Even
I’ve done it – as a sporadic tweeter – when left stranded in my car with
poltergeist windscreen wipers that were determined to either burn a hole in the
glass or drain my car battery. It didn’t
get me anywhere though; the tweet went unnoticed, or ignored, by my ironically
termed ‘roadside rescue’ service. And so I was left, un-rescued, to juggle with
the car handbook, fuse box and torch to end the squeaky misery.
For
post grad law student Mark Leiser his complaint on Twitter this week certainly
prompted a reaction. Waiting for a
delayed easyJet flight and feeling sorry for an armed forces passenger, Mr
Leiser turned to Twitter: “Flight delayed 90min. Soldier going to miss last
connection & @easyjet refusing to help pay for him to get to Portsmouth.
Get right into em!”
The
113 character tweet resulted in airport staff approaching Mr Leiser, as he waited
to board the plane, and telling him he couldn’t fly. The staff claimed it was because of that
tweet – did they deem it as disruptive behaviour or was the ‘get right into em’
threatening? Eventually, Mr Leiser was
allowed to board, but only after pointing out his right to free speech and
referring to his status as a law student.
easyJet’s
response to the incident certainly begs questions, particularly around staff
protocol on social media. Companies and
their staff need to brace themselves for criticism and be on hand to respond
quickly and appropriately.
But
here is a lesson also for Mr Leiser and other tweeters out there – be careful
what you tweet for, the written word can all too often be misinterpreted.
Sam
Kandiyali
Director
