged as an Everyman figure in a broader corporate morality play about how companies should treat their customers — and what they should say and do when things go badly wrong.
杜成德是在芝加哥機場警察的暴力執法之下受傷的，當時他們強行把他從聯合大陸(United Continental)一個超額預訂的航班上驅離。但是到了那周的週末，他已在一個更爲廣義的企業道德問題中成爲一名普通人代表，這個問題關乎企業應如何對待客戶，以及在發生嚴重問題時，他們應該說什麼，做什麼。
United, for its part, has been widely cast as an example of corporate heartlessness and indifference, issuing tone-deaf statements that deflected legal blame while doing little to prevent brand damage, at first, and then resorting to ever more abject apologies that still failed to assuage public anger. Industry analysts say the US airline may be lucky to avoid even more serious reputational damage.
美聯航被普遍列爲企業無情與冷漠的典型，一開始，該公司發表了不識時務的聲明，推卸法律責任，同時幾乎沒有採取任何行動來防止品牌損害，接着該公司做出了一個比一個更低聲下氣的道歉，卻仍未能平息公衆的憤怒。行業分析師們表示，這家美國航空公司如果能夠避免更嚴重的聲譽損害，將算是幸運的。“It took the cork out of the bottle of anger at airlines for an increasingly aggravating experience when travelling,” says Allan Adamson, founder of BrandSimple, a branding consultancy. Within hours, passengers were complaining about everything from United seating a toddler between two strangers instead of with their parents, to restrictions on carry-on bags, and the cost of bottled water on discount carriers.
品牌諮詢公司BrandSimple創始人阿蘭?亞當森(Allan Adamson)表示：“這件事讓人們把他們對航空公司的怒火爆發出來，他們早就認爲航空公司帶來越來越令人不滿的出行體驗。”不到幾個小時，乘客們就開始抱怨各種事情，從美聯航把一名幼兒的座位安排在兩個陌生人之間（而不是讓孩子與父母坐在一起），到對隨身行李的限制，乃至廉價航空公司對瓶裝水收取的價格。A subplot of racism thrown into the mix — with some social media users questioning whether Dr Dao was mistreated because he was Asian — added to the sense that the whole affair was about much more than just an overbooked flight, a public relations crisis, or even the airline industry.
該事件夾雜的種族主義次要情節（一些社交媒體用戶質疑：杜成德之所以被粗暴對待，是不是因爲他是亞裔？）更讓人感覺，整件事不僅關乎一個超額預訂航班、一場公關危機，甚至不僅關乎航空業。Offence was registered as far away as China, one of the world’s fastest growing major airline markets, and a critical area of expansion for United. Video of the fracas, taken by passengers who can be heard exclaiming in horror as it unfolds, became the top trending item on Sina Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter (partly because the doctor was initially misidentified as Chinese).
在遙遠的中國，人們也對這此事感到憤怒。中國是全球增長最快的大型航空市場之一，也是美聯航要擴張業務的一個重要地區。這起爭執的視頻（視頻中可聽到拍攝的乘客一邊拍一邊發出恐懼的尖叫）成爲中國版的Twitter新浪微博上最熱門的話題（部分原因是這名醫生起初被錯認爲是華人）。Dr Dao’s lawyers further stoked emotions when they quoted him as comparing the experience to his escape from Vietnam during the Fall of Saigon in 1975. Being dragged down the aisle was, his lawyer quoted him as saying, “more horrifying and harrowing than what he experienced on leaving Vietnam”.
杜成德的律師們進一步煽起了人們的憤怒，他們援引杜成德的話，把這段經歷與1975年他在西貢淪陷期間逃離越南相提並論。他的律師援引他的話說，他被人從飛機走道拖離的遭遇“比他當年逃離越南還要可怕和悲慘”。The lawyer went on to tell a press conference that he hoped Dr Dao, who is preparing legal action against United, would spearhead a consumer revolt against corporate mistreatment of customers — not just on flights but at rental car counters, in grocery stores, and even at the doctor’s office. He said that airlines routinely “bully” passengers.
這位律師接着在新聞發佈會上表示，他希望正準備對美聯航採取法律行動的杜成德，將引發一場針對企業虐待客戶的消費者反抗，不僅僅是在航班上，也要針對租車櫃檯、食品商店甚至醫生的診所。這位律師表示，航空公司經常“欺凌”乘客。Saying sorry
說對不起Last Sunday started as just another typical day in America’s airports, where tens of thousands of passengers are involuntarily bumped off aircraft every year, according to federal statistics. Flight 3411 from Chicago to Louisville was full and ready to take off. But United needed four extra seats on the flight to transport staff to crew an aircraft in another city. Compensation was offered but no one gave up their seat. Four passengers were chosen at random; three stepped off the aircraft but Dr Dao refused. Airport police were called, tempers rose and then snapped. The rest will forever be history — on Twitter.
2017年4月9日開始時，就像美國機場又一個普通的週日，根據聯邦統計數據，美國機場每年會有數萬乘客在非志願的情況下被趕下飛機。從芝加哥飛往路易斯維爾的3411航班已滿座，準備起飛。但美聯航需要再搭載4名員工，讓他們到另一座城市執行一個航班。美聯航介紹了補償方案，但沒有人願意放棄座位。美聯航隨機選擇了4名乘客，有3人下了飛機，但杜成德拒絕了。於是美聯航找來機場警察，雙方情緒變得激動起來，隨後失控。之後發生的事情已被載入Twitter上的“史冊”。Crisis communications experts immediately began dissecting the cadaver of United’s inept public relations response: for nearly 24 hours the carrier seemed blind to the fact that it had any responsibility for what had happened, referring questions to law enforcement — doubtless on the advice of its lawyers.
危機溝通專家立即開始剖析美聯航公關回應笨拙的敗筆：在近24小時的時間裏，這家航空公司似乎無視自己有責任的事實，而是把一切詢問都踢給執法部門——無疑是在聽從律師的建議。“In crisis communications the legal team has always had a really heavy hand. But no matter what the settlement would have been with this gentleman, it would be a bargain given the hit they are taking to their brand equity,” says Chris Allieri, founder of Mulberry and Astor, a PR consultancy.
公關諮詢公司Mulberry and Astor創始人克里斯?艾列裏(Chris Allieri)表示：“在危機溝通中，法律團隊總是會採取刻板的立場。但是，鑑於這起事件對品牌資產的打擊，不管航空公司與這位男士達成什麼樣的和解方案，都是代價低廉的。”Late on day two, Oscar Munoz, chief executive, made a much mocked first stab at a mea culpa: apologising only for “re-accommodating” passengers — not for having one dragged down the aisle with blood dripping from his mouth. That night he reassured staff, in an internal memo, that they had followed procedure. But the digital outrage quickly exploded with United Airlines mentioned nearly 3m times on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in the first 48 hours after news of the incident broke, according to Brandwatch, a social media analytics company.
事件發生後的第二天晚間，美聯航首席執行官奧斯卡?穆諾茲(Oscar Munoz)作出了廣受嘲諷的首次認錯嘗試：只對“重新安置”乘客道歉，而沒有提到把一個嘴角流着血的乘客從走道拖離。當晚他在一份內部備忘錄中安撫員工稱，他們遵循了處理此類情況的既定程序。但數字媒體上的憤怒迅速爆發，根據社交媒體分析公司Brandwatch的數據，在這起事件被報道後的48小時內，在Facebook、Twitter和Instagram上，“美聯航”被提到了近300萬次。Hashtags proliferated, including #BoycottUnited, #NewUnitedAirlinesMottos and #FlyTheFriendlySkies, mocking United’s advertising slogan. By Wednesday, 71 per cent of online mentions of United expressed a negative sentiment, compared with a 91 per cent positive reading on Sunday, Brandwatch analysis found.
相關標籤激增，包括#抵制美聯航、#美聯航新座右銘，以及借用美聯航廣告語嘲諷的#飛向友好的天空。Brandwatch的分析師們發現，到了週三，網上提及美聯航的言論有71%表達了負面情緒，相比之下週日的言論有91%是積極的。It was only three days after the flight that Mr Munoz appeared on Good Morning America, the widely watched US television programme, to say “this will never happen again on a United Airlines flight”, adding “we’re not going to put a law enforcement official [on an aircraft] to take them off. To remove a booked, paid, seating passenger? We can’t do that.” He felt “shame and embarrassment” at the way Dr Dao was treated, he added.
只是在航班的整整3天后，穆諾茲才姍姍來遲地在收視率較高的美國電視節目《早安美國》(Good Morning America)中表示，“美聯航的航班上再也不會發生這種事”，他接着說，“我們不會再讓執法人員把他們帶離飛機。驅離一個已經預訂並支付機票，且已經就座的乘客？我們不能這麼做”。他補充說，他對杜成德受到的待遇感到“恥辱和尷尬”。United offered to reimburse everyone on the flight the cost of their ticket. But all this was condemned as “too little, too late” by those who advise companies on how not to get into a mess like this in the first place.
美聯航向該航班上的所有乘客提供相當於機票價格的補償。但那些爲企業出謀劃策、力求讓企業根本不陷入此類爛攤子的人表示，這一切都“太少而且太遲了”。Hindsight often plays a role in these condemnations, but even seasoned online reputation consultants were surprised by how quickly the vitriol spread: “This is what I have done for a living for over a decade and I could not have predicted this. There’s a ferocity and velocity to this response that was not predictable,” says Michael Fertik, founder of , an online reputation management company.
這些譴責往往帶有馬後炮的元素，但就連最老練的在線聲譽諮詢顧問也對這種批評如此迅速傳播感到意外：在線聲譽管理公司的創始人邁克爾?費蒂克(Michael Fertik)表示：“我以此謀生已有10多年，而我預料不到這種情況。這種迴應的猛烈程度和速度是無法預測的。”Financial impact
財務影響Investors appeared taken off guard too, with United’s share price showing little impact on the first day after the crisis broke. The shares dipped sharply on Tuesday — at one stage wiping $1bn off its market value — but by the end of the week its share price had recovered much of its value. On Thursday Jim Corridore, airline analyst at CFRA, reiterated his strong buy recommendation on the airline. “With United finally saying the right things, we think that this situation can start to recede and allow investors to focus on industry fundamentals, which are quite good.”
投資者似乎也有些措手不及，在危機發生後的第一天，美聯航的股價幾乎沒受影響。到了週二，股價急劇下跌，一度使該公司市值蒸發10億美元，但到了週五，其股價已收復大部分失地。週四，CFRA航空分析師吉姆?科裏多雷(Jim Corridore)重申了強力推薦買入美聯航的建議。“鑑於美聯航終於在正確表態，我們認爲這種局面有望開始緩解，讓投資者聚焦於相當不錯的行業基本面。”Part of that can probably be explained by the fact that Mr Munoz, a well-liked figure who attracted public sympathy when he underwent a heart transplant weeks after taking over the struggling carrier, has been credited for having done much to put the company on a path to recovery.
這在一定程度上很可能是因爲這樣一個事實，即穆諾茲因大力推動美聯航走上覆蘇之路而備受讚譽。穆諾茲是一個受人喜歡的人物，他在接手這家陷入困境的航空公司數週後做了心臟移植手術，引發公衆的同情。United, which has struggled to deliver the operational performance and profits demanded by Wall Street since its merger with Continental Airlines in 2010, was the fourth-largest US carrier by passenger volume last year. Under Mr Munoz its share price has risen from a low of $37.75 last year to $69.07 on Thursday.
美聯航在2010年與美國大陸航空(Continental Airlines)合併後，難以拿出華爾街所要求的業績和利潤。按去年的客運量計算，該公司是美國第四大航空公司。在穆諾茲的領導下，美聯航股價從去年37.75美元的低點升至4月13日的69.07美元。Mr Munoz also struck joint labour contracts with flight attendants and mechanics, a crucial step in integrating United with Continental and one that analysts hope will improve operating performance.
穆諾茲還與空乘和機修人員達成了聯合勞動合同，這是整合美聯航與大陸航空的關鍵步驟，分析師預計，此舉將會改善業績。Ironically, he was even awarded PR Week’s “communicator of the year” award exactly a month before the incident. “Since taking on CEO duties in September 2015, Munoz has transformed the fortunes of the airline, galvanised staff, and set the business on a smoother course — all in the context of a tremendously difficult time personally,” the publication said, applauding him for being a sure touch on the shop floor and understanding “the value of communication”.
具有諷刺意味的是，就在這起事件發生一個月前，穆諾茲甚至獲得了《公關週刊》(PR Week)的“年度溝通大師”殊榮。該雜誌表示：“自2015年9月出任首席執行官以來，穆諾茲扭轉了美聯航的命運，鼓舞了員工士氣，並讓經營進入更爲順暢的軌道——所有這些都是在他個人經歷極度艱難的時期完成的”。《公關週刊》還稱讚他接地氣，明白“溝通的價值”。Soon after that, matters started to unravel, when the carrier faced a public backlash for refusing to allow two female passengers to board wearing leggings because they carried passes issued to family of staff that specify a strict dress code. Then came flight 3411, flashing pictures of a bloodied and dazed Dr Dao on millions of mobile phone screens around the world. Politicians weighed in, calling for an investigation. Even President Donald Trump commented.
不久之後問題就開始爆發，最初是美聯航拒絕兩名穿着緊身褲的女性乘客登機，引發公衆反彈——這兩人攜帶着美聯航發給員工家屬的通票，而這類通票有嚴格的着裝要求。隨後就是3411航班，杜成德嘴角流血且神志不清的視頻在世界各地數以百萬計的手機上流傳。政客們出面呼籲展開調查。就連唐納德?特朗普(Donald Trump)總統也發表了評論。United is scarcely the first company to have faced a ferocious social media firestorm. Just last week Pepsi was forced to withdraw an advert because of criticism on social media that it was racially and politically insensitive.
美聯航並非是首家面臨社交媒體風暴的公司。就在前不久，百事可樂(Pepsi)被迫撤回一則廣告，原因是有人在社交媒體上指責該廣告在種族和政治問題上不夠敏感。
But Mr Fertik says of the United incident: “I think this one has legs. The next wave could come because there’s enough sustained interest now that Congress could have hearings, ask former customers about their bad experiences, bring in former employees.”
但是的費蒂克在談到美聯航事件時表示：“我認爲這場風波會有後勁。下一波可能接踵而至，因爲現在有足夠的持續興趣，以至於美國國會可能舉行聽證會，請來乘客講述之前的糟糕經歷，並傳喚前僱員。”Still, many airline analysts doubt that disgruntled passengers will put their brand loyalty ahead of their wallets, and boycott United.
話雖如此，許多航空業分析師懷疑不滿的乘客會把品牌忠誠度置於錢包之前，開始抵制美聯航。“How long will this last? Until the next airfare sale,” says George Hamlin, veteran airline industry consultant.
資深的航空業諮詢顧問喬治?哈姆林(George Hamlin)表示：“這場風波將會持續多久？直至下一次機票促銷。”He is betting that digital outrage will be as quick to dissipate as it was to flare up in the first place, especially in a world where airline consolidation has left many passengers with few choices of how to get from A to B, cheaply, comfortably, and most of all in one piece.
他打賭稱，網上的不滿將和最初風波乍起一樣迅速消散，尤其是航空公司整合導致許多乘客沒有多少選擇，可以讓他們廉價、舒適而且（最重要的是）安然無恙地從A地到達B地。
