What we can learn from the ‘Dear Mr Human’ gaffe

Did you hear about the fuss last week caused by United Airlines? They addressed a complaining customer as 'Mr Human.' No, that wasn't his actual name. He's called Chris Chmura. And he put the letter up on Twitter for the world to laugh at. Read it and weep.   US airline ridiculed after issuing 'Dear Mr Human' apology letter http://t.co/gEY7ba0D9g pic.twitter.com/qyIuWpOSEO — The Telegraph (@Telegraph) October 7, 2014 This story made me laugh initially. It then made me stop and shudder. This can so easily happen to anyone. So here are my top lessons for the charity sector from this gaffe: 1. Beware templates The repetition of 'Mr Human' reveals the template in all its horrific glory. And the sincerity of the rather flowery letter is undercut. I recently made a complaint to a company, and the standard computer-generated responses I received were infuriating. But at least they weren't masquerading as personal missives like this one. Sure, you might have a little bit of standard text, but let's take the time to put thought into each and every piece of communication if we can. 2. Deal with complaints with particular care We're much more likely to tell our friends about complaints than when an organisation treats us well. It makes for a much better story down the pub, doesn't it? But a complaint contains genuine emotion and needs to be treated with respect. They've at least bothered to tell us what was bothering them about us