Dear B2C, stop blaming "third party vendors"

Delta Air Lines experienced a severe meltdown last summer when an issue with a third-party vendor caused widespread disruptions. While the vendor, CrowdStrike, impacted other companies, Delta’s chaos stood out for its scale and impact, drawing sharp criticism from customers. The airline deflected responsibility, pointing to its vendor as the source of the problem, leaving many questioning why such critical systems were not under better control.

This month, Capital One Financial Corp. followed a similar pattern, as customers faced disruptions accessing deposits, paying bills, and managing accounts. Like Delta, Capital One attributed the outage to a “technical issue” involving a third-party vendor. This occurred midmonth, when many rely on paychecks for essential expenses.

Apologies ring hollow when they point fingers at outside vendors without acknowledgment who hired and is responsible for managing them. Customers rightly expect tested contingency planning, vendor oversight, and honest assurance that services are worthy of trust.