1. It’s not THAT you respond, it’s HOW you respond. Southwest was quick to tweet and blog, but the tweets were seen as placation and the blog as a snarky half-measure by Smith and his allies. I might agree with the latter but not with the former. Before this incident, @SouthwestAir has lead other airlines (other brands for that matter) by being extremely responsive on Twitter. When it comes to their actual tweets to @ThatKevinSmith and others about this issue, it’s hard to see what they could’ve done better.

2. #1 above notwithstanding, had Southwest not responded on Twitter and blog, that might’ve become the story instead. In fact, it is because they responded using social channels that it forced the issue to be about the 1-3 people who dealt with Smith and not about the airline as a whole.

3. When you apologize in your blog, make it a real apology instead of a defense of your position. What Smith and those supporting his stance wanted was an apology. Southwest should have focused on what they did wrong and what they were going to do about it instead of reiterating the merits of their policies. Leave that for a future post, or add it in the comments if other commenters request it. Don’t’ worry, it’ll get out. Now is the time to ingratiate and promise swift corrections.

When the dust settles, this is just one more glaring example of how the consumer relationship has shifted. I’d put money on the fact that the ground crew in question had no idea they were dealing with an outspoken filmmaker with a cult following and more Twitter followers than them. This is why all brands need to remodel their customer service strategy so that everyone is treated well. Everyone, not just unrecognized celebrities, have increasingly larger soapboxes and hell hath no fury like a Twitterer scorned.

One interesting thing we witnessed was an almost even amount on either side, depending which blog you were on. If we had to pick a winner from the comments and tweets, it would have to go to Smith and the now ex-customers of Southwest Airlines. But not by a landslide. Those who “stood up” for the airline cited a “whiney” celebrity filmmaker who might benefit from a healthier lifestyle or simply backed the airline’s policy for respecting 100% of the space other passengers had purchased. Does this mean that Southwest’s strategy paid off? We won’t know for some time. But Smith started off on a mission to defend the “Customer of Size” and change Southwest’s seating policy. His blog tonight suggests he’s had enough after a concentrated 24 hours of podcasting and tweeting, and that he’s mostly interested in clearing his own name from the “Too Fat To Fly” list. What would’ve happened if he held to his convictions a little longer and gone on Larry King or pressed for that Daily Show arm-rest demonstration?

Also of interest: A tweet tonight from @MackCollier “Read the @southwestair & @thatkevinsmith’s blog account of him getting booted off his flight. Southwest allowed comments, Kevin didn’t.” My guess is that Kevin wants to put it to bed, while Southwest needs to (or in fact, really does) care how people react to their post.