Southwest kick man off flight for a Tweet

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http://www.buzzfeed.com/robynwilder/man-kicked-off-flight-for-tweeting-about-bad-service

 

This is appalling. Yes, customers can be *******es, but really, is this an appropriate response?

 

I know some people here about fanatical about Southwest...

[6rugrats]

This happened three days ago. As with most of these stories, I'm sure there's more to it.

 

Southwest's policy is not to allow anyone who is not an A lister, unless they are under four years old, to board with the A lister. I suspect this passenger knew that and he should never have tweeted the GA's name.

Edited July 26, 2014 by 6rugrats

[trixiegal]

Sorry not sorry, but you can tweet anybody's name that is working for a company you've done business with if you feel so inclined. There was no slander, he was doing what Southwest itself says it encourages customers to do if they have a customer service issue. I suspect the agent was called after the tweet and then took it upon herself to use her power to make this guy's life miserable with no regard to his children and delaying the flight for other passengers. Unbelievable that she can get away with it and impinge on his 1st Amendment rights! Companies need to understand the power of social media and train their employees on how one misstep can really ruin a brand's reputation. Twitter, Facebook, Yelp, Foursquare et al. are not going away!

 

 

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[6rugrats]

It would be libel if it was written, not slander.

 

Most people are woefully ignorant of what their rights really are. Just because, "it's a free country", does not mean you do or say anything you please.

 

I have no idea what really happened, but suspect this passenger was less than pleasant. And, I've read several different accounts of this story, as told by the passenger, which makes it even more difficult to ascertain the truth. I'm sure there was fault on both sides. Dad was wrong; he was asking GA to break Southwest's boarding policy. All he had to do was wait until his children's boarding group was called, and he could have boarded with them.

 

Yes, appears GA and FA (& I can't believe the captain wasn't involved in some way) overreacted, but this passenger's behavior was quite immature and a bad example for his children. He should accept some responsibility for this situation.

 

There is an 18 page discussion about this on Flyertalk, if you are interested in expressing an opinion or reading more about it there.

Edited July 27, 2014 by 6rugrats

[homeschoolmama]

He is from my area and he was travelling alone with his two kids under 10. What is missed in this discussion is just before this happened he tweeted about another agent who had done a terrific job. He named her and thanked her. His tweet about the rude agent was not threatening in any way, but rather his opinion as to her rudeness. Yes he could have waited to board, but what gave her the right to be rude about it. Also, last I checked there is still a constitutional right to freedom of speech. He in no way threatened anything! I saw the tweet as they showed them on our local news. If you are in customer service then be prepared for people to have opinions about your interaction with them......which is all this tweet was....and all the positive tweet he sent was.

 

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[homeschoolmama]

PS there are flight attendants who can be rude and threatening. Are they taken off the flight? Kind of an extreme reaction. The worst of his tweet was "most rude gate agent ever". Is that threatening?

 

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[FlyerTalker]

Unbelievable that she can get away with it and impinge on his 1st Amendment rights!

Before you start bringing up the First Amendment, perhaps you should actually read it. Just in case you skipped your Civics or American History classes, it reads:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The Amendment prohibits GOVERNMENT restrictions to abridge the freedom of speech. It says absolutely nothing about businesses or individuals restricting speech in its own domain.

 

So....how did government impinge? Or were you just invoking a bit of hyperbole?

[TruckerDave]

Before you start bringing up the First Amendment, perhaps you should actually read it. Just in case you skipped your Civics or American History classes, it reads:

The Amendment prohibits GOVERNMENT restrictions to abridge the freedom of speech. It says absolutely nothing about businesses or individuals restricting speech in its own domain.

 

So....how did government impinge? Or were you just invoking a bit of hyperbole?

 

Ding ding ding....This 1000 times over. Nobody prevented this guy from saying (tweeting) anything. If nothing else he learn that his words can and do have consequences.

 

If you think you can just say anything you want at any time....just go into a crowded theater and start yelling fire. Then come back and let us know how that saying whatever you want worked out for you. :rolleyes:

[trixiegal]

Libel, slander, a history lesson?! Who cares...

 

Since we are making personal attacks instead of actually proving any type of rational point- he was on Twitter(which is -for all you senior citizens who find it hard to make sense of all that mumbo jumbo nowadays- a worldwide and extremely popular social media site) and tweeted SWA with his issue because the company actually ENCOURAGES people to do just that if there is an issue. If you don't believe me, just click on this link and be enlightened-

https://twitter.com/SouthwestAir

 

There was no hint of a threat implied with his tweet. I personally would've allowed the police or other actual authorities, not a pissed-off Ticket Agent with a power complex, to be called so they could explain to me what the problem really was. Nothing would've been deleted.

 

This world is getting crazier and crazier. I'm sure he agreed to delete it in the moment just to calm his kids down and get home. SWA should fire that agent immediately for taking the law into her own hands because he dared to speak out against her horrible customer service.

[trixiegal]

PS there are flight attendants who can be rude and threatening. Are they taken off the flight? Kind of an extreme reaction. The worst of his tweet was "most rude gate agent ever". Is that threatening?

 

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No, not in the least. It sounds like the issue was blown out of proportion by a disgruntled agent who wanted to get even with no regard for the other passengers or his children. In fact, she created a PR nightmare for SWA instead of learning the lesson that if you're in the service industry be careful how you treat people or it may end up online. That's why I love social media! Makes companies accountable, whether they want to be or not.

[UKBayern]

I have been in customer service for over 20 years (airlines, hotels, road side assistance, retail), and there is ALWAYS more to a story like this. I doubt the tweet was the real problem. He must have done or said something really awful, considering he was a "safety threat". The most agressive ones don't even know or have the moral mindset to know they are doing anything wrong. "All I did was send a tweet". Yeah right....

 

Airlines hate deplaning passengers, because it could mean delays, bad PR, offloading baggage, possible other passengers on the plane interfering with the situation, etc. It is always a joint decision of the captain, the purser and the gate supervisor, and often his/her supervisor, security/border patrol, and/or Operations Control of the airline, and is really only done if there is a real threatening out-of-control situation. One person who is not the top of the food chain making that kind of decision all by herself on the basis of one tweet? Very doubtful.

Edited July 27, 2014 by UKBayern

[trixiegal]

Let's look at this situation closely, as reported by a reputable news agency- http://abcnews.go.com/US/family-booted-off-southwest-airlines-dad-tweeted-rude/story?id=24685645

 

And this is Southwest's latest press release regarding this matter-

 

Reaction to Recent Social Media Concerns

Updated: 7/24/14 at 10:37 AM

 

We've reached out to the Customer and had a very productive conversation. We've apologized and our Company and Employees are ready to move forward serving more than a hundred million Customers annually.

 

Southwest Airlines appreciates and is active in social media, and it is not our intent to stifle Customer feedback. Social media is a very valuable avenue for engaging with our Customers. On Sunday, July 20, a Southwest Airlines Employee and Customer were having a conversation that escalated about the airline's family boarding procedures. The Customer was briefly removed from flight #2347 from Denver to Minneapolis/St. Paul to resolve the conversation outside of the aircraft and away from the other Passengers. Our decision was not based solely on a Customer's tweet. Following a successful resolution, the Customer and his family were able to continue on the flight to Minneapolis. We are thoroughly investigating the situation. We have reached out to the Customer and offered vouchers as a gesture of goodwill.

So instead of adding content and making this personal based on our own experiences, let us focus on the facts as they've been reported. Sounds to me like Southwest is taking responsibility for the situation because they apologized and are now calling it an "escalation." Under no circumstances should a customer need to be removed from the aircraft to continue a conversation that was already resolved, according to the customer WHO DID BOARD AFTER THE A-LISTERS, unless the agent wanted to make him delete his tweet. Why the need to investigate if the situation was successfully resolved? I hope that agent is fired for her diva behavior. Tweets are free speech and the customer wasn't threatening anybody but reporting on his bad experience. I'm glad this has gone viral.

[waterbug123]

His tweet about the rude agent was not threatening in any way,

 

I suspect it was what he said to the GA prior to the tweet that caused the agent to feel threatened. Then again, once he's on board I would think the agent would no longer feel she was in immediate danger. Bottom line: We do not and likely will never have the FULL story of exactly the nature of the conversation between the two... what was actually said, the tone of voice of each, etc.

 

And this is Southwest's latest press release regarding this matter-

 

The Customer was briefly removed from flight #2347 from Denver to Minneapolis/St. Paul to resolve the conversation outside of the aircraft and away from the other Passengers. Our decision was not based solely on a Customer's tweet. Following a successful resolution, the Customer and his family were able to continue on the flight to Minneapolis.

 

Bingo- it would appear that the conversation that took place prior to the tweet had something to do with the family being asked to deplane. Maybe the pax really did say something else threatening to the agent? We don't know and likely won't.

 

Under no circumstances should a customer need to be removed from the aircraft to continue a conversation that was already resolved, according to the customer WHO DID BOARD AFTER THE A-LISTERS, unless the agent wanted to make him delete his tweet. Why the need to investigate if the situation was successfully resolved? I hope that agent is fired for her diva behavior. Tweets are free speech and the customer wasn't threatening anybody but reporting on his bad experience. I'm glad this has gone viral.

 

I doubt at the time the customer felt it was already successfully resolved, because in his opinion he AND his children should have been allowed to board earlier and weren't. And if he then said something threatening to the agent that caused her to fear for her safety, I doubt she felt that it was "successfully" resolved.

 

I'm not taking sides here, because I have no idea what was actually said and no one else does either... all we have is what the pax claims he said, which may or may not be accurate. (I'm talking about what he actually said to her, not what he tweeted.)

 

The point is that there are 3 sides to this story: his, hers, and the truth, which likely lies somewhere in the middle, and unless someone at the gate recorded the whole thing, we'll probably never know the whole truth.

[grandma*knows*best]

Libel, slander, a history lesson?! Who cares...

 

Since we are making personal attacks instead of actually proving any type of rational point- he was on Twitter(which is -for all you senior citizens who find it hard to make sense of all that mumbo jumbo nowadays- a worldwide and extremely popular social media site) and tweeted SWA with his issue because the company actually ENCOURAGES people to do just that if there is an issue. If you don't believe me, just click on this link and be enlightened-

https://twitter.com/SouthwestAir

 

....

 

I care. There is a difference between libel and slander; why not make the effort to use legal terms correctly?

 

The second part of your post explaining Twitter is just plain insulting and reflects badly on you.

 

No matter what really happened (and none of us were there, so we don't have the real story), I think this guy behaved like a jerk tweeting the incident. Since when is every aspect of one's life considered so fascinating that there is this need to share everything? He should have taken up this issue directly with Southwest. I think Southwest should fire him as a passenger. Who needs another entitled troublemaker as a customer?

 

Please note I'm not a Southwest fan either.

[trixiegal]

Honestly, I don't care what you think and I am not trying to impress anybody on an online forum. I am entitled to my opinion without nitpicking about semantics instead of facts to back up a point.

 

As a customer of Southwest, I feel the situation was handled poorly by a ticket agent who herself felt entitled enough to demand that a customer delete a tweet on his private Twitter account in order to reboard a plane. Totally ridiculous!!! This is why this entire situation has gone viral despite what you say is really the truth and has actually caused Southwest to apologize. I truly hope the customer pursues this matter further to make sure that agent is at least disciplined if not actually fired.

 

In order to be an A-lister on the airline, he obviously spends a lot of his hard earned cash with Southwest and deserves to be treated with respect and not like a security risk just because he expressed his opinion about the experience.

 

 

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Edited July 27, 2014 by trixiegal

[Fattony]

I missed just what the tweet said. This guy sure had time on his hands to send out a complaint before boarding had even finished.

[6rugrats]

I missed just what the tweet said. This guy sure had time on his hands to send out a complaint before boarding had even finished.

Well, not being a senior citizen, this guy was used to living his life online. He's probably pretty fast with those fingers as he's not some old geezer who doesn't understand the great social tools such as Twitter.

[trixiegal]

Yep, welcome to the 21st century! Twitter can make or break companies, brands, and people's careers (I'm looking at you, Paula Deen). I love it because it encourages accountability in real time and puts the power back in the customer's hands because we are the ones actually supporting the companies with our money. Nothing wrong about that at all in a capitalistic society that encourages freedom of speech. Sounds like this agent needs more training on conflict resolution.

 

 

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[6rugrats]

I dislike it because anyone can write whatever they please without any consequences. I think it's obvious many times people don't know what they are talking about, are not logical and don't tell the truth.

 

People tend to believe everything they read, ridiculous as it is. If I was this passenger's employer, he would now have a big "Do Not Promote" written on his file. If he couldn't handle this minor annoyance like an adult, how can he handle the workplace?

Edited July 27, 2014 by 6rugrats

[TruckerDave]

I dislike it because anyone can write whatever they please without any consequences. I think it's obvious many times people don't know what they are talking about, are not logical and don't tell the truth.

 

People tend to believe everything they read, ridiculous as it is. If I was this passenger's employer, he would now have a big "Do Not Promote" written on his file. If he couldn't handle this minor annoyance like an adult, how can he handle the workplace?

 

I take all the social network rants with a grain of salt. How many times have we seen a "major issue" pop up on FB or twitter with people getting their shorts all in a knot, ranting and raving...then a day or so later the "real" story comes out or the other side comes out and the original poster looks like a tool.

[UKBayern]

"a Southwest Airlines Employee and Customer were having a conversation that escalated about the airline's family boarding procedures. The Customer was briefly removed from flight #2347 from Denver to Minneapolis/St. Paul to resolve the conversation outside of the aircraft and away from the other Passengers. Our decision was not based solely on a Customer's tweet."

 

Conclusion:

1. There was a major row. "A conversation that escalated" does not sound like a polite exchange of arguments.

2. The decision to take him off the plane was not based solely on the tweet, as I already predicted.

3. He was taken back into the gate for a private conversation with the gate agent, which is the right thing to do to de-escalate the situation. Other passengers don't need to be bothered by some shouting match, importantly the customer does not lose face, and the last thing you want is having the whole aircraft interfere and take sides.

[kenish]

as reported by a reputable news agency- http://abcnews.go.com

 

This is the funniest thing I've read all day!

Edited July 27, 2014 by kenish

[vjmatty]

Honestly, I don't care what you think and I am not trying to impress anybody on an online forum. I am entitled to my opinion without nitpicking about semantics instead of facts to back up a point.

 

Yes you are entitled to your opinion, and those reading it are entitled to respond. The right to say something is doesn't include the right to the last word on the topic.

[dancinman66]

Yeah sounds like a few people had a bad day and collided together

It happens and the airline seems to be dealing with it well

 

 

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[FlyerTalker]

Honestly, I don't care what you think and I am not trying to impress anybody on an online forum. I am entitled to my opinion without nitpicking about semantics instead of facts to back up a point.

Please let us know how well you fare in any legal or contractual situations in the future. Who cares about actual law, wording, semantics or details -- it's all about what you think and your opinion.

 

Just a word to suggest that you will save yourself headaches in the future if you start to focus on details now. Before you become the geezer that you seem to think we are.

 

Words have meanings, and have consequences.