Air Canada, you missed a chance to help us root for you

Online denizens know the tale of Air Canada and Tanner’s wheelchair, which set Twitter ablaze last week. It even hit the mainstream media. Air Canada is a well loved thumping boy in this country, but they missed a perfect opportunity to let us cheer for them. If the airliner had had an active Twitter presence, they could have shown us that they were hard at work to renovate and/or exchange Tanner’s special power wheelchair. As a replacement for their Twitter tab just made them grow clueless on August 4.

In fact, a squatter has the name “Air Canada” on Twitter. Why doesn’t the airline claim this handle?

Some commenters in the mainstream media prominent that it’s not honest to expect a company to respond immediately. I disagree. Today, organizations must act quickly in a storm. If the situation can’t be resolved in an instant, that’s understandable. JUST TELL US WHAT you’re doing. Imagine if Air Canada’s Twitter stream had content like this on August 4:

We’re sorry that Tanner’s wheelchair was hurt. We are trying to find a 24-hour renovate shop.
OR
We are doing everything we can to exchange or renovate Tanner’s special power wheelchair as soon as doable.

As a replacement for, it was silent until nearly noon on August 5, leaving the Twitterati to wonder if Air Canada was doing whatever business at all to help this outcome to regain his mobility.

In the end, the tale had a pleased ending: Tanner got his chair and Air Canada announced it would send the outcome and his cousins to Disneyworld.

In today’s online environment, companies not only have to do the right business; they also have to be SEEN doing the right business.

Air Canada, I really wanted to cheer for you this time. Next time, let me, OK?