Recently, a court ruled against Air Canada after a customer took them to small claims court.
The customer needed to buy a last-minute ticket to attend his Mom’s funeral. He went to their website to find out if they offered a bereavement discount on tickets (they do.)
Because he was buying at the last minute, he asked Air Canada’s Chatbot if he could buy the ticket and apply for a refund later to account for the bereavement discount.
The Chatbot told him he could apply for the discount within 90 days of flying.
However, when he applied for the discount, Air Canada told him the bereavement discount could only be applied to the ticket price before flying.
Thankfully, he had taken a screenshot of what the Chatbot told him (there’s a lesson in this for all of us).
Fast-forward, the customer takes Air Canada to small claims court for a refund of $812 (plus court fees).
In court, Air Canada tried to blame their Chatbot and technology for the problem.
The judge was having none of this and ruled in favour of the customer. Air Canada was required to refund the difference and pay the customer’s court fees.
The result is that Air Canada is now being mocked on social media (including by me, of course).
While they say all PR is good PR, in this case, I’m not so sure.
I can’t help but wonder, what was Air Canada hoping to accomplish by fighting this?
What if, instead, they took responsibility for what the Chatbot said on *their* website?
Given that their Chatbot was incorrect, they could have owned the mistake once it was reported, especially given that the guy had proof.
It could have played out very differently:
Imagine this scenario:
Air Canada thanked the guy for reporting the problem and immediately issued his refund. They then either fix the problem or shut down the problem part of the chatbot until someone can fix it. I’d give them bonus points for issuing a small flight credit for the inconvenience.
The result would have been a satisfied customer, and none of us would be talking about how they dragged their customer through this circus.
Taking responsibility and doing the right thing is always the best approach. No exceptions.
Instead of blaming others, take responsibility for making things right. This is true for your business, team, and personal life.
You’ve got this.
