Delta Employee Curse at Customer
Feb 14, 2018, 9:51 am
#61
Join Date: Mar 2010
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Did you watch all of the videos? One of the links posted has multiple clips in it, not just the one with the agent cursing. In one of them, it sounds like the pax explains that he has already tried to go to Hawaiian and that they have sent him back to DL.
Nothing is more frustrating in customer service when different agents or companies keep insisting the problem belongs to someone else. The customer has no way of really knowing who is correct, and is at the mercy of finding someone who is willing to actually be helpful beyond the narrow confines of their particular job. Customers don't know obscure internal policies, we just have things like baggage claim tickets. This is usually the point where the customer starts cursing, but at least from what we see on video, the customer remained very calm and respectful.
Of course we don't know what happened before or after the clips, and of course that could change everything, but from what I am seeing, I see no reason for the DL agent to not at least try to locate the baggage. To at least see if DL has possession, and then, if not, to personally call the HA baggage desk to help close the loop for this DL customer. That's just good basic customer service. The idea that some policy somewhere indicates that this pax is just simply not this agent's problem is meaningless in this moment. The pax was holding a DL baggage claim and needed help, and from what I can see, was being bounced between companies.
Last edited by jdrtravel; Feb 14, 2018 at 12:54 pm
Feb 14, 2018, 12:14 pm
#63
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It's always good to see the DCDNW (Delta Can Do No Wrong) crowd out in full force. It was Delta's flight delays that caused this traveler to have a really lousy day. People who have had long travel days due to delayed flights are not at their best. Front line employees should be trained to de-escalate these situations.
Feb 14, 2018, 12:17 pm
#64
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Here's what I know...
I work in an ER part-time, an environment when I am cussed at, spit at, had my physical safety and the safety of my loved ones threatened. I've been bitten, punched and kicked. I've had chairs and other objects thrown at me. I've had patients and visitors come at me with real and improvised weapons. You name it and I've had it happen. At all times I have been expected to conduct myself as a professional. I have been trained and expected to understand that there may be a lot of things bringing this situation to where it is that I do not know about. You may think there is a difference, but there isn't. True ladies and gentlemen (a la Ritz-Carlton) treat everyone like ladies and gentlemen and so not lower themselves to respond to undignified behavior.
There is just no excuse for what this DL employee did and the airline was correct in suspending him. They would be justified in terminating him if they so chose.
People are going to be ugly and you have have no control over what they do. They only thing you have control over is how you respond.
I work in an ER part-time, an environment when I am cussed at, spit at, had my physical safety and the safety of my loved ones threatened. I've been bitten, punched and kicked. I've had chairs and other objects thrown at me. I've had patients and visitors come at me with real and improvised weapons. You name it and I've had it happen. At all times I have been expected to conduct myself as a professional. I have been trained and expected to understand that there may be a lot of things bringing this situation to where it is that I do not know about. You may think there is a difference, but there isn't. True ladies and gentlemen (a la Ritz-Carlton) treat everyone like ladies and gentlemen and so not lower themselves to respond to undignified behavior.
There is just no excuse for what this DL employee did and the airline was correct in suspending him. They would be justified in terminating him if they so chose.
People are going to be ugly and you have have no control over what they do. They only thing you have control over is how you respond.
Feb 14, 2018, 12:31 pm
#65
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: JFK/LGA
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However, this sort of thinking is why I've never went into the service industry. Service does not equal subordination.
I absolutely hate dealing with customer service representatives. I actively try to avoid it, but I would never ever view a customer service rep as subordinate to me. They are there to help me and provide a service to me.
Feb 14, 2018, 12:35 pm
#66
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I'm not going to comment on this video. I think many made valid points.
However, this sort of thinking is why I've never went into the service industry. Service does not equal subordination.
I absolutely hate dealing with customer service representatives. I actively try to avoid it, but I would never ever view a customer service rep as subordinate to me. They are there to help me and provide a service to me.
However, this sort of thinking is why I've never went into the service industry. Service does not equal subordination.
I absolutely hate dealing with customer service representatives. I actively try to avoid it, but I would never ever view a customer service rep as subordinate to me. They are there to help me and provide a service to me.
Feb 14, 2018, 2:23 pm
#68
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All the Delta agent had to do was, "Well sir, let me punch that baggage claim number into the computer and see what comes up. I see. It appears your bag is on DL flight 1234. Should be here about 2:30." He did not want to do that. He wanted to shuffle the guy off to Hawaiian where he had just come from. It's on him.
Feb 14, 2018, 2:25 pm
#69
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In the ER we do that in the resuscitation rooms to improve quality and outcomes and identify professionalism issues. We all experience it when we call a company and are told "this call may be monitored for customer service." I see no reason why video recordings in certain high-touch environments won't be next.
Feb 14, 2018, 2:37 pm
#70
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 1,079
I suspect it might result in better behavior on both sides. Except when people forget they are there. I personally would love to have them. I have never cursed at an agent but I have seen and personally experienced many rude, passive aggressive, sullen and dismissive airline employees over the course of a long life. While I have also seen unacceptable customer behavior, it was usually due to frustration or possibly mental disorders or drugs. On the other hand, the agent behavior was usually unprovoked, making think this is just the modus operandi of some of these long term employees, especially in ATL and JFK, rather than being pushed over the limit by extreme customer behavior.
Feb 14, 2018, 2:44 pm
#71
Join Date: Mar 2010
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I would think that most areas in most airports are already under video surveillance. I don't know about audio, but I would certainly not have any expectation that I was not being recorded in an airport, given all of the security measures. I don't think any person could claim any reasonable expectation of privacy in an airport, where everything is explicitly subject to search, scanning and other measures.
Feb 14, 2018, 2:53 pm
#72
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And that is because there are conditions that apply to such recordings. In plain language, one cannot simply start recording people.
A lawful recording of an in-person conversation requires that all parties be informed, except under certain circumstances (as defined in the statute, and in this case, the exceptions were not satisfied). Or. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 165.540
It is unlawful to record a “conversation,” which is defined as “the transmission between two or more persons of an oral communication which is not a telecommunication or a radio communication,” unless all participants to the conversation are specifically informed that it is being recorded. Or. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 165.535, 165.540.
Yes, the Delta employee cussed. Whoopdee doo. People need to put their big boy /girl pants on and deal with it without letting loose a bunch of tears. This constant explosion of special needs butt hurt when people who are provoked let off a bit of steam is childish. It's all about getting even, of "punishing" someone else. Mitigating factors, like the customer being a jerk are ignored. Of course it's wrong, to swear at people, but harassing and pestering people will create such an outcome. It is quite obvious that the Delta employee was being harassed, and I have a hunch he was at the point in his career where he wasn't willing to take guff from rude people.
Whatever happened to people being adults and showing restraint? The customer is behaving like a sniveling 12 year old who didn't get a cookie and then starts crying. The old man is now unemployed in a job market that isn't kind to old people.
A minor nothing event that couldn't have benefited from some quiet time has been made into a federal employment practices case. Poor customer service and poor customer behavior on display.
A lawful recording of an in-person conversation requires that all parties be informed, except under certain circumstances (as defined in the statute, and in this case, the exceptions were not satisfied). Or. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 165.540
It is unlawful to record a “conversation,” which is defined as “the transmission between two or more persons of an oral communication which is not a telecommunication or a radio communication,” unless all participants to the conversation are specifically informed that it is being recorded. Or. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 165.535, 165.540.
Yes, the Delta employee cussed. Whoopdee doo. People need to put their big boy /girl pants on and deal with it without letting loose a bunch of tears. This constant explosion of special needs butt hurt when people who are provoked let off a bit of steam is childish. It's all about getting even, of "punishing" someone else. Mitigating factors, like the customer being a jerk are ignored. Of course it's wrong, to swear at people, but harassing and pestering people will create such an outcome. It is quite obvious that the Delta employee was being harassed, and I have a hunch he was at the point in his career where he wasn't willing to take guff from rude people.
Whatever happened to people being adults and showing restraint? The customer is behaving like a sniveling 12 year old who didn't get a cookie and then starts crying. The old man is now unemployed in a job market that isn't kind to old people.
A minor nothing event that couldn't have benefited from some quiet time has been made into a federal employment practices case. Poor customer service and poor customer behavior on display.
Feb 14, 2018, 3:34 pm
#73
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: BNE
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The customer should never be cursed at. It's remarkable to me this needs to be said.
As for the "both sides" comment - I disagree vehemently. The customer and the employee are not peers. One is subordinate to the other. Yes they should both be respectful, however only one side must be. So any vicious cycle is 100% the fault of the employee.
As for the "both sides" comment - I disagree vehemently. The customer and the employee are not peers. One is subordinate to the other. Yes they should both be respectful, however only one side must be. So any vicious cycle is 100% the fault of the employee.
And, importantly- just as a company has a right to fire an employee, they also have a right to fire a customer. I have heard of numerous instances of companies that when faced with their staff receiving abusive conduct such as cursing and insults immediately refund the customer and advise them that they are no longer willing to provide them services. Any company willing to do this, by the way, is worthy of respect - choosing to put employee well-being ahead of profits. Just as I know of many companies that advise their telephone customer service staff to, when faced with angry and abusive customers, inform the customer that they will be terminating the call and simply hang up. No matter what the customer's issue is.
To claim that being in a customer service role makes one immediately subordinate to a customer and therefore mandate that they should have to take any abuse because "only one side must give respect" is patently offensive.
Feb 14, 2018, 3:42 pm
#74
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And that is because there are conditions that apply to such recordings. In plain language, one cannot simply start recording people.
A lawful recording of an in-person conversation requires that all parties be informed, except under certain circumstances (as defined in the statute, and in this case, the exceptions were not satisfied). Or. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 165.540
It is unlawful to record a “conversation,” which is defined as “the transmission between two or more persons of an oral communication which is not a telecommunication or a radio communication,” unless all participants to the conversation are specifically informed that it is being recorded. Or. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 165.535, 165.540.
Yes, the Delta employee cussed. Whoopdee doo. People need to put their big boy /girl pants on and deal with it without letting loose a bunch of tears. This constant explosion of special needs butt hurt when people who are provoked let off a bit of steam is childish. It's all about getting even, of "punishing" someone else. Mitigating factors, like the customer being a jerk are ignored. Of course it's wrong, to swear at people, but harassing and pestering people will create such an outcome. It is quite obvious that the Delta employee was being harassed, and I have a hunch he was at the point in his career where he wasn't willing to take guff from rude people.
Whatever happened to people being adults and showing restraint? The customer is behaving like a sniveling 12 year old who didn't get a cookie and then starts crying. The old man is now unemployed in a job market that isn't kind to old people.
A minor nothing event that couldn't have benefited from some quiet time has been made into a federal employment practices case. Poor customer service and poor customer behavior on display.
A lawful recording of an in-person conversation requires that all parties be informed, except under certain circumstances (as defined in the statute, and in this case, the exceptions were not satisfied). Or. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 165.540
It is unlawful to record a “conversation,” which is defined as “the transmission between two or more persons of an oral communication which is not a telecommunication or a radio communication,” unless all participants to the conversation are specifically informed that it is being recorded. Or. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 165.535, 165.540.
Yes, the Delta employee cussed. Whoopdee doo. People need to put their big boy /girl pants on and deal with it without letting loose a bunch of tears. This constant explosion of special needs butt hurt when people who are provoked let off a bit of steam is childish. It's all about getting even, of "punishing" someone else. Mitigating factors, like the customer being a jerk are ignored. Of course it's wrong, to swear at people, but harassing and pestering people will create such an outcome. It is quite obvious that the Delta employee was being harassed, and I have a hunch he was at the point in his career where he wasn't willing to take guff from rude people.
Whatever happened to people being adults and showing restraint? The customer is behaving like a sniveling 12 year old who didn't get a cookie and then starts crying. The old man is now unemployed in a job market that isn't kind to old people.
A minor nothing event that couldn't have benefited from some quiet time has been made into a federal employment practices case. Poor customer service and poor customer behavior on display.
Feb 14, 2018, 4:17 pm
#75
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Anchorage, AK
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Posts: 215
This is what's wrong with society. You're freaking out over one person having a camera with 100's of other cameras on the ceiling while defending the employee cursing at a customer. This took place at PDX in Oregon, which is a one-party consent state, AND the customer clearly had his phone out, he wasn't secretly recording/wiretapping anything. The person filming consented so no laws were broken.