Originally Posted by
flyventure
Where did I say the employee was in the right with the way they behaved? Never said that. What I did say is that people should never be shocked when there is a reaction to what they say. You really think memos are going to go out to the work force? You are clueless to how the company operates. The employee in question will probably have a hearing and get a reprimand, but otherwise the situation won't get much more attention than that.
What should do the GA have done? Simply denied allowing the A-List pax to board early with the kids and say he can go with them later at their spot or they can board separately. When he started getting an attitude with the GA, she should have just referred him to Customer Relations if he isn't happy with the policy. They would have gave him a voucher to make him feel like a special snowflake and move on to the next person.
So, you're right, I don't know SWA, but I do have firsthand experience with other companies, including one of SouthWest's competitors.
Customer service executives understand how challenging the job can be. Customers aren't always angels, and some of the stuff I've seen and heard boggles the mind. From customers exposing themselves to reps over video chat, physical threats, physical assaults... Merely having a bad attitude or complaining about something where the customer is clearly in the wrong is actually pretty tame.
Which brings us to the demands of the job. Anyone in customer service is going to have to deal with people that are sometimes unhappy, upset, dissatisfied, having a bad day, etc. A good customer-facing employee is not the one that just gives them whatever they want (that's the easy way out, and companies have policies for a reason), but is able to be firm with the rules while also staying pleasant and empathetic:
"I understand you feel your children should be able to board with you, Mr. Watson, but unfortunately our rules clearly state you board with the last zone in your party. If you're worried about lack of overhead space, I'd be happy to gate check your bag free of charge..."
If the customer gets combative / negative, you have to remain above the fray. Nothing good will come from an argument, and that customer might normally be the nicest person who just found out they lost their job, or a relative died.
Maybe the GA actually did that, and the passenger was completely wrong in his characterization of her service. Quite frankly, it doesn't really matter, what does matter is that someone pulled the pax and his kids off the flight, and demanded he delete the tweet. That's egregious, and clearly crossing the line.
Take the recent Comcast retention call that's been getting so much news. In both cases, company management is going to get wind of this, want to know what happened, how it happened, and what is being done to keep it from happening again. Sure, they want the specific instance dealt with, but they're going to want to know why it happened in the first place. Did the employee(s) really not know the policy or procedure? Did they just ignore it? When was the last time they were trained on this? If your job is the guy who gets tasked with dealing with this mess, an email / notification reminding employees of a policy is probably the most basic step you take. I guarantee you whoever manages retention for Comcast is doing a whole lot more right now than just writing an email.
In terms of your post, you wrote:
"He is free to say what he wants, but there is a proper way to file a complaint and get it handled. People think they can say whatever and get away with it, sorry it doesn't work that way. You are free to say what you will, but that doesn't mean you get away without any repercussions."
My point is yes, as a customer, you can express your dissatisfaction with a company, or even a specific employee. You can express it to them, their supervisor, your friends, the guy standing next to you, or your social media network. You can name the employee, describe them, state who they work for, where they are located, state what time it happened, etc. No company is going to have an issue with that. Sure, most companies have formal complaint processes, but that is to make life easier for you and the company; you are by no means obligated to use it.
Most importantly, you can complain without any expectation or fear of retribution. That means the chef can't spit in your soup after you criticize your meal, the bus driver can't make you get off before your destination if you criticize his driving, a cop can't arrest you (or beat you up) if you criticize their treatment of someone, a banker can't arbitrarily raise your interest rate, a front desk clerk can't kick you out a hotel for criticizing your check-in experience, and an airline FA/GA can't kick you off a flight for claiming they were rude during boarding.
Customer drunkenness, physical aggression, sexual aggression... those are all different stories. But we've seen nothing whatsoever to allege that, and I'm sure SWA would be the first to dispute the PAX's story if they believe he is making up the part about being told to delete the text.
All public companies want and encourage their customer feedback, good or bad. They genuinely want to improve, even the worst customer service offenders. Anyone that is trying to suppress that is in the wrong. I've watched, both personally and professionally, employees go to great lengths to suppress negative feedback (hanging up on customers, refusing to escalate to a superior, giving fake names, refusing to give any identifying information, etc). It's one of many things customer service executives attempt to combat.