Twitter tells airlines people are not cattle

Next time you have an unsatisfactory customer-service experience, instead of complaining to the company concerned, it might be beneficial to let it all out on Twitter.

That's the line of action being encouraged by consumer-rights groups fed up with some pretty shoddy treatment from big businesses.

Let it all out

Chief among the examples cited by Reuters this week is the approach taken to the notorious US airline industry by groups like FlyersRights.org.

While posting messages about bad experiences that read like elementary school graffiti - "Screw american airlines. Every plane has Been broken. Gah. So done", for example - may not seem useful, public venting does seem to be working.

Left to stew

FlyersRights founder Kate Hanni is meticulously documenting and tweeting reports of airlines abusing their hold over passengers in such matters as bumping them off flights and keeping entire plane-loads waiting on the runway overnight.

She explains: "It creates an awareness for people that these things are happening all the time. When I hear about a stranding event where someone is stranded right then, I tweet it."

So, it is useful...

On the back of such negative publicity, FlyersRights is pushing for US legislation to protect airline passengers from abuse. If successful, perhaps naysayers will then stop deriding Twitter as just another internet fad.

Via Reuters