Complaint about using my Kindle - In the category of unbelievable stuff...
#31
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: New York, United States
Posts: 222
#32
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Argentina
Posts: 40,208
I don't think you can class her request as being unbelievable...if it was shining in her face. She was perfectly entitled to politely ask you to either stop reading it or change your reading angle to prevent the light from being reflected into her face.
OTOH if she was wanting to sleep then maybe she should have been carrying eye shades.
I have to admit to not being a Kindle user......I much prefer to read a paperback book instead.
OTOH if she was wanting to sleep then maybe she should have been carrying eye shades.
I have to admit to not being a Kindle user......I much prefer to read a paperback book instead.
#33
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: UK
Programs: BA EC Gold
Posts: 9,236
I do find your attitude a bit puzzling. No one's being defensive, no one's saying they dot also bug people from time to time. All they're saying is that it is apparently annoying from time to time and that people should be considerate when asked politely to quit. I am really failing to see the problem here.
#34
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: NOC/LAX
Posts: 432
I'm kind of surprised by the bulk of the responses here, because on FT, the mantra seems to be that if you are bothered by something another passenger is doing, the problem is yours to solve.
For example, if someone is bothered by a loud conversation, they should wear earplugs. If someone is bothered by light streaming through a window, they should wear an eye mask.
Honest question: Why is this any different? If the woman wanted to sleep and/or was bothered by the reflection, shouldn't she have just turned the other way?
For example, if someone is bothered by a loud conversation, they should wear earplugs. If someone is bothered by light streaming through a window, they should wear an eye mask.
Honest question: Why is this any different? If the woman wanted to sleep and/or was bothered by the reflection, shouldn't she have just turned the other way?
According to the story we have the woman did not ask the OP to angle the Kindle slightly in another direction. She asked for the light to be turned off and, therefore, for the OP to cease reading. No matter how politely it was phrased, this is an unreasonable request.
I just took my Kindle and shined a flashlight on it and angled it in many directions. It is at best a very mild glare not even in the same ballpark as the sun bouncing off a car, as some have tried to liken this to. If the cabin was extremely dark I can see it being a mild annoyance to which the woman should have looked another way or politely let the OP know so he could angle it slightly differently. She did neither.
#35
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 4,734
My thoughts exactly. The attitude generally is to blame the innocent passenger for being bothered when the culprit is doing something rude. In this case we have someone quietly reading and an apparently really sensitive woman behind, and yet now the OP is expected to be the one to change.
I just took my Kindle and shined a flashlight on it and angled it in many directions. It is at best a very mild glare not even in the same ballpark as the sun bouncing off a car, as some have tried to liken this to. If the cabin was extremely dark I can see it being a mild annoyance to which the woman should have looked another way or politely let the OP know so he could angle it slightly differently. She did neither.
When glare is directed straight into your face, just turning your head is not very effective. The OP was causing a problem for another pax, and she asked for it to be resolved. There wasn't any mention of sitting kicking, hair pulling or any other extreme demands being made; I think she was perfectly reasonable to politely ask for a change.
#36
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 524
I'm with the original poster. This complaint is so trivial it's ridiculous to bring up. I have a hard time seeing how anyone who is phased by such a minor thing could even function without being constantly paralyzed by annoyance.
#38
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: NOC/LAX
Posts: 432
You're assuming that the woman knew the Kindle could not be read without the overhead light and that in requesting the overhead be turned off she was actually telling the OP to stop reading.
It is unlikely that your flashlight could replicate the intensity of the overhead light, and so your conclusions as to the brightness of the glare are suspect.
The only time the light created anymore than a mild annoyance was when I held it close to the Kindle. Unless the OP was standing and reading this would obviously have not been the case.
When glare is directed straight into your face, just turning your head is not very effective. The OP was causing a problem for another pax, and she asked for it to be resolved. There wasn't any mention of sitting kicking, hair pulling or any other extreme demands being made; I think she was perfectly reasonable to politely ask for a change.
#39
Join Date: Dec 2011
Programs: UA 1P
Posts: 545
Good grief. What is the matter with people?
If you're creating an easily remedied condition that causes someone else discomfort, the considerate thing to do is to remedy it - not rant and rave about how "unreasonable" the other person is for being uncomfortable.
It is extraordinarily difficult to "just not look" in a particular direction for any length of time, particularly during a long flight. Much easier to move your Kindle a few millimeters to the left or right to eliminate the glare. Or, better yet, adjust the angle of the overhead light. Problem solved.
I have a really simple rule when I fly. It is: Don't be a jerk if I can help it. If I were unknowingly doing something that made someone else uncomfortable, I'd want to know so I could fix the situation.
If you're creating an easily remedied condition that causes someone else discomfort, the considerate thing to do is to remedy it - not rant and rave about how "unreasonable" the other person is for being uncomfortable.
It is extraordinarily difficult to "just not look" in a particular direction for any length of time, particularly during a long flight. Much easier to move your Kindle a few millimeters to the left or right to eliminate the glare. Or, better yet, adjust the angle of the overhead light. Problem solved.
I have a really simple rule when I fly. It is: Don't be a jerk if I can help it. If I were unknowingly doing something that made someone else uncomfortable, I'd want to know so I could fix the situation.
#40
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 971
"Are people here so incredibly fragile that they can't accept someone making a polite request?"
Just wondering if everyone who thinks the reader should change for the behind-the-seat complainer also would have no problem with putting their seats back more upright when I ask them nicely? Because it is making me so uncomfortable, and I asked so politely?
Or is that different?
Just wondering if everyone who thinks the reader should change for the behind-the-seat complainer also would have no problem with putting their seats back more upright when I ask them nicely? Because it is making me so uncomfortable, and I asked so politely?
Or is that different?
#41
Join Date: Dec 2011
Programs: UA 1P
Posts: 545
"Are people here so incredibly fragile that they can't accept someone making a polite request?"
Just wondering if everyone who thinks the reader should change for the behind-the-seat complainer also would have no problem with putting their seats back more upright when I ask them nicely? Because it is making me so uncomfortable, and I asked so politely?
Or is that different?
Just wondering if everyone who thinks the reader should change for the behind-the-seat complainer also would have no problem with putting their seats back more upright when I ask them nicely? Because it is making me so uncomfortable, and I asked so politely?
Or is that different?
But there are a million other threads that address that particular issue. And passionate arguments on both sides.
#42
Suspended
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: NYC
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 1,424
"Are people here so incredibly fragile that they can't accept someone making a polite request?"
Just wondering if everyone who thinks the reader should change for the behind-the-seat complainer also would have no problem with putting their seats back more upright when I ask them nicely? Because it is making me so uncomfortable, and I asked so politely?
Or is that different?
Just wondering if everyone who thinks the reader should change for the behind-the-seat complainer also would have no problem with putting their seats back more upright when I ask them nicely? Because it is making me so uncomfortable, and I asked so politely?
Or is that different?
Of course I wouldn't mind trying to find a mutually agreeable solution if a polite request were made.
But I guess this is what happens when one has a healthy ego and is not a "DYKWIA".
My agreeable personality and calm approach to situations has worked well for me all of my life.
#43
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 4,734
"Are people here so incredibly fragile that they can't accept someone making a polite request?"
Just wondering if everyone who thinks the reader should change for the behind-the-seat complainer also would have no problem with putting their seats back more upright when I ask them nicely? Because it is making me so uncomfortable, and I asked so politely?
Or is that different?
Just wondering if everyone who thinks the reader should change for the behind-the-seat complainer also would have no problem with putting their seats back more upright when I ask them nicely? Because it is making me so uncomfortable, and I asked so politely?
Or is that different?
#44
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 4,734
#45
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: New York, United States
Posts: 222
regardless if the glare caused an issue, or it couldn't have caused a glare...
the easiest, quickest, and non-escalating thing that could have been done was to just simply tilt the kindle... glare is gone and problem should be solved. both parties would be happy, other person can do whatever and rest, OP can read
the easiest, quickest, and non-escalating thing that could have been done was to just simply tilt the kindle... glare is gone and problem should be solved. both parties would be happy, other person can do whatever and rest, OP can read