Deaf couple and discrimination at DTW...thoughts?
Jan 30, 2019, 10:02 am
#16
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Another case of "You didn't comply with my totally unreasonable demand just because I am (pick one or more: Black, Asian, White, Indian, Christian, Muslism, Old, Lesbian, Gay, Straight, Trans, Athiest, Tattooed, Disabled, Obese, Female, Autistic, Male, Foreign, Hindu, A Patriots Fan, Canadian, Blind, Have 9 Kids With Me, A Super-Platinum-Triple-Unobtainium Member, In Economy, Environmentalist, Vegetarian, Conservative, Catholic, Circumcised)
The fact one of them had a BE ticket adds some nice intrigue to the what should have been a non-story.
Jan 30, 2019, 10:14 am
#17
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Wow! I didn't hear it. Those deaf couple want to sit together, not want to sit alone. This is ridiculous! GA should learn how to do sign language. They do not have an interpreter. They need to understand what they are doing. Let GA doing their jobs.
Jan 30, 2019, 10:14 am
#18
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But these customers would have never said a word to this below average creature of a GA working their flight if they just BOUGHT THE SEATS TOGETHER.
The best conflict resolution is avoiding it in the first place whenever possible.
And there are bad people in customer service. A huge company cannot perfectly eliminate all of these folks. There are decent people in customer service who become ornery when dragged too far "out of the box" in their job. Maybe the boarding process was running late and they needed to expedite things. There are decent people in customer service who are having a bad day, also. Not all bad people, or decent people having a bad day, are discriminating against a certain groups. They are plenty of equal opportunity offenders and situations out there.
That's the free market. This lawsuit will get tossed. And these customers might fly Southwest next time just as two people might choose to switch from Southwest to Delta because they could not sit together after arriving at the gate a little late.
The best conflict resolution is avoiding it in the first place whenever possible.
And there are bad people in customer service. A huge company cannot perfectly eliminate all of these folks. There are decent people in customer service who become ornery when dragged too far "out of the box" in their job. Maybe the boarding process was running late and they needed to expedite things. There are decent people in customer service who are having a bad day, also. Not all bad people, or decent people having a bad day, are discriminating against a certain groups. They are plenty of equal opportunity offenders and situations out there.
That's the free market. This lawsuit will get tossed. And these customers might fly Southwest next time just as two people might choose to switch from Southwest to Delta because they could not sit together after arriving at the gate a little late.
Jan 30, 2019, 10:16 am
#19
Join Date: Dec 2017
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As someone with a disability who flies regularly, I can see how this could be a confusing experience for infrequent travelers. Discrimination is rampant in our society, but you do have to learn appropriate coping skills to get your needs met effectively in the moment. That said, DL’s disability services staff are the best of the airlines I fly. I have found that the combination of submitting requests online at the time of booking, closely monitoring my seat location, and making a friendly reminder call around T-24 to confirm any requests generally provides for a good experience. Approaching all staff interactions with a smile and patience goes a long way. If there is an issue request a red coat or contact the disability desk; most of the time simply asking to go up the chain of command magically solves the problem.
Jan 30, 2019, 10:20 am
#20
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With all due respect, speaking as a deaf person, it's unreasonable to expect the GA to know sign language. Writing back and forth (regardless of what the answer would be) is sufficient. Or use iPhone's dictation feature to speak and let it translate into text.
Jan 30, 2019, 10:30 am
#21
Join Date: Oct 2017
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As someone with a disability who flies regularly, I can see how this could be a confusing experience for infrequent travelers. Discrimination is rampant in our society, but you do have to learn appropriate coping skills to get your needs met effectively in the moment. That said, DL’s disability services staff are the best of the airlines I fly. I have found that the combination of submitting requests online at the time of booking, closely monitoring my seat location, and making a friendly reminder call around T-24 to confirm any requests generally provides for a good experience. Approaching all staff interactions with a smile and patience goes a long way. If there is an issue request a red coat or contact the disability desk; most of the time simply asking to go up the chain of command magically solves the problem.
Jan 30, 2019, 10:39 am
#22
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stop it; you know full well that’s not always possible
Jan 30, 2019, 11:03 am
#23
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Jan 30, 2019, 12:01 pm
#25
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You don't do it at the gate only after you discover that you could not get seats together in the conventional manner.
Jan 30, 2019, 1:54 pm
#26
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As for the GA/them alleging the pushing... I can't comment on that as video of that wasn't shared. I can see it probably happening as Socorro trying to get the crumpled paper from the trash bin, and the GA physically blocking her from entering the podium. As things were getting heated, it's possible things happened during the heat of the moment that caused misunderstandings.
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People do really dumb things at the airport. We used to joke that people forget to pack their brains when flying.
Jan 30, 2019, 2:10 pm
#27
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Cleveland, OH USA
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Couple stated that the GA did nothing to help them? My question is that if the GA made an announcement over the PA looking for passengers to swap seats how would the deaf couple know that the GA had tried to help? No trying to be funny just wanting to know
Jan 30, 2019, 2:18 pm
#28
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IMO the boarding pass belongs to the passenger so it is inappropriate for some employee to grab it and dispose of it without the passenger's consent. Even if it doesn't work, having the boarding pass can help in obtaining IDB or EC261 compensation or perhaps the passenger just wants to keep his/her own belongings or even avoid identity theft by not having documents with personal information disposed of in some "public" airport trash recepticle.
In the case of the deaf passengers, I view the disposal of the paper as the GA ending the "conversation" but my concern would be that if that this is the deaf person's only readily available paper, doing this deprives them of their ability to communicate at all, with anyone, including during the flight. If the DL employee provided the paper, arguably it's the property of DL but grabbing it seems like an attempt to prevent the customers from having a record of the conversation.
In the case of the deaf passengers, I view the disposal of the paper as the GA ending the "conversation" but my concern would be that if that this is the deaf person's only readily available paper, doing this deprives them of their ability to communicate at all, with anyone, including during the flight. If the DL employee provided the paper, arguably it's the property of DL but grabbing it seems like an attempt to prevent the customers from having a record of the conversation.
Jan 30, 2019, 2:39 pm
#29
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Paper? Really? "... only readily available paper, doing this deprives them of their ability to communicate at all, with anyone, ... " Really?
I've seen teenage girls type faster on a cell phone than I can on a keyboard. I"m sure that a deaf individual (or two) can manage this modern feat most handily without the need for such antiquated means of communication as pen and paper.
As to "record of the conversation" that's just nonsense. ... As I see it, this issue is so blown out of proportion by a couple of DYKWIAm's as to be comical.
I've seen teenage girls type faster on a cell phone than I can on a keyboard. I"m sure that a deaf individual (or two) can manage this modern feat most handily without the need for such antiquated means of communication as pen and paper.
As to "record of the conversation" that's just nonsense. ... As I see it, this issue is so blown out of proportion by a couple of DYKWIAm's as to be comical.
Last edited by KenTarmac; Jan 30, 2019 at 2:45 pm
Jan 30, 2019, 3:10 pm
#30
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 120
Doesn't look like discrimination to me... just a couple of immature individuals who opted to throw a fit when they didn't get to sit together. Has happened to many of us and we sucked it up and dealt with it.
With that said Delta's policy of randomly assigning seats for basic economy passengers really needs to end. One of the worst decisions they've ever made as an airlines, and I know many people who will never fly Delta again due to bad experiences with this policy. People just want to sit next to their loved ones... why would you deprive them of that just to make a buck? Are there not others things you could charge people for to make up the revenue? Other airlines seem to be able to include it in their basic ticket price... why can't DL? By the way, it also causes total chaos in the boarding process... seems like every Delta flight I go on these days becomes a free-for-all as everyone tries to swap seats to sit next to their travelling companions... I've also seen bullies pressuring passengers who don't want change their seats to swap with them... you're just asking for trouble with a policy like this.
And yeah, this lawsuit probably wouldn't hold up in court... but even lawsuits that get tossed out of court end up costing hundreds of thousands in lawyer/settlement fees. Wonder how many $40 "choose your seat" upgrades DL will have to sell to make for this nonsense...
With that said Delta's policy of randomly assigning seats for basic economy passengers really needs to end. One of the worst decisions they've ever made as an airlines, and I know many people who will never fly Delta again due to bad experiences with this policy. People just want to sit next to their loved ones... why would you deprive them of that just to make a buck? Are there not others things you could charge people for to make up the revenue? Other airlines seem to be able to include it in their basic ticket price... why can't DL? By the way, it also causes total chaos in the boarding process... seems like every Delta flight I go on these days becomes a free-for-all as everyone tries to swap seats to sit next to their travelling companions... I've also seen bullies pressuring passengers who don't want change their seats to swap with them... you're just asking for trouble with a policy like this.
And yeah, this lawsuit probably wouldn't hold up in court... but even lawsuits that get tossed out of court end up costing hundreds of thousands in lawyer/settlement fees. Wonder how many $40 "choose your seat" upgrades DL will have to sell to make for this nonsense...