“Too Fat to Fly”

Kevin Smith and Southwest Airlines

Part One

(Warning: case contains explicit language)

Too Fat to Fly: Kevin Smith and Southwest Airlines - Part 1 Page 2

1. Overview

On February 13, 2010, writer and director Kevin Smith hopped an earlier Southwest flight from Oakland to Burbank, California sacrificing the comfort of two seats he purchased originally, to get home a couple hours earlier (Schwalback and Smith, 2010). What started off as a simple compromise, ended in humiliation for the admittedly overweight director, when he was ejected from the flight in accordance with Southwest’s Customer of Size policy (McNeill, 2010).

Smith, a regular social media user, quickly took to twittering his experience to his reported 1.6 million followers, blasting Southwest for both its policy and poor handling of the situation in a series of posts over a few hours (Schwalback and Smith, 2010). What, according to Southwest, was the result of a few staffers trying to accommodate both passengers and policy (McNeill, 2010; Rutherford, 2010), erupted into one of the most talked about social media controversies of the year.

2. The Cast of Characters

2.1 Kevin Smith

A writer, director and producer, 40-year old Kevin Smith was catapulted to fame when his first film, Clerks, was honoured at both the Sundance and Cannes film festivals. It was at Sundance where the film, made for a meager $27,000 in the convenience store where Smith was employed, was picked up by Miramax, going on to make over $3 million (Wasserstein, 2006).

Since then, Smith has produced such critically acclaimed films as Chasing Amy and Mallrats, as well as flops like Jersey Girls (Wasserstein, 2010). While his movies have had varying degrees of box-office success, Smith has developed a loyal, almost cult-like fan base due, in part, to his early adoption of technology as means to reach out to and communicate with his supporters (Wasserstein, 2010).

With a body of work often described as raunchy, colourful and vulgar, Smith has faced his share of controversy, including several court battles around his films’ ratings and staunch criticism from religious groups and GLAAD (Gays and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) (Smith, 2010c). However, according to those closest to him, Smith would rather walk away from controversy than confront it face on. “Contrary to popular belief, I am not a boat rocker,” Smith said, in a February podcast with his wife, who describes him as “never rude” and as having “exceptional manners” (Schwalback and Smith, 2010).

2.2 Southwest Airlines After over-coming serious legal obstacles to industry entry, including two verdicts overturned by the Supreme Court, the little airline that could flew its inaugural flight in 1971 (Southwest, 2010). Since its beginning, Southwest has focused on people, its

Too Fat to Fly: Kevin Smith and Southwest Airlines - Part 1 Page 3 mission: “dedication to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride and Company spirit” (Southwest, 2010).

Appropriately, Southwest’s identifier on the NYSE is LUV, a play on words the company employs regularly to describe its service policies.

Interestingly and like Smith, Southwest was an early adopter of social media within its industry. The company engages with customers via Facebook, podcasts and its blog, Nuts About Southwest, which launched in 2006 into otherwise unchartered territory (Albert, 2008). Its YouTube account brims with examples of both wonderful customer service and happy, engaged employees. And while not quite up to Smith’s numbers, Southwest boasts over 1 million followers on Twitter (Albert, 2008).

According to Fombrun and Van Riel (2004), Southwest has built its distinctive, oft admired corporate culture by living its vision, including always putting employees first. By doing so, Southwest believed that it would positively affect all other areas of the business – including customer service – so emphasis was placed on working together, to do what was in the best interest of the airline, with a strong focus on having fun (2004).

From the long list of awards and recognition bestowed on the airline, including consecutive places on Fortune’s Most Admired list, Business Week’s Top 20 Best Companies for Leadership and an array of best in class customer service awards (Southwest, 2010), Southwest seems to be doing something right, delivering LUV in an industry often criticized for having no such thing.

2.3 Linda Rutherford, Vice President, Communications and Strategic Outreach

With Southwest since 1992, Linda Rutherford is responsible for leading media relations, employee communications, emerging and multimedia, charitable giving and community affairs for the airline. A graduate of Texas Tech University with a degree in journalism, Linda says the best advice she was ever given was “always do the right thing, even if it’s the unpopular decision, so you can go to bed at night with a pure heart” (Southwest, 2010).

2.4 Christi (Day) McNeil, Emerging Media Specialist

Christi McNeill, spokesperson and voice of Southwest Airlines’ twitter account, handles online media relations for the airline. She has worked for Southwest since October, 2007.

2.5 Southwest’s Customer of Size Policy According to its website, the policy states:

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Customers who are unable to lower both armrests and/or who compromise any portion of adjacent seating should proactively book the number of seats needed prior to travel. The armrest is considered to be the definitive boundary between seats and measures 17 inches in width. This purchase serves as a notification of a special seating need and allows us to process a refund of the additional seating cost after travel (provided the flight doesn’t oversell). Most importantly, it ensures that all onboard have access to safe and comfortable seating (Southwest, 2010).

According to McNeill, the policy was implemented 25 years ago (2010). “You’ve heard about these situations before,” McNeill states, on the Nuts About Southwest blog, (2010) perhaps referring to the Thompson vs. Southwest discrimination case, where a unanimous verdict was returned in favour of the airline (Southwest, 2010). “The spirit of this policy is based solely on Customer comfort and Safety,” writes McNeill (2010).

2.6 Social Media

A variety of social media platforms were used during the Kevin Smith and Southwest Airlines situation, including blogs, video and tweets. Kaplan and Haenlein define social media as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0 which allows the creation and exchange of user- generated content” (2010).

By all accounts, social media adoption is on the rise. In a report published by Nielsen in early 2010, U.S. consumers spent 210% more minutes on social networking in 2009 than 2008 (2010). Facebook continues to lead the pack in terms of overall usage, Twitter is the fastest growing, its unique visitors increasing by 579% from the previous year (2010) and reportedly over 100 million users in early 2010. (See Appendix A).

3. The Plot

According to Smith, the fat conversation began before he ever set foot on a plane, when he explained to an employee at the Southwest desk that while he had two seats for the original flight, they were purchased for comfort and not because he was too large for one seat (Schwalback and Smith, 2010). “I’m fat, but I’m not that fat. Yet.” Smith recounts on his February 2010 podcast (2010).

Too Fat to Fly: Kevin Smith and Southwest Airlines - Part 1 Page 5

When the same employee who he spoke to in the airport approached him after he had stored his bag and taken a seat, it didn’t occur to the director that he was getting booted from the flight. “There are health and safety issues,” the employee explained, according to Smith, who was also told the decision had ultimately been the captain’s (Schwalback and Smith, 2010; Smith, 2010a).

What transpired afterwards was a number of conversations between Smith and Southwest employees, some apologies, the offer of a $100 gift voucher and one, embarrassed celebrity with time to kill before his next flight (Schwalback and Smith, 2010).

4. The Twitter Fury

In the hour or so Smith had between being ejected from the first flight and boarding the one that would eventually take him home, he hit Twitter with a vengeance.

"Dear @SouthwestAir - I know I'm fat, but was Captain Leysath really justified in throwing me off a flight for which I was already seated?" (3:52pm, February 13th) (Position2, 2010) This one tweet generated hundreds of responses on Smith’s Twitter page and Smith was only beginning.

So, @SouthwestAir, go f*** yourself. I broke no regulation, offered no “safety risk” (what, was I gonna roll on a fellow passenger?). I was..wrongly ejected from the flight (even Suzanne eventually agreed). And f***your apologetic $100 voucher, @SouthwestAir. Thank God I don’t..embarrass easily (bless you, JERSEY GIRL training). But I don’t sulk off either: so everyday, some new f***- you Tweets for @SouthwestAir. (2010). (See Appendix B for timeline of tweets).

Wanna tell me I’m too wide for the sky? Totally cool. But fair warning, folks: IF YOU LOOK LIKE ME, YOU MAY BE EJECTED FROM @SOUTHWESTAIR. (2010). (See Appendix B).

(1/2) @pigz “I know several people bigger then u who have flown on other airlines” I saw someone bigger than me on THAT flight! But I wasn’t (2/2) about to throw a fellow Fatty under the plane as I’m being profiled. But he & I made eye contact, & he was like “Please don’t tell…” (2010). (See Appendix B).

Before Smith walked through his door that day, the Twitter-world was abuzz, news outlets had picked up on the story and anyone who had heard had an opinion about what happened. And that was merely the beginning. Over the next few days, Smith’s response to the event would grow to include an hour and a half podcast, more tweets than can be counted, 24-two to three minute YouTube videos and a number of blogs on

Too Fat to Fly: Kevin Smith and Southwest Airlines - Part 1 Page 6 his website. It seemed the whole world was talking about Kevin Smith and Southwest Airlines. Was he too fat to fly? And just where was the LUV?

Discussion Questions:

1. What were the key factors leading up to Southwest’s dilemma? And at what point did it become a “PR issue”?

2. If you were Southwest’s VP of Communications and Strategic Outreach, what steps would you take to respond to the incident? What and how would you communicate?

3. Given the sensitivity around weight conversations, how would you anticipate public reaction?

4. What, if at anything, should Southwest do about its Customer of Size policy?

5. Can one customer service “issue” have an impact on a reputational-sound company like Southwest?

Too Fat to Fly: Kevin Smith and Southwest Airlines - Part 1 Page 7

Appendices Appendix A – The Nielsen Company Report on social media (January 22, 2010)

Too Fat to Fly: Kevin Smith and Southwest Airlines - Part 1 Page 8

Appendix B – Timeline of Tweets As provided by Position2 Twitter Handle Timeline Tweet Dear @SouthwestAir - I know I'm fat, but was Captain 3:52 PM - Feb ThatKevinSmith Leysath really justified in throwing me off a flight for 13th which I was already seated? Dear @SouthwestAir, I flew out in one seat, but right 3:54 PM - Feb ThatKevinSmith after issuing me a standby ticket, Oakland Southwest 13th attendant Suzanne (wouldn't give So, @SouthwestAir, go fuck yourself. I broke no 4:00 PM - Feb ThatKevinSmith regulation, offered no "safety risk" (what, was I gonna roll 13th on a fellow passenger?). I was wrongly ejected from the flight (even Suzanne eventually 4:03 PM - Feb ThatKevinSmith agreed). And fuck your apologetic $100 voucher, 13th @SouthwestAir. Thank God I don't embarrass easily (bless you, JERSEY GIRL training). But I 4:06 PM - Feb ThatKevinSmith don't sulk off either: so everyday, some new fuck-you 13th Tweets for @SouthwestAir. ThatKevinSmith hey Kevin! I'm so sorry for your 4:08 PM - Feb SouthwestAir experience tonight! Hopefully we can make things 13th right, please follow so we may DM! Wanna tell me I'm too wide for the sky? Totally cool. But 4:10 PM - Feb ThatKevinSmith fair warning, folks: IF YOU LOOK LIKE ME, YOU MAY BE 13th EJECTED FROM @SOUTHWESTAIR. Via @byrneification "save the anger for SModcast" Believe 4:18 PM - Feb ThatKevinSmith it, Son. @SouthwestAir? You fucked with the wrong 13th sedentary processed-foods eater! Hey folks - trust me, I saw the tweets from 4:22 PM - Feb SouthwestAir @ThatKevinSmith I'll get all the details and handle 13th accordingly! Thanks for your concerns! Dear @SouthwestAir, I'm on another one of your planes, 4:41 PM - Feb ThatKevinSmith safely seated & buckled-in again, waiting to be dragged 13th off in front of the normies. And, hey? @SouthwestAir? I didn't even need a seat belt 4:44 PM - Feb ThatKevinSmith extender to buckle up. Somehow, that shit fit over my 13th "safety concern"-creating gut. 4:52 PM - Feb Hey @SouthwestAir! Look how fat I am on your plane! ThatKevinSmith 13th Quick! Throw me off! http://twitpic.com/1340gw Hey @SouthwestAir! Sometimes, the arm rests are up 4:56 PM - Feb ThatKevinSmith because THE PEOPLE SITTING THERE ALREADY PUT THEM 13th UP; NOT BECAUSE THEY "CAN'T GO DOWN." The @SouthwestAir Diet. How it works: you're publicly 4:59 PM - Feb ThatKevinSmith shamed into a slimmer figure. Crying the weight right off 13th has never been easier! I read every single tweet that comes into this 5:37 PM - Feb SouthwestAir account, and take every tweet seriously. We'll 13th handle @thatkevinsmith issue asap. SouthwestAir 6:14 PM - Feb I've read the tweets all night from @thatkevinsmith -

Too Fat to Fly: Kevin Smith and Southwest Airlines - Part 1 Page 9

13th He'll be getting a call at home from our Customer Relations VP tonight. Hey @SouthwestAir! I've landed in Burbank. Don't worry: 6:18 PM - Feb ThatKevinSmith wall of the plane was opened & I was airlifted out while 13th Richard Simmons supervised. (1/2) Hey @SouthwestAir? Fuck making it right for me 6:20 PM - Feb ThatKevinSmith just 'cause I have a platform. I sat next to a big girl who 13th was chastised for not buy- ThatKevinSmith Ok, I'll be sure to check it out. 8:52 PM - Feb SouthwestAir Hopefully you received our voicemail earlier this 13th evening. ThatKevinSmith Again, I'm very sorry for the 8:53 PM - Feb SouthwestAir experience you had tonight. Please let me know if 13th there is anything else I can do.B23 Hey @SouthwestAir! Here are two more "recent 8:46 PM - Feb ThatKevinSmith recognitions" for your Twitter home page: "Loather of the 13th Wide" or "Pissin' on the Portlies". Hey @SouthwestAir! I've just recorded a Very Special 8:49 PM - Feb ThatKevinSmith Episode of SModcast - all for you. It goes live tomorrow 13th night. http://www.smodcast.com Via @neilhimself "Dear @southwestair, *I* would gladly sit 8:57 PM - Feb ThatKevinSmith next to kevinsmith on a plane." This doesn't change shit 13th between us, Hair-Bear... Via @misskubelik "do you know about the other times 8:58 PM - Feb ThatKevinSmith @SouthwestAir has been sued for doing this same thing" I 13th want nothing from these people. Via @SouthwestAir "Hopefully you received our voicemail 10:10 PM - Feb ThatKevinSmith earlier this evening" All lines checked, no voicemail 13th message on any 323. Try again. ThatKevinSmith We called you on the number you 7:32 AM - Feb SouthwestAir had on file in your reservation. If you prefer a 14th different number, please DM me. Thanks! Last night, the wife ALSO kicked me off for being too 9:51 AM - Feb ThatKevinSmith wide. And she wasn't talking about the size of my 14th @SouthwestAir (nee my stupid dick). Our apology to @ThatKevinSmith and more details 10:14 AM - Feb SouthwestAir regarding the events from last night - 14th http://cot.ag/96KHC7 #Southwest Via @Slipdisc "Next time http://bit.ly/9CBSwg " Better 10:15 AM - Feb ThatKevinSmith yet, THIS is how @SouthwestAir sees me: 14th http://tinyurl.com/iwillnotleaveitonthedock (1/2) @SouthwestAir "Our apology to KevinSmith and 10:19 AM - Feb ThatKevinSmith more details regarding the events from last night: 14th http://cot.ag/96KHC7 " So your apology Via @marrz138 "why not take the interview & bring more 10:23 AM - Feb ThatKevinSmith exposure to @southwestair for what they pulled" 'cause 14th I'm waiting to talk to @Oprah. 10:29 AM - Feb Via @AlexLeeAlvarez "access 2 every option for weight ThatKevinSmith 14th loss yet u don't take advantage. why?" My weight doesn't

Too Fat to Fly: Kevin Smith and Southwest Airlines - Part 1 Page 10

bug ME; it bugs @SouthwestAir 11:06 AM - Feb ThatKevinSmith Fuck you @SouthwestAir: http://tinyurl.com/iwillflyagain 14th Via @PaperFishies "sounds like @SouthwestAir has 11:25 AM - Feb ThatKevinSmith become the Walmart of the commercial airline industry." 14th WalMart at least carries XXX sizes. Dear Fucktarded PR-Challenged Fatty-Haters at 11:34 AM - Feb ThatKevinSmith @SouthwestAir: Your "apology" blog is insulting, redacted 14th bullshit. FULL details in two hours. RT @ianhoopes "The Consumerist is running your 11:36 AM - Feb ThatKevinSmith @SouthwestAir story. Kudos for calling them out on the 14th bullshit that happens to many others." Via @erinpastore "SWA also known to kick off 2 yr olds & 12:41 PM - Feb ThatKevinSmith women who wear short skirts as well." @SouthwestAir 14th hates fatties, kids AND pussy! Articles say I was given $100 @SouthwestAir voucher. It 12:55 PM - Feb ThatKevinSmith was OFFERED: the way a john tosses a hooker a c-note 14th after a hate-fucking. Said no. Via @ABAwesome "What would Gretzky do?" Call 12:56 PM - Feb ThatKevinSmith @SouthwestAir "...a Mickey Mouse organization." Then 14th assist in Olypmic-torching their asses. Dear @SouthwestAirlines: The page for your SModcast is 1:02 PM - Feb ThatKevinSmith already up: http://www.smodcast.com/ COMPLETE 14th audio-tale will be there in an hour. TwtFail -@ThatKevinSmith I really really suck at 1:05 PM - Feb ThatKevinSmith photoshop and all but I figured this may be of help to 14th @southwestair http://imgur.com/VOJvw.png (1/2) @BrosephLives "thinks @southwestair 's response to 1:13 PM - Feb ThatKevinSmith Kev is douche baggish, unprofessional response?" Made 14th my Mom cry. Baby Jesus, too. Via @kerryel "Us @ NASA don't fly @southwestair because 1:27 PM - Feb ThatKevinSmith of the crap-tastic service." NASA'd eject me, too: "You're 14th too big, Fat-As(teroid)!" Via @markdtaylor " @SouthWestAir should have realized 1:49 PM - Feb ThatKevinSmith who the hell you were" You ain't shitting, sir: because 14th who I am is a paying customer. Via @pobenschain "you get what you pay for. Cheaper 1:54 PM - Feb ThatKevinSmith airline = shittier service" I nominate that as the new, 14th honest tagline of @SouthwestAir. Hey @mashable: Just cause @SouthwestAir BLOGS they 6:26 PM - Feb ThatKevinSmith tried to call, doesn't make it true: http://bit.ly/b9O0GO 14th 24hrs AND STILL NO PHONE CALL. (2/2) denial. On 1.5hr SModcast, I can tell my whole story 6:32 PM - Feb ThatKevinSmith as PRELUDE to real story: the poor girl @SouthwestAir 14th shamed on my flight home. 7:09 PM - Feb Hey @SouthwestAir: you bring that same row of seats to ThatKevinSmith 14th the DailyShow, and I'll sit in 'em for all to see on TV. (1/2) @jacqueline_mary "good timing for @southwestair 7:17 PM - Feb ThatKevinSmith debacle! cop out in 2 weeks. thank them for the 14th publicity" Yes - THAT'S how I want to

Too Fat to Fly: Kevin Smith and Southwest Airlines - Part 1 Page 11

Via @RyanInHollywood "Found @SouthwestAir 's new 7:23 PM - Feb ThatKevinSmith uniform: http://tinyurl.com/3vz4g " Even though we 14th know the punch-line, SO worth the click. Rather than sit here on what's left of Love Day, Tweeting 7:42 PM - Feb ThatKevinSmith "Fuck @SouthwestAir", I'm gonna go beg the wife to fuck 14th @ThatKevinSmith instead. 2:08 AM - Feb I'm just saying, @southwestAir might be coming for you ThatKevinSmith 15th next, Chin-Chin... (2/2) the first time @SouthwestAir ever did wrong by me, 3:28 AM - Feb ThatKevinSmith as far as I'm concerned. But FUCK did they ever get it 15th wrong... and keep doing so! 2:03 PM - Feb Our conversation with @ThatKevinSmith - SouthwestAir 15th http://cot.ag/derOe8 #Southwest

Too Fat to Fly: Kevin Smith and Southwest Airlines - Part 1 Page 12

References

Albert, S. (2008, December 29). How airlines are using social media. Directory Journal. Retrieved August 4, 2010 from http://www.dirjournal.com/articles/airlines social-media/

Associated Press (2010, February 15). Kevin Smith oversized? Ejected from Flight (Video file). Retrieved July 29, 2010 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iScFpXdHiUU&feature=fvsr

Fombrum, C. J., and Van Riel, C.B.M. (2004). Fame and Fortune: How Successful Companies Build Winning Reputations. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Financial Times Prentice Hall.

Haenlein, M. and Kaplan, A. (2010). Users off the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of social media. Business Horizons 53 (1): 59–68.

McNeil (Day), C. (2010, February 14). Not so Silent Bob. (Blog entry). Retrieved July 29, 2010 from http://www.blogsouthwest.com/blog/not-so-silent-bob

Nielsen Company, The. (2010, January 22). Led by Facebook, Twitter, global time spent on social media sites up 82% year over year. Retrieved October 7, 2010 from http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/global/led-by-facebook-twitter-global- timespent-on-social-media-sites-up-82-year-over-year/

Rutherford, L. (2010, February 15). My conversation with Kevin Smith. (Blog entry). Retrieved July 29, 2010 from http://www.blogsouthwest.com/blog/my-conversation-with-kevin-smith-0

Schwalback, J. and Smith, K. (2010, February 13). SModcast 106. Podcast retrieved August 1, 2010 from http://s3.amazonaws.com/smodcast/SModcast-106.mp3

Smith, K. (February 15, 2010a). “Burn, Hollywood, burn!” writes unhappy middle-aged woman (blog entry). My Boring-Ass Life. Retrieved August 1, 2010 from http://silentbobspeaks.com/?m=201002

Smith, K. (February 15, 2010b). Running out of gas on this subject (blog entry). My Boring-Ass Life. Retrieved August 1, 2010 from http://silentbobspeaks.com/?m=201002

Smith, K. (February 18, 2010c). I love you, Mom. I hate you, fake-heart (blog entry). My Boring-Ass Life. Retrieved August 1, 2010 from http://silentbobspeaks.com/?m=201002

Southwest Airlines. (2010). Retrieved August 1, 2010 from

Too Fat to Fly: Kevin Smith and Southwest Airlines - Part 1 Page 13

http://www.southwest.com/ Wasserstein, B. (2006, July 16). The man with 50,000 Friends: How Kevin Smith accidentally invented the future of movie marketing. New York Movies. Retrieved August 4, 2010, from http://nymag.com/movies/profiles/17663/

“Too Fat to Fly”

Kevin Smith and Southwest Airlines

Part Two

(Warning: case contains explicit language)

Too Fat to Fly: Kevin Smith and Southwest Airlines – Part 2 Page 2

5. Southwest Responds

We realize you can’t solve a customer relations issue in 140 characters on Twitter or in a blog post. You need to talk to the customer, get the facts and see what can be worked out – but we were having a hard time getting him to engage with us and millions of people were talking about this (Rutherford, as quoted in Vocus, 2010).

Alerted to the situation via its Twitter monitoring, it took Southwest Airlines 16 minutes to respond to Kevin Smith’s initial tweet (Position2, 2010). According to Linda Rutherford, Southwest’s VP Of Communications and Strategic Outreach, employees first attempted to get a hold of Smith through direct messaging and telephone (Vocus, 2010). Twitter, Rutherford explains, was not its preferred method to communicate about a customer issue, but when getting Smith to engage directly with the airline looked grim, Southwest relied on the channel it knew Smith was tuned into (2010).

@ThatKevinSmith hey Kevin! I'm so sorry for your experience tonight! Hopefully we can make things right, please follow so we may DM! 4:08 PM - Feb 13th (Position2, 2010).

Rutherford’s team continued trying to reach Smith to get more details, as well as with its own employees involved in the situation (2010). Southwest used Twitter several more times to attempt to interact with Smith on the evening of February 13th and again on the 14th, when it posted the first blog entitled “Not so Silent Bob”, referring to Smith’s well-known movie persona (McNeill, 2010). Southwest’s emerging media specialist Christie (Day) McNeill explained in the post:

It is not our customary method of Customer Relations to be so public in how we work through these situations, but with so many people involved in the occurrence, you also should be involved in the solution (2010) (See Appendix A for full blog).

McNeill went on to apologize again for Smith’s experience, explain why the decision to de-board Smith was made and the rationale behind its Customer of Size policy (2010).

The next day, Monday, February 15th, Rutherford spoke to Smith personally (Rutherford, 2010). “Customers don’t expect you to always be perfect,” she explained afterward, “but they expect you to ‘fess up’ when you aren’t and explain what you’re doing about it” (Vocus, 2010). She followed up with the company’s second blog on the topic in so many days (See Appendix B for full blog) (2010). Rutherford, who apologizes again, recognizes that the captain had not made the Too Fat to Fly: Kevin Smith and Southwest Airlines – Part 2 Page 3 decision to de-board Smith, that employee communication had been poor and that Southwest had been at fault in its handling of the situation (2010).

Ending with a promise to review “how and when this delicate policy is implemented’ (2010), there was a notable shift in tone from Southwest’s initial, light-hearted post, to its second (Levy, 2010). Rutherford and her team had recognized that sticking to its regular, fun and cheeky voice had been misinterpreted by many of the thousands of people unfamiliar, but now interested, in Southwest’s messaging (Levy, 2010; Vocus, 2010).

6. But Kevin Smith’s Not Done

“You guys screwed up, SWA; why’s it so hard to own up to it? Now I’m gonna carry this Too Fat To Fly shit around…for the rest of my life, and it was never even true” (Smith, 2010b).

Smith admits on his podcast that he was too angry and busy tweeting to read Southwest’s initial twitter response and when he did catch up, he was not impressed by the organization’s attempts to make amends (Scwalback & Smith, 2010). Among his criticisms, Smith said Southwest had not made any reported attempts to call him until Rutherford reached him on February 15th (Smith, 2010a). He described the initial Southwest blog, posted by McNeill on the 14th, as not only insincere, but insulting (2010a). And after initially describing his conversation with Rutherford as a good one, he recanted after seeing Southwest’s second blog, which he believed, stopped short of telling the real story:

The last paragraph is still all about your two seat rule. By including it, you guys are still saying I was Too Fat To Fly - or at least NOT correcting it. You even say ‘You’re not here to debate the decision the Employees made.’ But when we spoke, you told me they were wrong, and THAT’S why I was happy and ready to drop all this. I don’t want your money, I just want you to put in print what you told me: that I was grabbed because I was the last guy on, not because I didn’t fit with the arm rests down, or because I couldn’t buckle the seat belt (Smith, 2010b).

It wasn’t, according to Smith, about celebrity ego or expecting special treatment (2010a). “I could fit into a Southwest airline seat. This is the important part of the story.” (Scwhalbach & Smith, 2010). After all of Southwest’s attempts to reach out, their admissions of wrongdoing and numerous apologies, Smith held on to one, important detail – that Southwest had lied about what happened. And it was that message that Smith continued to relay on a range of media platforms, including 24 You Tube videos, a 90-minute podcast, three posts on his well-traveled blog and more tweets than can be counted. Too Fat to Fly: Kevin Smith and Southwest Airlines – Part 2 Page 4

Was Smith’s response to the controversy overkill? Some thought so, but as he explained on his blog, he was humiliated and "in the world of social media, where everyone has a cellphone camera, this was gonna get out whether I wanted it to or not. So I'm not letting anyone tell the story but me (Smith, 2010c).

7. Public Response

News about Smith and Southwest Air traveled like wildfire. Media outlets of all sizes picked up on the story, from major broadcasters, to gossip vehicles to what seemed like every other blogger on the net. According to Position2, which tracked online coverage immediately afterward, the incident received 3,043 blog mentions, 5,133 forum posts and 15,528 tweets over the six days following (2010). Southwest’s two blogs alone received over 1700 comments each within a month of the incident – a 1000% increase over the single digits of comments most of its blog posts receive. And Southwest did not block negative posts on NutsAboutSouthwest, allowing the heated debate to play out on its own site.

Those in support of Southwest applauded the airline for considering the comfort of all passengers and often chided Smith to lose weight. Those opposed to Southwest’s handling of the situation were appalled by its policy and, most often, by its implementation of it. Position2 measured twitter sentiment around the Smith- Too Fat to Fly: Kevin Smith and Southwest Airlines – Part 2 Page 5

Southwest Air incident in the days following. While 36% supported the airline, 26% believed Southwest was guilty of poor customer service and 38% said they wouldn’t fly with Southwest again (2010). (See Appendix C).

It would seem the little airline that could, that had established itself along with the major carriers, receiving over a decade of consecutive best in class customer service awards (American Customer Satisfaction Survey, 2010) was experiencing a bona- fide reputation crisis. Or was it?

8. The Metrics

In a crisis situation, impact can almost always be measured by share price (Rayner, 2003). That Southwest’s LUV identifier didn’t budge on the NYSE seems to indicate that investors were either unaware of the situation or unconcerned that Smith’s social media tirade could damage the company’s longstanding reputation (Yahoo Finance, 2010). (See Appendix D).

However, financial performance has little effect on how consumers feel about a company’s reputation (Fombrun & Van Riel, 2004). According to Position2, the online buzz over the Smith, Southwest Air debacle peeked the day after the incident (February 14th) and petered out over the next few days (2010). However, in terms of its golden customer satisfaction rankings, Southwest saw a change – a %2.5 drop in year over year rankings (American Customer Satisfaction Index, 2010). (See figure 1).

Figure 1: The American Customer Satisfaction Index – Southwest Airlines (2010). Data collected June 2010.

There are two things of particular interest with this report. One is, 2010 marked the first time Southwest’s scores had decreased in ten years (see Appendix D). Two is, Too Fat to Fly: Kevin Smith and Southwest Airlines – Part 2 Page 6 while Southwest continues to lead its industry, it was one of only two airlines who saw its score fall in 2010, while most gained ground at an average of +3.1% (See Appendix E). While still well ahead of the big players in aviation, the gap began to close.

9. The Final Scene

Like its online buzz, both Smith and Southwest seemed to tire of the situation after a few days, although to varying degrees. While Smith continued to twitter about Southwest sporadically for months following, his last earnest attempt to engage the airline in admitting the errors of its ways came in an appropriate manner for the Hollywood director, when he challenged Southwest to bring a row of seats to the Daily Show. If he didn’t fit in the seat – and he swore many times that he could – he would donate $10,000 to a charity of Southwest’s choice. And if he did fit, Southwest would own up and revisit its policy and re-train its staff to be “more human” (Smith, 2010c).

For Southwest, the conversation had come to an end. “We came out, we apologized, we stood by our policy and we acknowledged that it was implemented incorrectly (in our second blog post). We refunded all of his travel. And then it was over for us.” (McNeill, as quoted in Levy, 2010).

But, in the new era of social media, where every comment made or detail overlooked is both available and perpetual, was it really?

Discussion Questions:

1. Was Southwest truthful in how it communicated the Kevin Smith incident? Why or why not?

2. Why, in your opinion, did Southwest end the conversation when it did? And was this the right thing to do?

3. Was Southwest’s response in keeping with its culture? Why or why not?

4. As part of the Southwest leadership team, what steps would you take to prevent a future “too fat to fly” incident?

5. How does social media amplify the importance of public relations principles?

Too Fat to Fly: Kevin Smith and Southwest Airlines – Part 2 Page 7

Appendices

Appendix A – Nuts About Southwest Blog Entry February 14, 2010 NOT SO SILENT BOB By: Christi McNeill - Emerging Media Specialist

Many of you reached out to us via Twitter last night and today regarding a situation a Customer Twittered about that occurred on a Southwest flight. It is not our customary method of Customer Relations to be so public in how we work through these situations, but with so many people involved in the occurrence, you also should be involved in the solution. First and foremost, to Mr. Smith; we would like to echo our Tweets and again offer our heartfelt apologies to you. We are sincerely sorry for your travel experience on Southwest Airlines.

As soon as we saw the first Tweet from Mr. Smith, we contacted him personally to apologize for his experience and to address his concerns on both Twitter and with a personal phone call. Since the situation has received a lot of public attention, we'd like to take the opportunity to address a few of the specifics here as well.

Mr. Smith originally purchased two Southwest seats on a flight from Oakland to Burbank – as he’s been known to do when traveling on Southwest. He decided to change his plans and board an earlier flight to Burbank, which technically means flying standby. As you may know, airlines are not able to clear standby passengers until all Customers are boarded. When the time came to board Mr. Smith, we had only a single seat available for him to occupy. We are responsible for the Safety and comfort of all Customers on the aircraft and therefore, we made a judgment call that Mr. Smith needed more than one seat to complete his flight. Our Employees explained why the decision was made, accommodated Mr. Smith on a later flight, and issued him a $100 Southwest travel voucher for his inconvenience.

You've read about these situations before. Southwest instituted our Customer of Size policy more than 25 years ago. The policy requires passengers that can not fit safely and comfortably in one seat to purchase an additional seat while traveling. This policy is not unique to Southwest Airlines and it is not a revenue generator. Most, if not all, carriers have similar policies, but unique to Southwest is the refunding of the second seat purchased (if the flight does not oversell) which is greater than any revenue made (full policy can be found here). The spirit of this policy is based solely on Customer comfort and Safety. As a Company committed to serving our Customers in Safety and comfort, we feel the definitive boundary between seats is the armrest. If a Customer cannot comfortably lower the armrest and infringes on a portion of another seat, a Customer seated adjacent would be Too Fat to Fly: Kevin Smith and Southwest Airlines – Part 2 Page 8 very uncomfortable and a timely exit from the aircraft in the event of an emergency might be compromised if we allow a cramped, restricted seating arrangement.

Appendix B – NutsAboutSouthwest Blog Post February 15, 2010 MY CONVERSATION WITH KEVIN SMITH By: Linda Rutherford - Vice President Communications & Strategic Outreach

I had the chance this afternoon to speak directly with director Kevin Smith. I let him know that in my 18 years here at Southwest, I have never dealt with a situation like what has been unfolding in the last 48 hours. I let Kevin know we have refunded his airfare. I told him we made a mistake in trying to board him as a standby passenger and then remove him. And I told him we were sorry.

Now, 48 hours later, after talking to many involved, we know there were several things going on that day and that our Employees were doing their best to get his flight out safely and on time, including finding seats for everyone and trying to accommodate standby passengers. The Captain did not single Kevin out to be removed, but he did ask that the boarding be completed quickly. At that time, our Employees made the decision to remove Kevin after a quick judgment call that he might have needed more than one seat for his comfort and those seated next to him.

Although I’m not here to debate the decision our Employees made, I can tell you that I for one have learned a lot today. The communication among our Employees was not as sharp as it should have been and, it’s apparent that Southwest could have handled this situation differently. Thanks, Kevin, for your passion around this topic. You were a reasonable guy during our conversation.

Southwest, like most carriers, has a policy to assist passengers who need two seats onboard an aircraft. The policy is an important one for the comfort and safety of all passengers aboard a plane, and we stand by that 25-year-old policy. This has our attention, and we will be reviewing how and when this delicate policy is implemented.

Too Fat to Fly: Kevin Smith and Southwest Airlines – Part 2 Page 9

Appendix C – Flying Tweets: Kevin Smith vs. Southwest Airlines (March 17, 2010)

Position2

Overall Sentiment on Twitter

Too Fat to Fly: Kevin Smith and Southwest Airlines – Part 2 Page 10

Appendix D – Southwest Airlines Stock Report (November 2009 – October 2010)

Yahoo Finance

Too Fat to Fly: Kevin Smith and Southwest Airlines – Part 2 Page 11

Appendix E – American Customer Satisfaction Index (2010)

Airlines Previous Year 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 % Change Southwe 72 70 70 74 75 73 74 74 76 79 81 79 -2.5 st Airlines All 67 63 64 72 74 73 74 74 75 75 77 75 -2.6 Others Continent 64 62 67 68 68 67 70 67 69 62 68 71 4.4 al Airlines Airlines 63 63 61 66 67 66 66 65 63 62 64 66 3.1 American 64 63 62 63 67 66 64 62 60 62 60 63 5.0 Airlines Delta Air Lines 68 66 61 66 67 67 65 64 59 60 64 62 -3.1 (Delta) US 61 62 60 63 64 62 57 62 61 54 59 62 5.1 Airways Northwes t Airlines 53 62 56 65 64 64 64 61 61 57 57 61 7.0 (Delta) United 62 62 59 64 63 64 61 63 56 56 56 60 7.1 Airlines

Too Fat to Fly: Kevin Smith and Southwest Airlines – Part 2 Page 12

References

American Customer Satisfaction Index (2010). Scores by industry: Airlines. Retrieved October 5, 2010 from http://www.theacsi.org

Goldstein, P. (February 24, 2010). Kevin Smith on the media’s coverage of ‘Fatgate’: “They’re really pathetic’. The Los Angeles times. Retrieved October 5, 2010 from http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/the_big_picture/2010/02/kevin smith-on-the-medias-treatment-of-fatgate-theyre-really-pathetic.html

Position2 (March 17, 2010). Flying tweets: Kevin Smith vs. Southwest Airlines (blog post) on Surround and Intent MarketingTM Blog. Retrieved October 5, 2010 from http://blogs.position2.com/flying-tweets-kevin-smith-vs-southwest- airlines

Levy. D. (March 17, 2010). Chasing Kevin Smith: Q&A with Southwest Airlines’ Christi Day (blog). Sparksheet: Good ideas about content, media & marketing. Retrieved October 5, 2010 from http://sparksheet.com/chasing-kevin-smith qa-with-southwest-airlines’-christi-day/

McCarthy, C. (2010, February 16). What Kevin Smith means for the future of PR. Cnet news. Retrieved July 29, 2010 from http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10454328-36.html

McNeill, C. (2010, February 14). Not so Silent Bob. (Web log comment). Retrieved July 29, 2010 from http://www.blogsouthwest.com/blog/not-so-silent-bob

Rutherford, L. (2010, February 15). My conversation with Kevin Smith. (Web log comment). Retrieved July 29, 2010 from http://www.blogsouthwest.com/blog/my-conversation-with-kevin-smith-0

Schwalback, J. and Smith, K. (2010, February 13). SModcast 106. Podcast retrieved August 1, 2010 from http://s3.amazonaws.com/smodcast/SModcast-106.mp3

Smith, K. (February 15, 2010a). “Burn, Hollywood, burn!” writes unhappy middle-aged woman (blog entry). My Boring-Ass Life. Retrieved August 1, 2010 from http://silentbobspeaks.com/?m=201002

Smith, K. (February 15, 2010b). Running out of gas on this subject (blog entry). My Boring-Ass Life. Retrieved August 1, 2010 from http://silentbobspeaks.com/?m=201002

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Smith, K. (February 18, 2010c). I love you, Mom. I hate you, fake-heart (blog entry). My Boring-Ass Life. Retrieved August 1, 2010 from http://silentbobspeaks.com/?m=201002 Vocus (n.d.). Seeing through Southwest: Vocus meets Linda Rutherford. Retrieved October 5, 2010 from http://www.vocus.com/Email/10/June/SWArticle/SeeingThroughSouthwest.pdf

Yahoo Finance (2010). Retrieved October 7, 2010 from http://finance.yahoo.com