JetBlue and Comcast show the downside of quashing customer complaints

Brand managers who fight back against negativity from customers often serve to stoke the fire and find themselves in a bigger PR crisis. How can pros turn down the heat?

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The people at JetBlue may be realizing the true cost of fighting customer-complaint fire with fire.

After passenger Lisa Carter-Knight tweeted about an incident between the pilot and other passengers on a delayed JetBlue flight Tuesday night, she was not allowed to board the plane.

Where did she go to express her anger? She took to social media, of course.

In response, a JetBlue representative made the following statement:

If we feel a customer is not complying with safety instructions, exhibits objectionable behavior, or causes conflict at the gate or on the aircraft, the customer will be asked to deplane or will be denied boarding especially if the crew feels the situation runs the risk of accelerating in the air. In this instance, the customer received a refund and chose to fly on another carrier.

Carter-Knight argued it wasn’t unruly behavior that kept her off the flight; JetBlue never went into detail about her being barred from the plane.

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