United777Heavy

Here is a bit of trivia, in 2006, the average home in Potomac sold for $1,033,559.

Maybe nylon sweat pants aren't available in her neighborhood, as that might bring the property value down. Maybe cleaning of her pants will cost her more than twenty-five dollars offered... or maybe, all that she wanted was a sincere apology and help.

She, like many want to get as much as they can out of United, because they feel they deserve something for their pain and suffering. Granted the way the FA handled the situation was poor, it's not the first time this has occured, and it won't be the last.

It really is a sad state of affairs that she (like so many others) have been conditioned that if something goes wrong with their flight or experience, that they deserve compensation. .... happens, life is not perfect... yes, when we fly 1st or business, we should expect that everything should work and that service is good... but this is life.

People who complain about cold nuts, pre-drinks, hanging of the coats before the flight, lights, movies, luggage, priority tags, meals selections and order-taking... there is so much more important things in life than this.

When I fly United, my only expectation is to get to my final destination safely and usually on-time. So the nuts are cold... so I have to actually stand and ask for water or a drink, hang my own jacket... it's all minor.

These FA are not our servants and we shouldn't treat them so. They are here for our safety and comfort, blah blah blah.

CO 1E

So, it's ok to accept continuously diminishing service for the same price? While on the macro level such matters might appear trivial on the macro level, when considered in the aggregate, reduced expectations in response to service degradations are significant, IMO.

honmani2

After traveling 1.5 million miles on UA, I've had all levels of service but I've never written a letter to complain about the minor stuff. Like they say about the luggage in the overhead bins: shift happens.

I have written letters about major stuff like missing mileage credits but a broken light or a wobbly seat tray?

I'll survive.

United777Heavy

never said that it was ok for diminishing service and higher plane tickets... that is something that all airlines have to work on.

Reading these threads, it just seems that many who have experienced problems on their flights, seems to want to get compensated for their time, pain, suffering, humiliation, lack of... whatever, just as long as they get what they want. In serious problems, I agree, some compensation is needed, but certainly not all.

It sucks to be at the business end of crappy service or equipment, but I'd take that as long as I get to my final destination safely and on-time or close to. I choose to continue to fly this airline, I know they have a lot to work on in terms of pricing and service... but I know, I have a choice to fly another airline and deal with the same crap.

fl8a10

Sigh, United777heavy, my hero ... ^ :-: :-: :-: :-:

LondonToLA

I like my nuts hot and I prefer my pants not to be sticky. But sometimes, ship happens and your nuts get cold and your pants get sticky. $25 cert is more than fair compensation for cold nuts and sticky pants. ;-)

Frayed_Yak

There's a difference, OJ in lap is an accident....broken entertainment system is a product not delivered.

I guess my feeling is that $25 covers the cost of drycleaning the pants in any city, doesn't it?

Haven't you heard of the judge who sued for $65 million for a pair of pants lost at the drycleaners?

UNITED959

I'll keep my comments to myself.

CXYYZ

Exactly what I was thinking!
A link from Google News:
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dl...447/-1/LOCAL17

rjque

Why should the seat mate do anything? The FA spilled the OJ, not the seat mate. This is how it should have gone:

FA spills OJ on OP
FA: Oh, I'm so sorry, let me help you get that cleaned up.
[FA gets OP paper towels, etc. to help clean up]
FA: Again, I'm so sorry for spilling that drink on you. Do you think those will need professional cleaning?
OP: No, they are just sweat pants that I wear for flying. It will wash right out.

This is at least how I would have reacted if the FA was actively working to admit fault and fix the issue. If the FA took a "sucks to be you" attitidue, like the FA and purser did here, I might be inlclined to push it further.

The point is that a little good customer service can alleviate 90% of these silly compensation issues. Unfortunately, United does nothing to instill such a culture. Until UA management figures out that it is in a service business, and not just a commodity business, expect these threads to continue appearing.

stevenshev

I'm having vague memories of my Tort Law professor rambling on about the problems with a "compensation culture."

stevenshev

That sounds awfully reminiscent of senior prom.

roadkit

You are entitled to be pissed off about your bad luck at having clumsy seat mate and FA. But that's it. Get over it.

Jonai

I got a $100. coupon this morning (via e-mail) for sitting in a seat that had juice spilled in it before I showed up. I almost choked on my oatmeal when I read UAL's response to my complaint.

I had asked to be reseated if the plane wasn't full... It was a window seat and you could smell the odor from the aisle. I took my seat and the plane appeared full and the FA came back to me (last row of a 737) and told me the only seats left available were in E+ and she'd have to charge me extra to sit there. (pretty much the opposite of being offered a $25.00 certificate) She had work to do so I just gave her a look and she was gone. I had resigned myself to the seat cause I thought the flight was full then I got ticked off at being offered non soiled seat for an extra charge.

I've never had anything bumped on me though. I don't know how I'd feel. I like to think I'd be gracious to the FA and deal with it like a gentleman...

nerd

Hee hee.

You're funny.