US Airways Dividend Miles - An unusual response from US?

Before I begin, this is neither a rant, nor a troll attack, I just wondered what people thought of the way US recently resolved an issue.

A relative recently flew on a TATL award ticket in J, using my miles. The relative in question needs a seat belt extender. It may (or may not) make a difference to how people respond to this post to note that my relative's weight issues are due to an underlying medical problem, rather than gluttony.

Anyway, the extender was requested. The FA in question went to fetch it, and said loudly to another FA "boy, we have a lot of fatties on board today! You know when you need one of these {motioning to the extender) you're in big trouble" This was heard quite clearly, my relative being right at the front of the cabin.

Another passenger complained about this (having been sat nearby) as by this stage my relative was quite clearly upset at the comments. The FA in question simply walked off without a word. His colleague did apologise, suggesting (oddly) "he {meaning the first FA} has a problem, because he's short."

What with it being my miles used, I send US an e-mail, complaining about this behaviour.

I was pleasantly surprised when someone called within 2 days from somewhere in AZ, and collected my relative's details to speak to them directly. They were called within an hour. Bravo to US on that front.

The odd part was this - whilst the person who called both me and my relative (same guy) was apologetic, he ended both calls very strangely. His parting comment was that, whilst the FA shouldn't have said what he said, the US Constitution protected his ability to do so, and as a result US wasn't legally liable.

The reason this threw me is that no-one had said a word about liability, nor even asked for any sort of recompense. The conversation was wholly civil, as all I had ever wanted was someone to apologise for the upset caused to my relative.

I just wondered if anyone else had encountered such a strangely defensive attitude when dealing with US. I very much got the impression the caller was worried about things being taken further. The thought of that had never occured to me, nor would it.

As I said at the outset, this isn't designed to be a rant, nor a volley of US bashing. I was quite pleased they got back to me so quick, especially as I recently dropped back to being a silver.

Thanks for reading.

First, i find the behavior of the first FA totally unprofessional. I am glad that US airways responded to your complaint by calling both you and your relative.

Regarding the liability issue mentioned in the response, i can only think that it is a sign of our time. Nowadays, people complain and ask for compensation pretty much about anything.

For a person that handles those complaints, it is not strange that the first thing that comes into his mind is that a compensation claim is coming up, even though it was not your intention to do so. I guess in these cases, you have to clarify what your motivation is (unfortunately).

The odd part was this - whilst the person who called both me and my relative (same guy) was apologetic, he ended both calls very strangely. His parting comment was that, whilst the FA shouldn't have said what he said, the US Constitution protected his ability to do so, and as a result US wasn't legally liable.

Wonder if US is being sued over a defamatory remark made by an employee?

One thing is clear - the US rep isn't a Constitutional lawyer. While the Constitution supposedly protects from government limits on free speech, that line has gotten quite blurred. Slander, defamation of character, limits on where citizens can exercise free speech, etc all exist. Try talking about hijacking an airliner as you go through security and you'll quickly find that freedom of speech isn't freedom to say anything anywhere.

His misplaced attempt to claim freedom from liability would have been better left unsaid.

Jim

Especially if you mentioned the relative's medical issue as the source of his/her weight problem, I wonder if the US person who called was concerned about potential disability discrimination issues.

Freedom of speech is one thing, being unprofessional is something else. US can stop this behavior. Look at what happened with the AA FA who went on that rant, are they protected by freedom of speech?

Before I begin, this is neither a rant, nor a troll attack, I just wondered what people thought of the way US recently resolved an issue.

A relative recently flew on a TATL award ticket in J, using my miles. The relative in question needs a seat belt extender. It may (or may not) make a difference to how people respond to this post to note that my relative's weight issues are due to an underlying medical problem, rather than gluttony.

Anyway, the extender was requested. The FA in question went to fetch it, and said loudly to another FA "boy, we have a lot of fatties on board today! You know when you need one of these {motioning to the extender) you're in big trouble" This was heard quite clearly, my relative being right at the front of the cabin.

Another passenger complained about this (having been sat nearby) as by this stage my relative was quite clearly upset at the comments. The FA in question simply walked off without a word. His colleague did apologise, suggesting (oddly) "he {meaning the first FA} has a problem, because he's short."

What with it being my miles used, I send US an e-mail, complaining about this behaviour.

I was pleasantly surprised when someone called within 2 days from somewhere in AZ, and collected my relative's details to speak to them directly. They were called within an hour. Bravo to US on that front.

The odd part was this - whilst the person who called both me and my relative (same guy) was apologetic, he ended both calls very strangely. His parting comment was that, whilst the FA shouldn't have said what he said, the US Constitution protected his ability to do so, and as a result US wasn't legally liable.

The reason this threw me is that no-one had said a word about liability, nor even asked for any sort of recompense. The conversation was wholly civil, as all I had ever wanted was someone to apologise for the upset caused to my relative.

I just wondered if anyone else had encountered such a strangely defensive attitude when dealing with US. I very much got the impression the caller was worried about things being taken further. The thought of that had never occured to me, nor would it.

As I said at the outset, this isn't designed to be a rant, nor a volley of US bashing. I was quite pleased they got back to me so quick, especially as I recently dropped back to being a silver.

Thanks for reading.

Finding good employees is hard in any business :confused: