I guess that we just see this differently, Matt.
Originally Posted by
GNRMatt
I think you're missing the point here. First off, I'm only looking to make comparisons to purchasing of other products. A business transaction. I'm not looking to compare this to other things in life. So, pulling out the employee/employer relationship has nothing to do with this whatsoever.
OP paid AA for a product, part of which wasn't delivered as promised (outlets). In the employment example, the employer paid for a product/service (report by a certain time) which either wasn't delivered at all or wasn't usable. An employment situation
is a business relationship. The employer is paying the employee for something, be it a product (piece work), his/her time (plumber, electrician, lawyer), etc. In the example I gave, the employee was paid to do something which s/he did not.
Originally Posted by
GNRMatt
Secondly, I don't think you need to check everything as a passenger. However, the OP said "Without outlets I am unable to use my laptop the whole flight so it is a somewhat big deal to me." This was an important feature of the flight for the OP. There are no lies involved here and no swindling involved.
Hang on a sec. A "somewhat big deal" is far from "a critical element" or "the main reason I chose AA."
Your suggestion was, "Tell them that you flew with them because of the outlet availability advertised on their website and if a lack of maintenance is the reason for it not being available for you, they should pay up." But the OP never suggested that that was why s/he chose AA, only that it was "somewhat important." So why would you suggest that the OP tell AA something which doesn't appear to be true? Is it OK to lie/embellish/exaggerate (pick one) to enhance one's chances of getting compensation? I suggest that it is not.
Originally Posted by
GNRMatt
The OP saw that AA offered a feature on their planes, which they failed to deliver.
Agreed. So how does this differ from running out of red wine, also advertised as a feature on the plane?
Originally Posted by
GNRMatt
My whole point here is when a business (airline or not) advertises a product and sells you a product based on features in the marketing of the product, they should deliver all of those features they marketed. If they fail to deliver on a certain aspect, it is fair for a consumer to seek some type of settlement to make up for that.
Which brings us back to my earlier question: Do words equivalent to "That's OK, I wasn't going to use it anyway..." never pass your lips?