Incompetence
Dustin Curtis has a tale to tell about American Airlines, the design of their website, and the way they run their business. It isn’t pretty. This post is in response, so I encourage you to read it first.
Observation 1: Give the benefit of the doubt.
Dustin’s initial post was rather harsh, declaring that AA should fire their entire design team and hire outside contractors to redesign the website. He recommended this with no knowledge of the organization or the people that work there. He didn’t consider the constraints in which the design team works or the size of the company. It would be like me writing a post declaring that Microsoft should fire all their UI designers and hire somebody else to redesign Windows from scratch. It’s a ridiculous proposition, and disrespectful. When writing a critique, you should assume that you don’t have all of the facts and be careful of making hard-line declamations. Realize that there may be good reasons for things to be the way they are that you can’t discern, and don’t place blame unless you have proof. Consider it a low-foot diet.
Observation 2: Know your limits.
Mr. X obviously suspected that his letter may not be well-received, as he asked that Dustin not publish his name. I guess he thought that would prevent anyone from discovering his identity. Just as obviously, he was wrong. If you feel like you are doing something you could get in trouble for, don’t do it, unless you are willing to face the consequences. For the most part, I don’t post about the company I work for or the specifics of the work that I do there. If I wanted to respond to a post like Dustin’s, I would approach my manager about it first. The company is bigger than I am, and I wouldn’t take matters involving the company into my own hands.
Observation 3: Respect your employees.
Even if Mr. X did overstep his bounds a little, AA’s reaction was uncalled for. He was obviously defending the company in a friendly and intelligent manner. If they didn’t want him doing this, they should have reprimanded him. I doubt Mr. X would have done it again. Firing him within an hour after his letter was posted reeks of a knee-jerk reaction that wasn’t given proper consideration. Personally, I think they should have thanked him for trying to defuse a situation that would negatively impact the company’s image, asked him to please consult with them prior to making public responses in the future, and then asked that he head up a new effort to find a way to improve the website design and approval process.
