Hayhouse to Publish Book about Dave Carroll's United Breaks Guitars

(Halifax, NS) Dave Carroll is proud to announce an agreement between himself and California based Hay House Publishing to share his United Breaks Guitars Story in print.

Says Dave: “I’m very excited to be working with Hay House and have been a fan of several of their authors for some time. They appreciate the depth of the United Breaks Guitars story and are eager to share all of its many aspects with people around the world. The best part is that this book will be an innovative distribution vehicle for my music as I’m going to be including several downloadable songs as part of the package and introduce the story of ‘who I am’ as an artist. The book will allow me to give context to each song in a meaningful way.”

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Why my social media story still strikes a chord

Re-posted from MyCustomer.com:

The ‘United Breaks Guitars’ story has been back in the news recently following a series of posts by Gary Lemke of CRMAdvocate.com (Did it change everything? , Guitar Man back story & Wait a minute, Guitar Man), that provoked the ‘Guitar Man’ himself Dave Carroll to respond. Following Vladimir Dimitroff’s take on the public debate last week, Carroll has responded to MyCustomer.com to clear his name.

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Customer Service Heroes

As 11 million people who have seen the ‘United Breaks Guitars’ on YouTube can attest, I’ve garnered a reputation for being the ‘poster child’ for how Social Media can be used as an instrument to correct a customer dis-service. The production of the video in 2009 changed my life in innumerable ways, taking me from the volunteer fire department in Halifax, Nova Scotia to the Customer Service speaking circuit globally (I admit, I have pinched myself a lot in the last 18 months!). I’m incredibly grateful for these opportunities and proud of the community of friends and followers this four and a half minute video created. And frankly, thrilled to have been able to use music and my band as a vehicle to tell my story and promote two passions of mine.

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In Defence of United Breaks Guitars

Dear Mr. Lemke:

In response to your recent blog: Wait a minute, Guitar Man, CRM Advocate

Your view that I was somehow unjustified to resort to social media without undeniable proof that my guitar was damaged during my flight with United Airlines is myopic and it reflects a much wider issue.  By implying that the primary concern of big companies must be to protect themselves from the fraudulent activities of their thieving customers, you invigorate a corporate culture of distrust and deepen the chasm between consumer and corporation.  Not taking responsibility for undeniably poor service today is precisely how big corporations are putting their brands at risk in age of social media. The fear and suspicion you are spreading in  “your take” on my story is potentially very expensive to big companies. Just ask United Airlines.

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Dave Carroll to Tour Russia

(Halifax, NS) Dave Carroll is excited to announce that the Dave Carroll Band has been invited to Russia for a series of band performances and speaking engagements.

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Dave Carroll Honoured as ‘Man of the Year’ From the Consumers’ Choice Award

(Halifax, NS) The Consumers’ Choice Award (CCA) is honouring Dave Carroll as Halifax’s Man of The Year at a black tie event at the World Trade and Convention Centre on Wednesday December 1st, 2010.

Each year the CCA acknowledges companies or individuals who show an outstanding commitment to customer service in cities across North America. This year will be Halifax’s inaugural CCA event. Past winners include Ted Turner (CNN), Daryl Sutter (Calgary Flames), Julie Payette (Astronaut), Jan Arden, George Stroumboulopoulos and Jim Balsillie (Blackberry).

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Dave Carroll to Share the Stage with Gene Simmons

(Halifax, NS) Dave Carroll is pleased to announce that he will be sharing the stage with the legendary Gene Simmons at the Atlantic Brand Confabulation on January 14th in Moncton. The event, being presented by Moncton’s The Momentum Group, will be held at Casino New Brunswick and features Gene Simmons, Dave Carroll and a yet to be announced third speaker who will share their knowledge and experience about branding.

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Academic and Research Interest in United Breaks Guitars

Joseph L. Rotman School of Management: Case Study on “United Breaks Guitars”
by David Dunne,
adjunct professor of marketing, Rotman School of Management
January 11, 2010

Harvard Business Review: Case study on “United Breaks Guitars
by John Deighton, Leora Kornfield
Jan 6, 2010

University of North Carolina – School of Journalism and Mass Communications: Master Thesis Submission titled “Fighting the Social Media Wildfire : How Crisis Communications Must Adapt to Prevent from Fanning the Flames
by Allison R. Soule,
2010

Everyday Heroes and Paramedics

“Everyday Heroes” is roughly one month old as I write this blog, and I’ve decided that I should address what has amounted to one negative comment per day about my video and what it depicts. Although I have received countless emails from grateful Paramedics since the release of the video, all of the criticism has come from the EMT (or Paramedic) community. The common issue is centered on the fact that Paramedics are not mentioned explicitly in the lyrics and are shown only briefly in the video, attending to an injured Police Officer. Their concern is that not focusing attention equally between Police, Fire and EMS diminishes the EMS contribution somehow. I respectfully disagree, and so do the hundreds of people who have written in support of the song. Read more

‘Everyday Heroes’ – Story Behind the Song

In a world where broken promises are common place, when it counts most, there are people willing to help strangers because they gave their word. The essence of ‘Everyday Heroes’ is about these individuals keeping their promise – to respond, regardless of the unknown risks that may await them. Read more