Delta Airlines is in the midst of a public relations nightmare due to the way it has handled - or rather, mis-handled - the case of Paco, the mixed-breed dog that was lost en route from Mexico City to Detroit on May 3.
Paco, a cuddly Dachsund and Jack Russell Terrier mix was the new-found love of college student Josiah Allen and his girlfriend who had been vacationing in Puerta Vallarta.
After days of being given the runaround and what turned out to be false statements, Delta finally admitted that the dog had been lost.
Sadly, Delta did not come forth with the truth about Paco until a blog that helps consumers with problems, the consumerist.com, reported the story.
It appears that Delta made up for losing the dog by delivering extremely bad customer service.
Not a good strategy for winning the increasingly scarce travel dollars when consumers have many choices.
Over the years, Delta's "tribe" of loyal fans has dropped significantly from the glory days of the 1980's when people LOVED Delta.
If Delta execs are not careful, many pet-loving travelers are likely to add Delta to their "NEVER FLY AGAIN" list. Even if a pet lover never plans to fly with his or her pet, this socially conscious traveler will likely think twice before booking with Delta.
In a world where the consumer is overwhelmed with choices, ANY reason to take a company out of "the mix" and thus make the decision process easier is welcomed by many consumers.
The best way to combat this inevitable and irretrievable - once gone it is hard to get a customer back - loss of business is for Delta to use this public relations fiasco as an opportunity to show the world that they really love pets.
A great way to do this is to employ a Double Bottom Line marketing strategy that forges an alliance between Delta and a charity that helps pets. Delta can salvage it's relationship with pet owners by committing to donate money to a pet-friendly charity.
For example, Delta could co-venture with an existing animal welfare organization to donate a certain percentage of revenue to save pets in animal shelters.
Considering the reality that the world is filled with people who are absolutely passionate about their pets, Delta needs to pay attention to this significant opportunity to either gain or lose customers for life.
I don't think it was a coincidence that just last week, Frontier Airlines announced a new pet-friendly policy of allowing small pets to travel in the aircraft cabin for an additional $75. Clearly they are trying to win the hearts and purse-strings of the alienated Delta pet-loving flyer.
Will Delta take this opportunity to turn these lemons into champagne by developing an alliance that tells the world "we love pets"?
Or, will Delta find itself the "star" of a video similar to the one that severely damaged United Airlines' reputation when Dave Carroll's guitar was broken (Sons of Maxwell). As of this writing, Dave Carroll's viral Youtube video "United Breaks Guitars" has been viewed over 8 million times.
United's tribe has suffered greatly.
Will Delta do what is necessary to win back the hearts and minds of pet-loving travelers?
Only time will tell.
In the meantime, Delta execs better hope that Josiah Allen doesn't meet Dave Carroll.
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