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September 7th, 2004, 19:24
| #1 |
| Junior Member  Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: CSG
Posts: 186
|  If your large don\'t fly SWA
[ QUOTE ] From: http://www.aetv.com/tv/shows/airline/ All Shapes and Sizes Monday, August 28 at 10:30pm/9:30C Storyline 1 At Baltimore, Tiffany Wise is on her way to California, but she’s been told her size requires her to purchase another seat. She's not remotely happy about this, and she tells the airline in no uncertain terms...  [/ QUOTE ] Notice this woman is crying, and there calling her Fat in front of the entire free world. I refuse to believe this lady could not have been accommodated. If you ask me its an ADA violation. If nothing else they could have put her on a later flight that wasn’t sold out. BUT they wanted to SELL her an extra ticket. Why does SWA like to use the show to publicize to the world they just how bad there customer service skills are? |
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September 7th, 2004, 19:40
| #2 |
| Junior Member  Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 114
| Re: If your large don\'t fly SWA
Well, its more of a safety issue than anything else. If you cant get one seatbelt to fit around you, you need more than one seat. Also, don't tell me that you think just because southwest is the only one who shows this on T.V. that means southwest is the only one with this policy.
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September 7th, 2004, 19:42
| #3 |
| Old Skool  Join Date: May 2002 Location: Maryland
Posts: 15,922
   | Re: If your large don\'t fly SWA
What is the problem here? Take up two seats? Then pay for them! What is wrong with people? Do you go to a restaurant and pay for one meal and demand two? Okay, then. If you take up two seats, then you need to pay for them! |
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September 7th, 2004, 19:56
| #4 |
| Senior Member  Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: LAX
Posts: 658
| Re: If your large don\'t fly SWA
What about the person sitting next to her in the seat they paid for? If she didn't have 2 seats, her fat ass would be squashing them and making their flight miserable. Have you ever sat next to a really fat person on an airline, I have...it's no fun, they take up half your damn seat. I'm glad they have the policy. If your to fat to get the armrest down, you need 2 seats! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img] ...and BTW, I saw the show, Southwest never once called her fat...she was the one making a big scene and making all the "fat" comments. |
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September 7th, 2004, 20:03
| #5 |
| Old Skool  Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Georgia
Posts: 3,389
| Re: If your large don\'t fly SWA
First of all this lady had to sign a release for this episode to be shown. She was loving the chance to cry for the cameras and let everyone know how unfair everyone is to her.
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September 7th, 2004, 20:20
| #6 |
| Old Skool  Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: BHB - Maine
Posts: 3,135
| Re: If your large don\'t fly SWA
Ditto... She paid for one seat not two. Cut back on the twinkies lady!!! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img] |
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September 7th, 2004, 20:24
| #7 |
| Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: CSG
Posts: 186
| Re: If your large don\'t fly SWA
No sympathy from this tough crowd. I can see you all at the airport now “If you can’t fit between the arm rests, get your fat @ss on a diet” [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] I am not abdicating the inconvenience of any other passenger or the loss of revenue for SWA. I’m just saying they could have let her sit in the seat she paid for, and a seat that was empty anyway. I’m sure you guys have never done it, but when I am sitting in an otherwise empty row, I tend to stretch into more that just the seat I paid for. I would be extremely upset if the FA came by and said sorry Mr. Sexton if your going to stretch into the empty seat your going to have to pay for it. Its all about customer service, customer service, and oh yeah customer service. If there was a second seat for her to purchase that means there was at least one seat empty anyway. If this flight was too full and they couldn't spare the extra seat, let her catch the next flight with several extra seats. Always remember when the customers disappear so does the airline. If there were no customers there would be no pilots, no fa's, no rampers, no csa's. |
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September 7th, 2004, 20:30
| #8 |
| Junior Member Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 114
| Re: If your large don\'t fly SWA
I do remember one episode where they made a guy pay when there was only about 20 people on the plane. But what should the official policy be? You only have to pay if there is a certain amount of people on board? How fair is that?
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September 7th, 2004, 20:34
| #9 |
| Old Skool Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: BHB - Maine
Posts: 3,135
| Re: If your large don\'t fly SWA
Actually the policy is the chubby ones have to buy an extra ticket and if it turns out that that they don’t need it (not a full flight) they get a refund. Pretty darn reasonable I think.
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September 7th, 2004, 20:37
| #10 |
| Big Chief's Woman  | Re: If your large don\'t fly SWA
i'm thinking they could have accomodated her by having her become a standby passenger.. and IF they had two empty seats next to each other, then she could have taken that... but if the flight were full, she'd be bumped to the next flight or she could pay for the seat... but she did sign a release for the show and that just shows poor decorum in my book (tears won't work for that). |
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September 7th, 2004, 20:38
| #11 |
| Senior Member  Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Prescott, AZ
Posts: 928
| Re: If your large don\'t fly SWA
SWA makes their policy on this very clear. If this lady doesn't like it, she can fly another airline.
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September 7th, 2004, 20:42
| #12 |
| Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: CSG
Posts: 186
| Re: If your large don\'t fly SWA
[ QUOTE ] Actually the policy is the chubby ones have to buy an extra ticket and if it turns out that that they don’t need it (not a full flight) they get a refund. Pretty darn reasonable I think. [/ QUOTE ] Hey I could go for that one! But what do they consider a full flight? 80%? 90%? Something like "If the flight is 80% or less full you get a refund" sounds reasonable to me. I look at it like this: Example 1: Fat Lady purchased a ticket for $150, you pissed her off she "never fly's on your airline again" Total XYZ Airlines Made: $150 Example 2: Fat Lady purchased a ticket for $150, you let her stand-by for a space available extra seat, she fly's your airline twice a year for 10 years. Total ABC Airlines Made: $3,000 Now if your Mr. CEO trying to stay in the black, which would you rather? |
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September 7th, 2004, 20:44
| #13 |
| Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: CSG
Posts: 186
| Re: If your large don\'t fly SWA
[ QUOTE ] If this lady doesn't like it, she can fly another airline. [/ QUOTE ] Nothing personal but that is piss poor customer service, and exactly why all your planes would most likely be parked in the desert if you were running an airline. Again, if there are no customers, there are no planes, no pilots, not fo's, no fa's, no rampers, and no csa's. [ QUOTE ] i'm thinking they could have accomodated her by having her become a standby passenger.. and IF they had two empty seats next to each other, then she could have taken that... but if the flight were full, she'd be bumped to the next flight or she could pay for the seat... [/ QUOTE ] My thoughts exactly. |
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September 7th, 2004, 20:45
| #14 |
| Old Skool Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Georgia
Posts: 3,389
| Re: If your large don\'t fly SWA
[ QUOTE ] Its all about customer service, customer service, and oh yeah customer service. If there was a second seat for her to purchase that means there was at least one seat empty anyway. If this flight was too full and they couldn't spare the extra seat, let her catch the next flight with several extra seats. Always remember when the customers disappear so does the airline. If there were no customers there would be no pilots, no fa's, no rampers, no csa's. [/ QUOTE ] No one is a bigger advocate of custmer service on this forum than me. And what I saw of the whole thing was the SWA people trying to be discrete and courteous. She was only going to have to pay for the seat if none was otherwise available. This is more about consideration for their other passengers, customers also. This means they don't get put in an impossibly uncomfortable position, just becaues this customer insists on pretending she only occupies one seat. |
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September 7th, 2004, 20:57
| #15 |
| Junior Member Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 114
| Re: If your large don\'t fly SWA
[ QUOTE ] Nothing personal but that is piss poor customer service, and exactly why all your planes would most likely be parked in the desert if you were running an airline. [/ QUOTE ] And what exactly qualifies you to be saying this? |
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September 7th, 2004, 21:01
| #16 |
| Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: CSG
Posts: 186
| Re: If your large don\'t fly SWA
[ QUOTE ] And what exactly qualifies you to be saying this? [/ QUOTE ] Um yeah, if you have no customer's you can't stay in business. Learned that in High School economics. -- And really I meant it when I stated Nothing Personal. The comment was not directed at you as an individual, but at the prevailing attitude around here about anything concerning customer service. It amazes me how almost everyone’s attitude seems to be "Screw the customer, let them go fly another airline". Can anyone name even one successful business model that includes “Screw the Customer, let them go somewhere else”? [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img] [ QUOTE ] The standby option could also work, but if a person wants to guarantee that they are on the flight then they will need to purchase two seats up front. [/ QUOTE ] 100% agree. Standby or purchase second seat for guarantee. |
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September 7th, 2004, 21:07
| #17 |
| Old Skool Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: BHB - Maine
Posts: 3,135
| Re: If your large don\'t fly SWA
[ QUOTE ] Hey I could go for that one! But what do they consider a full flight? 80%? 90%? Something like "If the flight is 80% or less full you get a refund" sounds reasonable to me. [/ QUOTE ] I don’t think it is a question of how full the flight is. If they can get her a pair of seats side by side and nobody else is left off she gets a refund. If the flight is full then she uses the second ticket she has paid for. The standby option could also work, but if a person wants to guarantee that they are on the flight then they will need to purchase two seats up front. The best option for the vast majority of obese people is to lose a whole bunch of weight. Only a very small percentage of severely overweight people got that way because of medical or genetic reasons. Most are that fat because they sit on their bubble butts and take in way too many calories. Many of these folks are twice my size (and I am 215) and they in effect take of the space of two people. If you are the size of two people then you should have to pay the price for two people. |
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September 7th, 2004, 21:35
| #18 |
| Old Skool  | Re: If your large don\'t fly SWA
You bet, if you take up the space of two then you have should have to pay for two. Forget about hurting feelings, this is business, besides, it is nasty when somebody's blubber intrudes into my personal space. |
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September 7th, 2004, 21:41
| #19 |
| Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Prescott, AZ
Posts: 928
| Re: If your large don\'t fly SWA
[ QUOTE ] Nothing personal but that is piss poor customer service, and exactly why all your planes would most likely be parked in the desert if you were running an airline. Again, if there are no customers, there are no planes, no pilots, not fo's, no fa's, no rampers, and no csa's. [/ QUOTE ] Certainly customer service is important, but it's impossible to please all of your customers. Seriously, my reasoning here is that the airline sets a certain policy for a reason. If a small percentage of your customers don't like it, then that's unfortunate for them. If an airline like SWA began letting "larger" folks squeeze into one seat to the chagrin of other paying passengers, they're going to lose far more business than if you require a few large people to pay for an extra seat. That's something I learned in upper-level collegiate airline industry classes. Sorry. |
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September 7th, 2004, 21:46
| #20 |
| Old Skool  Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Mid-Atlantic, KMRB
Posts: 1,925
| Re: If your large don\'t fly SWA
[ QUOTE ] ADA violation [/ QUOTE ] American w/ Disabilities Act??? Give me a break! If that's the case, then according to recent studies and news reports, most of America is disabled. Is she disabled because she needs two seats? NO. If she can walk to the airport, walk to her gate, walk onto a plane, all on her own she does not seem disabled. One is not disabled simply because they are large. Even if it was from a disease, it's curable. One of my roommates in college, Soph-senior years was a guy who had an inactive thyroid, caused him to be big . . . at one point he weighed over 300 lbs . . . he decided he wanted to join the military, worked out twice a day, dropped down to about 210, and has recently completed boot camp for the Navy and is currently in Tech School . . . after watching him, I tend to turn a deaf ear to excuses about problems, because physical activity can cure what is not a disease. |
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September 7th, 2004, 21:49
| #21 |
| Senior Member  Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: 3rd Rock From the Sun
Posts: 869
| Re: If your large don\'t fly SWA
I watched this episode and I didn't see anything wrong with what SWA did. What they did was told a large person to buy another seat, they told her that if the flight was not full they would refund her second seat. She also at first wanted her money back and well, southwest did. But they credited her father's credit card, not give her back cash. I do not any stores giving actual money back, gift cards are now the thing (at least at target). But in the end she did fly and I totally agree with the airline. Hopefully soon, I will be flying Be 1900, and I can not see flying her and her "lunch buddies" around [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]
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September 7th, 2004, 21:49
| #22 |
| Senior Member  Join Date: May 2004 Location: Boston
Posts: 616
| Re: If your large don\'t fly SWA
Why does Southwest want to show the whole world that they have very unhappy customers and the employees can't do anything about it?
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September 7th, 2004, 21:50
| #23 |
| Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: CSG
Posts: 186
| Re: If your large don\'t fly SWA
[ QUOTE ] If an airline like SWA began letting "larger" folks squeeze into one seat to the chagrin of other paying passengers, they're going to lose far more business than if you require a few large people to pay for an extra seat. [/ QUOTE ] Who said anything about letting them inconvenience any other passengers? Or giving them another seat that SWA could have sold? More than once I said "Stand by for an open seat or pay for a guaranteed seat". In this case standby would mean sitting at the gate until closing time when all the other priority standby's were processed and if there were 2 or more open seats side by side letting the large lady sit in them, if there were not, she’d have to wait for the next plane. How could SWA possibly loose money or inconvenience another customer? |
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September 7th, 2004, 22:00
| #24 |
| Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: CSG
Posts: 186
| Re: If your large don\'t fly SWA
[ QUOTE ] American w/ Disabilities Act??? Give me a break! If that's the case, then according to recent studies and news reports, most of America is disabled. Is she disabled because she needs two seats? NO. If she can walk to the airport, walk to her gate, walk onto a plane, all on her own she does not seem disabled. One is not disabled simply because they are large. [/ QUOTE ] Hey Trail lawyers have one millions on a lot less. If she has a doctor’s note stating she has a debilitating form of obesity or something like that.... On a serious note, I really thought there was some ADA regulation on “large seating” I know several local theatres installed large seats for “large people” but I can’t find it now…. [ QUOTE ] Why does Southwest want to show the whole world that they have very unhappy customers and the employees can't do anything about it? [/ QUOTE ] One of my original questions, that show paints them in a very bad light. Even if the don't deserve it. |
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September 7th, 2004, 22:07
| #25 |
| Old Skool  Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Inside your OODA loop
Posts: 7,148
| Re: If your large don\'t fly SWA
[ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] ADA violation [/ QUOTE ] American w/ Disabilities Act??? Give me a break! If that's the case, then according to recent studies and news reports, most of America is disabled. [/ QUOTE ] Don't think that SWA's execs didn't factor that in when coming up with this hair-brained but revenue-generating policy. I mean, if you can get away with charging someone twice the fare, why wouldn't you? They do it to business travelers all the time! I don't subscribe to the notion that you're buying a certain amount of "space" on an aircraft, either; I believe passengers are contracting for carriage--that is, transport of a person--from Point A to Point B. Make no mistake, this "fat policy" is just a way to gouge customers. |
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