United breaks guitars … and loses bags too: The saga continues
Dave Carroll, the Canadian musician who won worldwide fame by composing a song and video about the demise of his guitar at the hands of United Airlines, found himself in that airline’s clutches again the other day, on the way to a speaking engagement about customer service. And guess what happened?
United lost his bag.
“It’s bizarre,” said Carroll.
It happened Sunday, Carroll said, as he made his way from the Canadian city of Regina in Saskatchewan province to the Denver airport, on his way to a conference in Colorado Springs. “The only direct flight to Denver was with United. So I flew United and my bag got lost,” Carroll told Canada’s CBC News on Thursday. Robin Urbanski, a spokeswoman for the airline, said, “We will fully investigate what regretfully happened,” the New York Times reported.
Carroll’s initial trouble with United came in 2008, and he told the tale this year with a “United Breaks Guitars” video (above) that has racked up more than 5 million views on YouTube.
Carroll has released a second song and video (above), with a third due out soon.
The trouble this time, Carroll said in a phone interview Friday, began with his flight to Denver. He carried on his guitar this time, but he did have one piece of luggage. When that bag didn’t show up at the carousel, he was told to keep waiting by a United employee, Carroll said. Then an airport official told him to leave the area. Eventually, he left the area.
Over the days that followed, Carroll said, he was told that the bag traveled to Calgary in Canada (for no reason he could imagine) and later Dallas-Fort Worth (again, for no clear reason). On Tuesday, he gave a keynote speech on customer service and sang for hundreds of businesspeople, but had to do without support materials and the nice pair of shoes that had been in his luggage.
Though one United representative promised to e-mail him a $150 credit for his trouble, Carroll said, it never came.
Finally, on Wednesday, the bag caught up with Carroll at his hotel in Colorado Springs.
“We are doing everything we can to see it doesn’t happen again,” United spokesman Charlie Hobart said Friday evening. But Carroll has his doubts.
From now on, “I guess the smart thing to do would be to avoid United,” Carroll said. But then again, for Carroll, every United error is a chance for further inspiration and publicity. Maybe, Carroll added, he will fly only on United “just in advance of new CD releases.”
And if there’s no time to write a new song this time around, we can suggest a few pieces of music that Carroll should consider adapting.
– “Reunited (and it feels so good),” written by Dino Fekaris and Freddie Perren, performed most memorably (so far) by Peaches & Herb.
– “Leaving on a Jet Plane,” written and performed by John Denver.
– “Ambient 1: Music for Airports,” an album of becalming tones conceived by Brian Eno during a layover of many hours at Germany’s Cologne Bonn Airport in the mid-1970s.
– “Somewhere Out There,” by James Ingram and Linda Ronstadt.
– “Lost in the Stars,” by Kurt Weill.
Suggestions? Bueller? Anyone?
– Christopher Reynolds, Los Angeles Times staff writer
22 Comments on “United breaks guitars … and loses bags too: The saga continues”
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October 30th, 2009 at 6:18 pm
Maybe some disgruntled United baggage handlers noticed his name, and decided to do something they knew would put egg on the face of their employer… I wonder what the probability of this happening to the same person is? (More than I would’ve guessed, sadly)
Ouch.
Liz
Director of Marketing & Content
DealBase.com
October 31st, 2009 at 10:09 am
I’m so happy that this guy found his niche: an unhappy complainer who couldn’t make it in the music world. Maybe United enjoys the attention? All publicity is good publicity!
October 31st, 2009 at 3:49 pm
Really, this guy needs to go away. Any “professional” musician who flies regularily KNOWS they need to purchase an ATA rated instrument case for their valuable instruments and not rely on the pressed cardboard cases sold with most guitars!!
He should take responsibility for his lack of planning and not blame airlines for his guitar being broken.
October 31st, 2009 at 5:53 pm
Of cousrse, there is the classic, “Thank You Republic Airlines” by Tom Paxton, about a similar guitar incident. That airline is now US Air.
October 31st, 2009 at 6:04 pm
United is a lousy airline ! A friends daughter was flying to Jacksonville, FL from Chicago and the flight cancelled. She went to get her back in Chicago (she never left the airport) and United lost her bag anyway. She got it the next day.
October 31st, 2009 at 6:47 pm
@RichDavis — Wow - a new animal, “Bitter airline-loving troll” Carroll expressed the feeling of everyone in America except you and Ms. Irlweg.
October 31st, 2009 at 6:51 pm
United destroyed my bike carrier and then they refused to pay for it. Citing the fact that the wheel was damaged (it had been torn off with great force) and that wheels are not covered they said, tough luck. That after charging me $175 to ship the box one-way!!
October 31st, 2009 at 9:04 pm
I love it, Dave Carroll. I’m looking forward to seeing number 3.
October 31st, 2009 at 9:05 pm
I’d be curious to know if United is understaffed. I’ve noticed as a result of everyone trying to save a buck here and there, that customer service tends to be put behind profit margins.
November 1st, 2009 at 4:14 am
Pretty clearly United believes any publicity is good publicity.
November 1st, 2009 at 7:27 am
I believe (not completely sure) Ambient 1 is still played in Chicago’s O’Hare airport. In the tunnel with all the neon lights. There is also a tape loop that says “keep walking.” Damn tape loop is so bothersome; people used to hang out there.
November 1st, 2009 at 8:37 am
I like it. It has a good beat and you can dance to it. I think I’ll let all my musician friends know about it.
November 1st, 2009 at 8:50 am
United sucks. Anyone who thinks otherwise has not spent much time flying them. On the other hand most U.S. carriers suck and anyone who spends time flying foreign airlines knows that too.
November 1st, 2009 at 8:57 am
United is shorthanded. They’ve been short handed for years. I worked at LAX for them for 15 years. Everyone is disgruntled. The management is awful. I now run my own company and try to do everything the opposite.
November 1st, 2009 at 9:50 am
I just dont fly anymore.
My last flight was with united from toronto to LA.
the plane was 2 hours late leaving because a stewardwss never showed p for work, then when the replacement showed they had a fist fifgt in the galley, then we missed our connection on denver, 4 hour wait there and when we go to La half of our luggage that wad booked into united’s secure luggage rm disappeared
November 1st, 2009 at 11:44 am
I agree that United is shorthanded, but they’re not all bad. I once flew United out of LAX years ago and noticed that the poor gate agent was getting bombarded by some (understandably frustrated) passengers because the plane was late. To try and lighten her mood a bit, I empathized with her plight after she admitted they were short-handed and complimented her with her service in spite of her situation. I don’t know if it was coincidence, but I was mysteriously re-assigned to first class on my connecting flight.
November 1st, 2009 at 5:22 pm
Worst airline I’ve ever flown. Customer service reps that are mean and confrontational. Chaotic and inept service. Aeroflot at the height of the Cold War couldn’t have been as bad.
November 2nd, 2009 at 6:51 am
It doesn´t even matter anymore what type of case you travel with, almost every airline requires you to sign a waiver releasing them of liability in case of damage. My brother travels with a custom-built, solid, double fibreglas case. He most recently returned from a tour of Brazil. Everytime he checked in at the airport, he was asked to sign the waiver stating his guitar was improperly packed and that the airline would not be responsible for any damage. My brother knew it was not improperly packed and refused to sign the waiver. And almost everytime he was told his guitar would not be getting on the plane if the waiver weren´t signed.
November 2nd, 2009 at 8:19 am
ON BOTH FLIGHT MR.CARROLL HAD FLOWN ON HE DID NOT FLY ON UNITED MAINLINE HE FLEW ON UNINTED EXPRESS OUT OF CANADA. ON THIS FLIGHT OUT OF REGINA HE WOULD BE FLYING ON SKYWEST/UNITED EXPRESS THESE PEOPLE ARE TRAINED DIFFRENT THEN MAINLINE EMPLOYEE AND MOST ARE JUST THERE FOR THE FLIGHT BENFITS
November 2nd, 2009 at 12:51 pm
What do people expect?! When someone pays next to nothing for an airline ticket, and bases the decision solely on the lowest price possible, they shouldn’t expect to be treated well. United has to compete with the low-cost airlines like Southwest from below, not to mention the other mainline airlines.
When the price of a ticket goes up, I might be more inclined to blieve UAL is negligent, rather than my current view that they’re the victim of a public that is quite frankly a bunch of spoiled brats who all but demand the airlines give away their services.
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:50 pm
Earlier this year, I read that United had the worst customer service record of all the U.S. based airlines. It’s about time someone made a video like this.
I’ve flown United about 7 or 8x during the past 12 years and not even one of those trips was without problems caused by the airline — discount vouchers that weren’t honored, damaged seats (the one in front of me was permanently stuck in the reclined position), damaged radio assembly (ripped right out of the arm-rest leaving an exposed metal hole), rescheduled flights (several times) resulting in missed connections when other airlines in and out of the same airports were doing just fine (so it obviously wasn’t a weather issue) and resulting in having to stay overnight (in multiple airports), never so much as a buck for a vending machine during such frequent inconveniences, let alone a meal voucher or a hotel room or even an apology), luggage sent to the wrong city (that one actually only once!) damaged luggage that of course they refused to pay anything for, and unco-operative, surly staff — when approached perfectly politely, so one can only imagine how they treat people who express some of the impatience United so regularly inspires. A friend tells me he avoids United after his own series of similar experiences, and a cousin who flew United once had his locked checked bag broken into & a swiss army knife stolen from it on that trip. Could have been airport security, but I can’t say I was surprised to learn which airline he flew. Furthermore, if you have a discount voucher or a complaint, then, in my experience you can also expect to be given the run-around — wait in at least two fairly long lines of equally luckless customers/victims. Until Mr. Carroll, I never heard of United actually reimbursing anyone for anything. I presume you need to register your complaint in a video that gets a few million hits before that happens.
As for my damaged luggage, it was impressive: a wheel got torn off with more force than I was able to come anywhere near replicating, and I’m fairly strong guy. It left a hole in the cover and the metal frame inside the wheel assembly was bolted to wound up bent way out of shape. I think I’d have had to jump on the thing from a pretty good distance or take a sledgehammer to it to achieve the same result).
United has a loophole about not covering any damages when wheels or wheel assemblies are included in the litany of destruction. Makes me suspect that when one of the cases tossed to the tarmac from a plane breaks, staff might be required to make sure the wheels don’t escape unscathed.
So it’s not fair to suggest that United specializes in breaking (only) guitars. Seems to me that the luggage shipped on United gets mistreated on a case by case by case by case basis.
November 22nd, 2009 at 5:50 pm
@ Thomas Nelson : I totally agree, im foreigner and i was so so surprised about how bad airlines in America could be. Other airlines especially in Asia are way better than American ones. I was shocked at first when travel with American airlines. None of them seems to desire to satisfy customers.