US businessman uses promoted tweets to give British Airways a very public dressing down

No doubt as we speak somebody is thinking of doing something similar with Ryanair in mind.

Anyone even vaguely familiar with Twitter will have come across a promoted tweet at some stage. They are often used, for example, by charities or by companies trying to flog you a product you would ordinarily have no interest in. They could be about to take on a life of their own, however, if angry Twitter users follow in the footsteps of browned off British Airways customer Hasan Syed, who took to the social media platform to have a bit of a rant about how the airline were dealing with luggage belonging to his father that had got lost in transit. Syed wouldn’t be the first person to give out about the way the world works on Twitter – hell, that’s what most people use it for – but he went to the trouble of paying for a promoted tweet so a hell of a lot of people would know exactly what he thought about British Airways’ customer service. Buying a promoted tweet allows Twitter users to target a message at particular keywords or users and the price is dictated by how many people engage with it; Syed targeted UK and New York markets and gained over 25,000 impressions in six hours. The promoted tweet, which read: “Don’t fly @BritishAirways. Their customer service is horrendous" appears to have disappeared from Syed’s timeline but a string of follow-on posts in which he continues his rant against the airline are still visible (see below).

@BritishAirways @British_Airways is the worst airline ever. Lost my luggage & can't even track it down. Absolutely pathetic #britishairways —  (@HVSVN) September 2, 2013

 

Thanks for ruining my EU business trip #britishairways. I shouldnt have flown @BritishAirways @British_Airways. Never flying with you again —  (@HVSVN) September 2, 2013

 

What is taking @British_Airways customer service so long? They've had over a day to figure this out. —  (@HVSVN) September 3, 2013

It took British Airways four hours to respond but by that stage, the story had been picked up by numerous websites and blogs worldwide, including Mashable, who were the first to report it.

@HVSVN Sorry for the delay in responding, our twitter feed is open 0900-1700 GMT. Please DM your baggage ref and we'll look into this. — British Airways (@British_Airways) September 3, 2013

  It certainly wasn’t British Airways’ finest hour but Syed’s actions could start a trend and lead to similarly disgruntled customers doing likewise in the future, providing they can afford it of course. Be afraid Ryanair, be very afraid.