Kevin Smith (more commonly known as Silent Bob) was anything but silent over the weekend after a negative experience on a Southwest flight. Southwest’s social media staff quickly noticed the frequent Tweets from the comedic actor, and responded with apologies on their Twitter account & blog. With both parties having over 1 million Twitter followers, the conversation was a hot topic across the Twitterverse.
So what was the situation? Kevin accused Southwest of ejecting him from his flight for being overweight by tweeting:
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? Dear @SouthwestAir – I flew out in one seat, but right after issuing me a standby ticket, Oakland Southwest attendant Suzanne (wouldn’t give last name) told me Captain Leysath deemed me a “safety risk”. Again: I’m way fat… But I’m not THERE just yet. But if I am, why wait until my bag is up, and I’m seated WITH ARM RESTS DOWN. In front of a packed plane with a bunch of folks who’d already I.d.ed me as “Silent Bob.” So @Southwest Air, 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, @SoutwestAir. 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 @Southwest Air).
After a public discussion over the issue, Southwest posted a blog entry claiming Kevin’s situation occurred because he originally purchased 2 seats and switched to a flight where only one seat was available. Southwest’s blog states:
Our pilots are responsible for the Safety and comfort of all Customers on the aircraft and therefore, made the determination 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.
Southwest’s Twitterer also informed Kevin he would be receiving a phone call about the situation to which Kevin tweeted that they phone call hadn’t come until it did. Kevin says:
I told her (Linda from SW) I’d sign any document promising I’ll never sue @SouthwestAir – all tey have to do is tell the truth. I’ll go back to using @SouthwestAir if they just nut-up and admitn a) they did, indeed, f— up and it got out of control, b) I (& y’all) were misled by the blog posting on @SouthwestAir.
As of tonight, that’s yet to happen.
Southwest is considered one of the greatest social media success stories for businesses. Their social media team has won awards and is featured on many social media case study blogs. In this situation, it may benefit Southwest to publicly address their overweight policy on flights. Some Twitterers even expressed their condolences for the public accusations against Southwest. One thing is for certain – this situation required Southwest to demonstrate that their Twitter words have actions to back them up. Ultimately, the quick response to Kevin Smith may work in Southwest’s favor among those who are not addressed by the overweight policy.
To hear the situation according to Kevin Smith, you can listen to his SModcast. If you weren’t on Twitter when it all went down, here’s a few glimpses of the conversation.
Kevin Smith aboard his Southwest flight
