United Breaks Guitars
By scarce Thursday Jul 09, 2009 10:15amA heart-wrenching tale for any musician or anyone who loves guitars. What happens when an airline company destroys your instrument and won't own up to their own negligence? You write a song (or 3) and post them on YouTube where they go viral of course.
In the spring of 2008, Sons of Maxwell were traveling to Nebraska for a one-week tour and my Taylor guitar was witnessed being thrown by United Airlines baggage handlers in Chicago. I discovered later that the $3500 guitar was severely damaged. They didnt deny the experience occurred but for nine months the various people I communicated with put the responsibility for dealing with the damage on everyone other than themselves and finally said they would do nothing to compensate me for my loss. So I promised the last person to finally say no to compensation (Ms. Irlweg) that I would write and produce three songs about my experience with United Airlines and make videos for each to be viewed online by anyone in the world.
Full story can be found at Dave Carroll's website, or the band's site, Sons of Maxwell.
UPDATE: United agrees to pay full restitution
Carroll was discussed on CNN’s Situation Room yesterday, which showed part of his video and explained his experiences.
United Airlines is now in discussions with Carroll about paying restitution.
The company also hopes to use his video as a training tool for employees.
“It struck a chord with us,” said Robin Urbanski, a spokeswoman with United Airlines.
“We are in conversations with (Carroll) to make what happened right and, while we mutually agree this should have been fixed much sooner, his video is excellent.
“It provides us with a learning opportunity we can use for training purposes.”
She said they hope to provide customers with better service.
Even Wolf Blitzer digs the song, calling it a PR nightmare for United.
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"It struck a chord with us,” said Robin Urbanski, a spokeswoman with United Airlines."
Was that a play on words or did she just get lucky?
Funny how a little light cast on something can get more results sometimes than even a lawyer might.
They are tone deaf if they don't reimburse.
sure the song's nice, and congrats for it and the attention, but could this whitebread musician be any more tone-deaf if not racist?
sure, the sombreros and mustaches are cute - if you live in the 1950s or earlier and are NOT Mexican or Hispanic.
it seems someone aggrieved of being treated poorly, like this musician, might think twice before dumping on another race to get cheap weak laughs.
and yes I have a terrific sense of humor, it's just not at SOMEONE ELSE's expense!
The guy has great pitch.
If I'm seen drinking out of a beer stein but I'm not a German, am I a racist? Jeez! Can you please explain to me how these gaucho wanna-bees were injurious in some way? It's music video, fer sake! Go watch the music video "Mexican Radio" by "Wall Of Voodoo"; Stan Ridgway isn't a racist, he's a genius! Does that video play around with a few stereotypes? Sure! But I'd hardly call it RACIST. A RACIST would be trying to lower a class of people or elevate themselves above them. These fellows are simply dressing up & paying homage. You must be a lot of fun on Halloween.
Nice country key.
The CHORUS is in G when he's playing the F chord shape . . . however the song's key is in D. I read a post somewhere else earlier that made me smile: "If you've got a gripe & are itchin' for revenge, using a COUNTRY song format to do it is a good choice!"
If you own a Taylor and let ANYONE touch it, you are an ASS.
Should just not fly then? Forgive me but that's hardly practical for somebody who plays professionally. I don't know of a single airline that would allow somebody to board an aircraft with a guitar as a carry on. Not one.
Northwest, to its credit, permitted me to do so last summer on three of four flights from Oregon to Minneapolis and back (that is, three of the four legs of the round trip). On the fourth, we had a jam-packed flight, and there was too much carry-on in the overhead bin (which is, in fact, long and wide enough to accommodate a dreadnought in a flight case, as the airlines correctly claim online), so I had to gate-check it. My experience was a good one, and I'd be willing to consider Northwest again, all things being equal, for this very reason.
In 1985, I flew United from Chicago to Seattle with my first guitar (an el-cheapo I hadn't graduated beyond at the time), and I was forced to tag it and store it in the cargo hold (I was not permitted to gate-check it--I was 19 at the time and didn't know I could fight the powers that be). While watching our luggage being transferred to the next leg of our trip from the Seattle terminal, I had the joyful experience of seeing my guitar pitched end-over-end by a United worker from the conveyor belt into a cargo vehicle about 10 feet away. Several people saw it, and it felt like the whole terminal groaned in unison. I swore I'd never check an instrument in cargo again--and I've never had the pleasure to fly United since.
If you have to check a guitar, gate-check it. Get an assurance before you fly that this will be permitted. Try not to fly with your best guitar unless you absolutely have to--take your back-up. And *ALWAYS* surround your guitar inside its case with rags, socks, underwear, what have you, so that there's NO room for the guitar to move in any direction at all. Don't detune the strings beyond 2 whole steps, either. That much reduction in tension is bad for the neck.
My $0.02.
I have a Taylor as well and when I have to travel with it, I try to immobilize it in it's case and then I put the case in another box, also immobilized. I've never had a problem but that may be because of the efforts I take to protect it. Also it should be noted that I don't travel much, nor do I make a living with music so my experience is extremely limited. Thanks for the Northwest tip though!
They used to. Post 9/11 they've been pretty inflexible about it.
Pros who travel usually protect their gear in cases made for that purpose. One such company is "Anvil." Also, I've heard of musicians who will purchase a ticket for their guitars & strap them in a seat next to them. Expensive? Yeah, but not as expensive as a $3,500 Taylor or a $1,400 repair job that still never quite makes the damage right. Musicians are generally not "rich", but if you're on an airline to get to a gig (as opposed to, say, a rusty conversion van that burns oil) you could probably afford an anvil case or another ticket for your precious "passenger." What happened to Mr. Carroll, though, was gut-wrenching.
I flew United from Washington Dulles International into Denver International (July 9th-10th, short trip), and I saw SIX guitars being stowed in the overhead compartments on my two flights alone.
So I guess United are being better about this...
Saw that happen to my 58 Tele one time.
It was the last time my axe ever flew in the baggage compartment.
Sons of Maxwell, Good on ya!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YArx_gm7UoE
you DO find them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieJDbxRH-ck
the video of the baggage handlers about 10-15 years ago gleefully hurling baggage through the air while being filmed??? sorry i can't remember who or what airline.
I wonder, is the damaged guitar in the video the actual guitar united broke??
Pretty sure it's not the original - on his website he claims he fixed the original but it doesn't play the same any more, so I'm guessing this is some other broken guitar...and it certainly looks like it'd be worth less than $3500 even if it was still in one piece. I'm guessing junkshop guitar.
At the end of the video is "No Taylor guitars were harmed while making this video." So . . . no.
Don't the airlines have insurance to cover stuff like this? Everyone else has to be insured up the ass in case of such events, why don't they?
It is an exercise in patience and losing faith in humanity.
yup, if the video doesn't get him compensated hopefully it will at least increase respect for peoples property
Yeah, I have and I have to admit all three times it wasn't a difficult or unpleasant experience. Two of those times it was home insurance after hurricanes and once was when an AC company installed their stuff in the attic wrong causing water to seep down in the walls and ruin everything in one of my storage closets. With the AC, I dealt with the company's insurance company.
... one airline lost my baggage (USAir) and it took literally months to get any sort of money from them. They gave me a voucher for $100 so I could buy clothes at my final destination.
I was in a hit and run, the CHP report clearly stated that I wasn't at fault. And then my auto insurance company told me that they had conducted "their own investigation" and that they had decided "I was at fault." Even though I paid a very very high premium, with full coverage so that I would not have to deal with things like a "hit and run," and all the info the insurance company had was the CHP report and pictures of the event. Obviously these insurance companies must have their own oracles or something...
to care.
that being said, the song is pretty good. And I am not much of a country fan..
Embarrass somebody in public for acting like jerks, and they get verrrry agreeable, very fast. Works better, often faster, and usually far cheaper than legal action.
more.
Shame is a powerful tool in the proper hands.
Well I wouldn't go so far to call it "shame", I try not to personify corporations like our government does, but I'll certainly call it "hella bad PR".
A bad public image, a taint of the all-glorious corporate image is all they care about. Bad PR, not shame.
No way I'd do that.
I was an Olympic Windsurfer's coach. The woman had three $700 masts for racing, properly paid for, bound and protected as "over-size luggage". We watched as they put the bundle on a belt with a 90 degree turn. Clearly, they wouldn't make the turn but they used the belt anyway rather than carry the tube 50 feet to the cart. They snapped all three.
I was in California surfing. On the trip home, they took my bagged and covered board and stuck in the baggage compartment. When I picked up the board, a light bulb or some other heat source burned a hole in the bag, melted it, and burned and blistered the board.
In both cases, no apologies, no offer of compensation, nothing.
In both cases, I told the agent that I wanted to speak to their supervisor's supervisor and I asked him for the CEO's phone number. There was a lot of angry on the phone.
A hand made Zeidler or Monteleone can go for $25k, some D'Aquistos can go for four times that.
Romanillos, Fletas, others of their caliber are equally stratospheric.
Of course you can hypnotize yourself into thinking that a junky factory made Les Paul electric is worth $150k. It is the bigger fool syndrome.
All of that was before the deflation of the super bubble, and the Banksters blew up the economy.
Several houses in my neighborhood have now gone for $20k, 12% of the peak. How does one compare a $25k guitar and a $20k house.
Then there are the million $$ violins. And the violinists who fall down the stairs on top of them.
here
Perceived Value
I mean people have been convinced to pay ten's of thousands for rocks and stones.
And they make no sound nor have any use, except for ornamentation.
or Ex-Illusion
'72 Fender Telecaster Thinline with factory Humbuckers and original hardshell case. They sell on ebay all day for $2500-$5000.
pay paid
play played
Time the market and dump it for a huge profit.
Don't wait until everyone discovers they have been hypnotized.
What are humpbuckers? Sounds kind of well....dirty. :)
to reduce "hum" to next to nothing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humbucker
Its the pickups.
It's HUM-BUCKER'S . . . not HUMP. But yeah, the way you misspelled it, it does sound dirty.
'69 Thinline
Single coils/ burst/maple board/tortoise shell /orig hsc.
Paid $325.oo CDN (1983)
Never should have sold it..
C'mon, Alice.
You know that any guitar that's bought for that much has a provenance that reports popular players using the instrument for popular performances.
And high-end makes and models are created much more lovingly than low-end, mass produced guitars, like Peaveys.
Like Stradivari violins reputed to have been owned by Nicolo Paganini, and therefore worth three million versus two million.
And famous performances thereof that are made all the better for that reason, supposedly. Never mind the nerves of the fiddler lest he (or she) falls down the stairs with it.
And of course the Symphony Orchestras who point to the priceless Stradivari in their fundraising campaigns. Ha, there is a sucker born every day.
Oh wait, you were talking about factory made Les Pauls versus factory made Peaveys.
Oh well.
Instrumental(ist) musicians, certainly snooty ones, ALWAYS disparage factory made instruments.
I don't know what is worse, that he smashed such a beautiful instrument to bits... or that someone trusted him with a Stradivarius after.
I'll bet they didn't let him near the bar after that, that is for sure.
Would he have been better off shipping the guitar ahead like with UPS or the like?
would work.
Oh wait they flew sorry.
and if you don't insure it for full value they only self insure it for $100.00.
I would think the if the guy was sending it UPS, either he would have the guitar insured with his own insurance or make sure he bought insurance via UPS.
To me this is just one more reason not to fly unless you absolutely have to.
A good flight case will withstand anything but a direct hit by a fork lift.
But if you have a truly valuable instrument you buy it a seat right next to you!!!!!
I didn't know you could do that, but you could write all I know about guitars on the back of a guitar string.
It doesn't need to be a guitar, it can be a cello or whatever you do not want anyone else to handle.
for a guitar would be willing to drop another $200 or so for a flight case to protect it - not just from mishandling but cargo shifts on the plane. We've all seen what our luggage looks like after just a few uses. It doesn't take much weight to crush a standard guitar case.
Most airlines will not allow you to purchase a seat for instruments. You need to check it or not fly. Fortunately my clarinets fit all carry-on restrictions but I can't take much else. Mr. G has to do the flight case thing.
in first class, no less.
If only he could have found an accommodating nun on the flight to handle it.
They always seem to fly with one.
The Chrostofascist FBI pulled the same stunt when they tried to kill Judi Bari. They took her fiddle during one of their human rights violations against her and refused to return it.
was the guitar in an ATA (American Transportation Association) approved flight case? Such wasn't portrayed in the music video. Anyone that checks a guitar in a standard guitar case is asking for trouble, especially an acoustic or other non-solidbody instrument. I've even seen guitars in soft cases ("gig bags") coming down the conveyor belt - insanity. Granted, if the employees were observed in behavior outside of normal baggage handling, that is an issue. But you are more than taking your chances checking guitars as baggage without the proper heavy-duty cases. I always used flight cases, or carried my guitar on board. (Back in the day you could ask nicely and the flight attendants would gladly put it one of the closets. Probably wouldn't "fly" now...ahem...) Hope he gets some compensation for his Taylor, but if he checked that kind of a guitar in a standard case - the story will be of little surprise to any musician reading that has toured/traveled with their instrument.
The song is catching and could end up being a hit. Major PR nightmare for United.
LOL . . How you gonna' make any money as a musician!
touring is the only way these days, it seems.
They still have CUSTOMERS?
and falling right onto your guitar seen that happen too.
It's always so nice when a coporation, purely out of a sense of doing the right thing, does just that. No passing the buck, cheap denials, endless run-arounds; just good ol' accoutability!
So, Gosh!, I'll certainly trust them with my Martin.
P.S. Last april Northwest stole my leather jacket...maybe I'll write a song.
buy an extra seat and that's where it goes! The only way to fly is to have your guitars WITH YOU in the cabin. Some airlines still allow this even if their flight attendants aren't aware of the regs.
Wish I could afford a Taylor. I have a Takamine.
Effectiveness of social media in the hands of creative people to make the change they want to see. Encouraging.
incredible you just try things out and stumble across that "one" that had the real soul and love put into it.
I had a '94 Ford Festiva like that. They were basically Yugos. I've heard terrible things about them since, but it ran great. Engine had one hamster on a wheel. Never had problems...unless the hamster died. Then you needed to get a new hamster. Best car I've owned.
Of course, it wouldn't play barre chords, but it would fit in the overhead baggage compartment.
they owe him for the fucking run around
1st) File when we get to Omaha,
2nd) In Omaha: You have to file at the originating airport
3rd) In Halifax: we don't have a United facility to take your
complaint
4th) here's a phone number where they'll tell you
5th) "Tough Shit, asshole. You should've flown Jet Blue."
United would be on the NeWz describing how not only we're the employees fired but were severely beaten and punished as well before being ejected from the premises.
if it was Jeff Beck's or Keith Richard's guitar, someone who wasn't injured would be on the news apologizing...
here in WA. They flew her down to Houston to pick up a dog -- a puppy.
The chimps in baggage at HOU rolled the canine carrier out on to the tarmac and left it in scorching heat. My pal Sue (fake name) started asking American employees to get the puppy off the tarmac and they gave the high hat. Iced her.
She called the boss man, who was getting the puppy for his wife and he hit the ceiling "Hold on. I'll make a call" 5 minutes later he gets back on and asks, "What's happening now?" She looked on the tarmac and a small army of baggage chimps were removing the pup's carrier from the tarmac.
"What'd you do?" Sue asked. "I called the president of the company, and canceled our contracts with American for this bullshit. Now he wants me back."
Now, just for the safety of the dogs, they go in private jets. It's gotta be nice to have money like that.
Don't piss off musicians: http://www.last.fm/music/The+Replacements/_/W...
...I linked to this yesterday morning on an open thread..... ;-)
(at the time it had aabout 100K hits now its over 500k ...)
Attn GTR lovers:
Wed, 07/08/2009 - 06:50 — real_earl
United Breaks Guitars:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo&fe...
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Daves from my hometown ... seen him play live a bunch of times with this guitar. Hes a pretty nice guy, an article in the LA Times yesterday reported he was "not returning calls" they didnt mention that he was playing a gig in small town NS at the time.
He did stress in another interview that the guitar had a LOT of sentimental value, not just the fact that it was a nice Taylor, he had written and recorded most of his material on it.
The principle of this was what irked him the most..he had the guitar fixed, but doesnt use it performing any more.
BTW heres a music store in T.O. with a lot of nice vintage stuff:
www.12fret.com
Seems Loudon Wainwright III has had a run in with United too!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gohKsPgEpHA
He's told me that he's seen things from luggage carriers that should enrage all airline customers.
But for the most part, the airlines know they have us over a barrel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5BrE1Pi5cU
good night.
...of the internet!
...last night when I told my volleyball teammates about the video. I mentioned at the time that once this hit a site like HuffPo that the company would quickly realize what they stepped into.
Looks like I hit the nail on the head.
It's fun to toot my own horn once in a while. =P
United settled up because the media got wind of the story. That's the only reason.
...the reason they find reason?
“She said they hope to provide customers with better service.” – but only if you’re a customer who can write a song about it that goes viral.
I think I should write a lil diddy about the steak I got last night and hold out for my money back.
"It struck a chord with us." Ha ha ha, like (translation) it's gonna cost you millions and millions.
Love the video. American and Canadian carriers suck the big one. Air Canada is the WORST ever.
I love flying in Aisa: best airlines, best airports. North America doesn't even come close.
The baggage handlers probably work for minumum wage, with no perks.
Ever tried to get help from an airline? Good luck. "There's nothing we can do sir." That's what sticks in everyone's craw.
My sister told me, now, if you want to talk to a live person at Air Canada, they charge you $25.
kicks the crap out of Air Canada on a weekly basis. ANd from what I can tell, it's well deserved.
FlyersRights has been covering this issue since early 2007, and I've a member and financial supporter since almost the beginning. My best friend had to fly from New York to Dallas for his niece's funeral, and he brought his guitar with him to play at her grave. On the way back, the same airline that let him carry it on at La Guardia, wanted $238 for a seat on the return flight that was only about 2/3 full from DFW. I was there to see him off, and since he was broke, I paid for the guitar. Since they'd told him in NYC that it was no problem as a carry-on, he'd brought it in a soft case.
That started my involvement with the passenger's rights group Kate Hanni started. Since then, I've donated thousands to a cause that helps us all, in the long run.
Kate has been very effective in testifying before congress, but she can always use more grass-roots help.
See for yourself at:
http://www.flyersrights.com/
I have a $450 dollar Alvarez, but it has a magic sound. I would never put it in a baggage compartment.
Thanks for the warning. Just say "no" to United Airlines!
Purely damage control,if this didn't get the publicity it did they'd still be screwing him.I hope Dave doesn't allow them to gain any positive reward for this BS,charge them over the roof costs for video use
I find it amusing that Dave chose a country lilt for this song cuz the Son's of Maxwell are a beer bottle banging celtic band from the land where a real man wears a kilt to a formal occassion.
That being said, never p.o. a maritimer, we enjoy kicking Goliath in the shin, well done lads!
sure the song's nice, and congrats for it and the attention, but could this whitebread musician be any more tone-deaf if not racist?
sure, the sombreros and mustaches are cute - if you live in the 1950s or earlier and are NOT Mexican or Hispanic.
it seems someone aggrieved of being treated poorly, might think twice before dumping on another race to get cheap weak laughs.
and yes I have a terrific sense of humor, it's just not at SOMEONE ELSE's expense!
you didn't enjoy blazing saddles did you?
You can always tell a plane returning people from a Mexican vacation at an airport terminal, there's always at least one fool wearing a cheesy shirt and cheap sombrero. Its about airline travel, not denigration.
As to whitebread, lol, you tube their real music, it will put a slpinter in your arse.
Dave and the Sons of Maxwell are actually a Canadian Celtic style band. They're purposely presenting their tale of woe in the song style of the Mexican 'Corrido', which tells a tale from the heart. Look it up. Canadians have no issues with Mexicans. In fact, we quite like each other, and have neighbours in common. It must be your geographical vantage point that might cause you to make such an inane assumption.
it's nice that united came to their senses and are going to use the video internally to insure better customer service.
um...since they're using it in a business capacity for commercial gain (quality control software) are they going to pay royalties for it's use, or are they ripping the artist off for that too?
Great song. Even better story...but why oh why did they have to don the sombreros and dress like Mexicans? WTF??! Are Canadians that clueless to offensive stereotypes?
According to the detailed accounting, he had his guitar doubly packed with a hard case inside a padded travel case.
http://www.davecarrollmusic.com/story/united-...
We can get this man a new guitar but we can't use the power of the Internet to stop torture or indefinite detention? What are we doing?
Tom Paxton wrote a similar song decades ago. But I'm glad they finally paid up. Now I hope they won't destroy any more instruments.
This is the kind of thing that really gets me angry. Waiver, my a**. These kinds of incidents go a long way toward people making decisions about which carrier to use in the future.
Are natives of my adopted town, Timmins Ontario. Seeing them getting justice against an incompetent and mean-spirited airline, as well as getting this more than deserved PR for their talents is especially warming to me. Way to go, Don and Dave!!!
Never mind.
Not only does United break guitars; Northwest breaks mountain dulcimers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x50pJe_QvQQ
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