United is great at Social Media!

It's no surprise to anyone that I love United.  And if you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you know I love @united.  Also, if you have kept up with United's inflight videos recently, you've probably seen this:

Here I am on set just before the interview.

In early January I was invited to come to Chicago to be interviewed about why I love United's Social Media team.  The questions I was asked really forced me to think about the reasons that I think United is doing such a great job on Social Media.  Since my focus in the edited version of the video is all about how fast and flexible they are, I wanted to talk a little more about some of the other things that United is doing right!

United is being proactive.
It is very easy for Social Media teams to ignore the bad, and let's face it, there's a lot of bad out there when it comes to airlines!  "My flights are cancelled."  "I missed my connection."  "I'm stuck in Atlanta."  United has worked hard since the early days of their social media department to reach out to the frustrated customers and attempt to help them out.

I heard one story a few years back about a group of bridesmaids that were trying to get to a wedding, and with a whole bunch of cancellations due to weather, they were two days behind schedule.  The United social media team reached out to the Network Operations Center (NOC) and managed to get a plane held so the ladies could make their connection, and the wedding!  Sure, that's not the norm, but it really does display a lot of whatever it takes friendly.

I watch a lot of conversations where United is simply taking the time to thank people for flying with them.  That means a lot that a multi-billion dollar company wants to thank for for my instagram post.

Most importantly, did you know that United's social media is staff with agents who can help with rebookings and other reservation needs?  High up in the Willis Tower is a staff of agents dedicated to the social sphere to hep you when a flight gets delayed, you miss a connection, or weather gets in the way.  I can easily take care of my needs while I'm in a meeting without ever having to get on the phone.

@united becomes @mike_j_morgan ambassadors.
I've talked a lot in the past about how I am a brand ambassador for United, Taco Bueno, Marriott, and others.  But, @united has become a @mike_j_morgan ambassador.  When I'm in trouble out in the friendly skies, I can tweet @united, and they come to my rescue.  ^LO, ^RS, ^SQ, (this is the way they identify themselves on twitter) and many others have helped me when I've run into a problem and I can't talk on the phone.  There have been a number of times that I've tweeted from a flight and had my issue taken care of before I ever touched the ground!

The truth is, it's not just the social media team, it's United employees all around who I have become connected with that will do just about anything for me.

There are a lot of other great things that @united provides.  I encourage you to visit with them on the interwebs and see what they can do for you!

But, hey, I'm just some guy who likes to look at airplanes, so what do I know?