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UA Agent Charged with Disorderly Conduct
Spotted on the Independent:
A United Airlines employee has been charged after she allegedly used racially abusive language, repeatedly calling a black customer “a monkey” and “a shining monkey". Carmella Davano was charged with a misdemeanour for disorderly conduct after verbally abusing Cacilie Hughes in February 2019. Hughes, 31, had returned home to Houston from a speaking engagement in Michigan when she approached Davano in the United terminal at George Bush Intercontinental Airport. ... United said in a statement: “We have withheld the employee from service since the night of the incident pending an internal investigation. |
“I walked up to the woman, Carmella, and said, ‘Hi, do you have a refund code available?’ and she started yelling at me, calling me a monkey,” Ms. Hughes said in a phone interview on Monday. “I was humiliated, I was crying and I was the only black woman in the area.”Ms. Hughes, 31, said that she asked another United employee to call the police and that the employee refused to help, so she called the police herself.A representative of the Houston Police Department said officers went to the scene, where two witnesses said they saw and heard Ms. Davano direct the slurs at Ms. Hughes.United said in a statement: “We have withheld the employee from service since the night of the incident pending an internal investigation. Upon conclusion of the investigation, we will take any and all appropriate corrective action up to and including termination.” Whoever the gem of an employee for UA who refused to step in when their co-worker was calling someone a "monkey" should be withheld from "service" as well while they investigate. People have horrible days, but the real sting is when someone from an airline is going off for no reason, and no one steps in... E.g. my first, and really only bad recent experience on DL was a gate agent in a delay at DCA who was trying to jam my paid F seat into Y. She was rude, unhelpful, etc. Another agent seeing she was not exactly being helpful came over and said "oh let me help, why don't you do x" she then fixed the problem.... |
What, exactly, is a "refund code"? That seems to have triggered the racist outburst, but I have never heard this term used on FT before.
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Originally Posted by spin88
(Post 31029297)
What caught my eye was this: “I walked up to the woman, Carmella, and said, ‘Hi, do you have a refund code available?’ and she started yelling at me, calling me a monkey,” Ms. Hughes said in a phone interview on Monday. “I was humiliated, I was crying and I was the only black woman in the area.”Ms. Hughes, 31, said that she asked another United employee to call the police and that the employee refused to help, so she called the police herself.A representative of the Houston Police Department said officers went to the scene, where two witnesses said they saw and heard Ms. Davano direct the slurs at Ms. Hughes.United said in a statement: “We have withheld the employee from service since the night of the incident pending an internal investigation. Upon conclusion of the investigation, we will take any and all appropriate corrective action up to and including termination.”
First of all, I can't believe how biased the NYTimes article is....Other media reports of this incident do not quote the agent as saying that. Who asks a question and just gets yelled at right off the top and is called a monkey ? Right, nobody. There had to be more dialogue. Maybe Ms. Hughes went off the rails? People are so quick to assume that the "victim" is automatically correct. "Witnesses" (friends, relatives?) aside, people do lie for a fact. Without being there, one has no way of knowing exactly what went down, though I am not outright defending the UA agent. My point is why be so quick to assume that there even was racial innuendo - apparently the agent was referring to the passenger as engaging in "money shines", which according to the dictionary means mischievous behavior. Anything else as referring to the passenger as a "monkey" was denied by the agent. Unfortunately, the world we live in allows for every reader to be instant judge, jury and executioner without the facts, without both sides of the story........though I don't foresee a good outcome for the United employee because the politically correct straight jackets are ever-tightening. As well, it appears that employees in any customer service area whether it be airlines, restaurants, DMV, whatever, are not supposed to object or try to reason with even the most irate, irrational, delusional, accusatory, lying customer lest they be accused of some sort of prejudicial behavior. When did we lose sight of hearing out the customer or listening to a question or to the answer that is given? Are there still not TWO-SIDES-TO-EVERY-STORY ? |
Originally Posted by transportprof
(Post 31029373)
What, exactly, is a "refund code"?
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Wow, that is some crazy story. Multiple witnesses too.
I wonder what this "Refund Code" is? |
Irrespective of views of reporting the NYT did not determine that it was appropriate to press charge the police/DA did
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Originally Posted by FlyingNone
(Post 31029995)
Unfortunately, the world we live in allows for every reader to be instant judge, jury and executioner without the facts, without both sides of the story....
I, for one, will reserve judgment at least until I've read the results of UA's investigation into this. |
Originally Posted by transportprof
(Post 31029373)
What, exactly, is a "refund code"? That seems to have triggered the racist outburst, but I have never heard this term used on FT before.
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Chicago Tribune says the passenger walked onto the tarmac first
"Hughes told police that after her plane arrived in Houston, she walked on the tarmac to see if workers were unloading bags, and Davano yelled at her to return inside the terminal. Hughes said the confrontation occurred after she asked Davano for a supervisor so she could discuss other issues about the flight." https://www.chicagotribune.com/busin...423-story.html Puzzled why the UA agent didn't call the police on that before things escalated. |
Slightly different report on what was said
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...senger-n997496 told her to "stop making monkey faces" and "stop making monkey shines," Davano told officers that she did tell Hughes to "stop making monkey shines," but denied telling her to "stop making monkey faces." Two witnesses backed up both of Hughes' accusations, Witnesses also told police that Davano was saying she thought Hughes was on drugs, |
How long does such an investigation by United take?
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There will not be any meaningful Public information coming out of an "investigation" by United. It will be handled as an internal / HR matter....probably with a bland statement from United PR
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Originally Posted by RoxyMountain
(Post 31030156)
What is a monkey shine?
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=monkey%20shines |
Originally Posted by notquiteaff
(Post 31030212)
How long does such an investigation by United take?
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