I flew to Boston this week on business.  My United flight was delayed after leaving the gate.   As the passengers began receiving the mandatory “15 minutes more” message from the flight crew, the woman seated next to me was receiving status updates from United directly to her mobile phone.   They were coming in with more explicit information and well in advance of the crew updates.   After a few minutes the crew were coming to her for updates.

While it seemed odd, it is in no way unusual.  There are so many emerging opportunities for self-service that the ability of customers to get accurate information on their own is exceeding the ability of organizations to keep pace (as in this case where the flight crew were less aware than their customers).