United Breaks Guitars

There are many company's and organization's that are so massive in size and power, that it is easy for them to belittle and ignore the little people that come in contact with their company. A lot of people have had far from pleasant experiences with large company's, but have felt powerless to do anything to get compensated for the company's mistake because they feel intimidated. There have been certain instances where individuals will stand up against a large company and fight for fairness, Dave Carroll was one of these individuals.
On a United Airlines flight, musician Dave Carroll saw airline employees throw his $3,500 Taylor brand guitar while loading it onto the plane, destroying the very expensive guitar. For valid reasons, Carroll was furious and got in contact with numerous United employees to try and get some sort of compensation for his broken guitar. It took nine months for Carroll to get a definite answer about the compensation he had hoped for. United Airlines refused to compensate or even negotiate with Carroll, so the musician took matters into his own hands. Being completely aware of the power of social media, Carroll wrote and produced a music video that described the nightmare he experienced trying to get United to cooperate and posted it on YouTube.
It didn't take long for the video to go viral and for millions of individuals to be aware of the irresponsible and unprofessional behavior associated with dozens of United employees. The YouTube video is called “United Breaks Guitars” and has been viewed 7,468,928 times. One of the people to see the video is Taylor Guitar owner, Bob Taylor. Taylor personally called Carroll and offered him two guitars of his choice along with help producing another music video about the incident. Due largely to the video, United Airlines stock went down $300 million, and thousands of people voiced their disgust with United via social networking sites. All because United refused to compensate for a broken guitar.
It's almost impossible for anyone to know if a video will go viral or not. Luckily for Carroll, his did and it educated millions of people about the real United Airlines. The beauty of social media is that it is accessible to literally anyone, to post and view videos. Anyone can make a video about a negative experience they had while eating at McDonalds, but there's absolutely no guarantee to get attention like “United Breaks Guitars”. There's no laws against posting a video that inappropriately expresses an individuals feelings on a company and because of this freedom, a video has potential to be a company's worst nightmare.
United Airlines is completely in the wrong, and is getting a properly fitted punishment for their actions. I personally find it amusing that United tried to pay Carroll off to remove the video from the internet, and that after 7 million views, they are now offering to replace the guitar and award Carroll with free flights. After a almost year long battle with United Airlines, I'm sure the last thing Dave Carroll wants is free flights on United Airlines.