On Sunday morning, a United Airlines gate attendant barred two teenage girls from boarding a flight from Denver to Minneapolis because they were wearing leggings. News of the leggings incident went viral, and within hours, United Airlines had a PR crisis on its hands.

The incident started when Shannon Watts, political activist and founder of Moms Demand Action, overheard the exchange and tweeted about the incident to her followers.

 

1) 3 girls inspected for wearing perfectly acceptable leggings. 2 not allowed to board. I don’t care what kind of passengers they were. https://t.co/9VwGKgvWys

— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) March 26, 2017

2) This behavior is sexist and sexualizes young girls. Not to mention that the families were mortified and inconveninced. — Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) March 26, 2017

3) As the mother of 4 daughters who live and travel in yoga pants, I’d like to know how many boys @United has penalized for the same reason.

— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) March 26, 2017

 

The airline responded to the public backlash with its own tweets to explain the incident.   

 

The passengers this morning were United pass riders who were not in compliance with our dress code policy for company benefit travel. — United (@united) March 26, 2017

 

The company also issued a release explaining customers are welcome to wear leggings on its flights. The release explains that United views employee pass riders as representatives of the company and expects them to be appropriately dressed for flights.

 

To our customers…your leggings are welcome! Learn more about our company’s pass travel privilege: https://t.co/5e3euG1H9G.

— United (@united) March 27, 2017

 

Though United responded quickly to the crisis, customers, activists and even celebrities such as Chrissy Teigen and Patricia Arquette have expressed anger about the incident.

Jonathan Guerin, a United spokesperson, said himself the airline should have done a better job of responding to the situation. According to Reuters, Guerin said, “We’ll definitely take something away from today, but we’ll continue to engage with our customers (on social media).”

So what can other companies take away from this viral situation when facing their own crisis?

First, never underestimate the power of social media. Incidents today don’t stay contained, and with Facebook and Twitter, angry customers have an easy—and potentially viral—outlet.

Second, be sincere. Many considered United’s response to the issue stilted or unsympathetic. As per the Reuters article, Guerin said the company could have been more clear in its initial response to the issue.

Finally, have a plan for your social media outlets. United did a great job of responding to a potential issue quickly and telling its side of the story, but because the initial response was bungled, it backfired. Know what kinds of feedback you need to respond to, what you’ll say, and in what format you will respond.

After all, the best way to handle a crisis is to prepare for it before you’re facing it. If you need help crafting your plan, give us a call. At Wellons Communications, we have experience in social media and in handling crisis situations, and we can help you put your best foot forward. Give us a call today at 407-339-0879.