United Airlines PR Disaster

[JJ Husker]

Anyone who says a doctor is not more important than say, a fast food employee is freakin nuts. Thats just the way society is. People get paid more because their job is more important.

So, I'm more important than you? I might like it in your twisted world.

Your job may be. Im not saying him as a person is more important. Im saying his job is more importantIts called socio-economic status. I didnt invent it, but it damn sure exists

Okay, so his socioeconomic status determines that, as a paying customer on an airline, his time is to be valued more than anyone else's?I think what you want is a world where people are ranked based on their job. Heck, let's take it the rest of the way and require everyone to get a dna test and we'll rank people's importance based on their potential as a human being. I smell a wonderful sci-fi thriller in the works.

This argument that some people are more important than others...stupidest sh#t I've heard in a long, long time. And I've frequented HB for a long, long time.

BTW, I do agree his job may be more important than many others. Still doesn't mean jackshit on a commercial flight. Anybody that is too important to be subjected to equal treatment as all other passengers better be making different travel arrangements or better yet staying right the hell where they are so gd important.

Equal treatment would be everyone on that plane getting kicked off. Everyone on that plane was there for a reason. And their time mattered. Im not saying the doctor was more important than everyone else on that plane. His JOB is extremely important. Not only for him to support himself and family, but for other folks and their families also. He should have never been kicked off. The three others never should have been kicked off. If there are no volunteers then United needs to find other options for their employees. And especially if a paying customer says I cant get off, I need to get where Im going now, that should be end of it and United needs to figure out the rest. He paid for a ticket at that time on that day because he was in a time crunch as was everyone on that plane.If I pay for a plane ticket. Or a hotel. Or a meal. I expect things to get done the way I paid for them. And a good business would make sure the customer is satisfied. United did not in this case. The man did nothing wrong.

So, considering that United did not choose to do the right thing (because they didn't), what should've happened?1- The person who was unlucky enough to be chosen for removal should've got of the plane under his own power.

2- Somebody less important should've been forced to take the bullet for him.

3- Since he refused to get off, they should've cancelled the flight inconveniencing all customers (you know, to be fair).

4- He should've fought the removal and been injured in the process.

These are your only choices considering United didn't do the right thing. So what's the correct answer?

Those aren't the options. I just went over it in previous reply but:

5-Since he refused to get off, they should've booked their employees on a different flight, inconveniencing the employees and United.

Guess you missed his 1st and 2nd to last line...

Why should he be allowed to make rules and then not follow them in the same post?

"3- Since he refused to get off, they should've cancelled the flight inconveniencing all customers (you know, to be fair)."

Also, the customer can't read people's minds. He didn't know exactly what was going to happen. One of the possibilities was the #5 I gave. It's easy for us to say what he did was wrong. He said they'd have to drag him out but I'm guessing he didn't think that would actually happen.

Lastly, once again I like dewiz's posts more than yours. And ED's, but that's not saying much 'cause I like him a good portion of the time. You basically came here to tell people they were being mean.

What rule did I not follow?

I included #3 specifically because Rike said "Equal treatment would mean everyone on that flight getting kicked off" In my mind that is a ridiculous option but I made it available to be defended anyway.

 

[Redux]

So you aren't comfortable answering, that's cool.

I already said I dont know the correct answer

Lol you scamp!

 

[Mierin]

Anyone who says a doctor is not more important than say, a fast food employee is freakin nuts. Thats just the way society is. People get paid more because their job is more important.

So, I'm more important than you? I might like it in your twisted world.

Your job may be. Im not saying him as a person is more important. Im saying his job is more importantIts called socio-economic status. I didnt invent it, but it damn sure exists

Okay, so his socioeconomic status determines that, as a paying customer on an airline, his time is to be valued more than anyone else's?I think what you want is a world where people are ranked based on their job. Heck, let's take it the rest of the way and require everyone to get a dna test and we'll rank people's importance based on their potential as a human being. I smell a wonderful sci-fi thriller in the works.

This argument that some people are more important than others...stupidest sh#t I've heard in a long, long time. And I've frequented HB for a long, long time.

BTW, I do agree his job may be more important than many others. Still doesn't mean jackshit on a commercial flight. Anybody that is too important to be subjected to equal treatment as all other passengers better be making different travel arrangements or better yet staying right the hell where they are so gd important.

Equal treatment would be everyone on that plane getting kicked off. Everyone on that plane was there for a reason. And their time mattered. Im not saying the doctor was more important than everyone else on that plane. His JOB is extremely important. Not only for him to support himself and family, but for other folks and their families also. He should have never been kicked off. The three others never should have been kicked off. If there are no volunteers then United needs to find other options for their employees. And especially if a paying customer says I cant get off, I need to get where Im going now, that should be end of it and United needs to figure out the rest. He paid for a ticket at that time on that day because he was in a time crunch as was everyone on that plane.If I pay for a plane ticket. Or a hotel. Or a meal. I expect things to get done the way I paid for them. And a good business would make sure the customer is satisfied. United did not in this case. The man did nothing wrong.

So, considering that United did not choose to do the right thing (because they didn't), what should've happened?1- The person who was unlucky enough to be chosen for removal should've got of the plane under his own power.

2- Somebody less important should've been forced to take the bullet for him.

3- Since he refused to get off, they should've cancelled the flight inconveniencing all customers (you know, to be fair).

4- He should've fought the removal and been injured in the process.

These are your only choices considering United didn't do the right thing. So what's the correct answer?

Those aren't the options. I just went over it in previous reply but:

5-Since he refused to get off, they should've booked their employees on a different flight, inconveniencing the employees and United.

Guess you missed his 1st and 2nd to last line...

Why should he be allowed to make rules and then not follow them in the same post?

"3- Since he refused to get off, they should've cancelled the flight inconveniencing all customers (you know, to be fair)."

Also, the customer can't read people's minds. He didn't know exactly what was going to happen. One of the possibilities was the #5 I gave. It's easy for us to say what he did was wrong. He said they'd have to drag him out but I'm guessing he didn't think that would actually happen.

Lastly, once again I like dewiz's posts more than yours. And ED's, but that's not saying much 'cause I like him a good portion of the time. You basically came here to tell people they were being mean.

What rule did I not follow?

I included #3 specifically because Rike said "Equal treatment would mean everyone on that flight getting kicked off" In my mind that is a ridiculous option but I made it available to be defended anyway.

We already know what United did, therefore we can't have them doing anything different. That means your options should only be things the guy can do himself. For instance leaving when asked to, not leaving when asked to. Those are the 2 options you said were available later on. But one of your options was a potential act done by United.

Well, in this guy's mind there were many other possibilities that could happen besides what happened. Not these few that you listed and then stated that there was no other possibility. In his mind in that reality, that's not the case. He wasn't deciding between leaving and being beaten. He was deciding between leaving and having something else happen if he didn't leave. That "something else" wasn't necessarily one of the other 3 things you mentioned.

 

[JJ Husker]

This man is no social justice warrior, but because of what he did, it will cause change. It opened peoples eyes to this idiotic policy of overbooking and people asked themselves, what if this was me? You can bet your a$$ other airlines are changing their policies so this doesnt happen to them. Hell even United CEO said they will be changing their policies.

This is how change is made people. Dewiz said obey authority no matter what. If they tell you to jump, you ask how high. Rosa Parks should of just gotten up and walked to the back of the bus. MLK Jr should have just said, "well i was born black so I will just obey the laws and not go to this school. Or this restaurant. Or drink out of this water fountain". Obeying authority doesnt create change. And because these two individuals listed above defied authority, they have buildings in their name and holidays named after them. This gentleman will not have any buildings named after him, hell he will be forgotten in a few weeks. But like I said above, be auss he fought this stupid policy, it will be changed. And because of that, it will hopefully never happen to you or I.

Finally, I can agree with you on something related to this topic. I wonder if the injuries were worth it, you know, missing teeth, other injuries, never having a holiday named after you etc. I'm guessing he'll make out well financially so there is that. I sure appreciate what he did for the rest of us. Personally, I wouldn't have been so brave for a stupid seat on a flight. Have you ever been to Louisville? It ain't worth it although you can get a custom made Louisville Slugger with your name engraved and everything, just like the MLB guys. That's pretty cool I guess.

 

[4skers89]

Anyone who says a doctor is not more important than say, a fast food employee is freakin nuts. Thats just the way society is. People get paid more because their job is more important.

So, I'm more important than you? I might like it in your twisted world.

So we should all be compensated the same because we are all equal. Everyone should be given a living wage, free college and free health care. I like your newfound philosophy.

What the hell does a person's compensation have to do with their worth as a human being. JFC people...

You're the one who brought up people's worth as human beings. That's not what anyone's actually talking about when they say a Dr. needing to see his patients or someone attending a funeral is more important than a McDonald's employee getting back for a 4 hour shift or an unemployed person getting back a day late. They're not more important in the eyes of God or whatever you want to call it but that's not what anyone's saying when they say a Dr. is more important when it comes to getting somewhere on time.

Saying we're all equal when it comes to getting from point A to point B is the same as saying we should all be compensated the same for doing different jobs. I.E. it doesn't matter what our job is or why we're going to our destination. We're all the same. Our time is worth the same exact amount of $ or inconvenience regardless of what our job is.

So, since a doctor's job is more important than a ditch digger, what is supposed to happen in this commercial flying scenario? United is supposed to determine whose jobs are less important and triage the removal list to eliminate important people? Who gets booted, the person with least important job? And how exactly is that determination arrived at? Their bank account, some random customer service persons personal opinion, a vote of everyone on the aircraft? I need to understand how the perceived importance of any passenger's job has one frikken thing to do with who is worthy of not getting off the plane.

And please don't go back to saying United should've prevented the whole issue. I know that and acknowledge it but they didn't. So what happens at that point?

Maybe United can enlighten us as to who is more important http://www.latimes.com/business/lazarus/la-fi-lazarus-united-low-priority-passenger-20170412-story.html

Then, as Fearns tells it, a United employee rushed onto the aircraft and informed him that he had to get off the plane. “I asked why,” he told me. “They said the flight was overfull.”Fearns, like the doctor at the center of that viral video from Sunday night, held his ground. He was already on the plane, already seated. He shouldn’t have to disembark.“That’s when they told me they needed the seat for somebody more important who came at the last minute,” Fearns said. “They said they have a priority list and this other person was higher on the list than me.”

 

[JJ Husker]

Anyone who says a doctor is not more important than say, a fast food employee is freakin nuts. Thats just the way society is. People get paid more because their job is more important.

So, I'm more important than you? I might like it in your twisted world.

Your job may be. Im not saying him as a person is more important. Im saying his job is more importantIts called socio-economic status. I didnt invent it, but it damn sure exists

Okay, so his socioeconomic status determines that, as a paying customer on an airline, his time is to be valued more than anyone else's?I think what you want is a world where people are ranked based on their job. Heck, let's take it the rest of the way and require everyone to get a dna test and we'll rank people's importance based on their potential as a human being. I smell a wonderful sci-fi thriller in the works.This argument that some people are more important than others...stupidest sh#t I've heard in a long, long time. And I've frequented HB for a long, long time.BTW, I do agree his job may be more important than many others. Still doesn't mean jackshit on a commercial flight. Anybody that is too important to be subjected to equal treatment as all other passengers better be making different travel arrangements or better yet staying right the hell where they are so gd important.

Equal treatment would be everyone on that plane getting kicked off. Everyone on that plane was there for a reason. And their time mattered. Im not saying the doctor was more important than everyone else on that plane. His JOB is extremely important. Not only for him to support himself and family, but for other folks and their families also. He should have never been kicked off. The three others never should have been kicked off. If there are no volunteers then United needs to find other options for their employees. And especially if a paying customer says I cant get off, I need to get where Im going now, that should be end of it and United needs to figure out the rest. He paid for a ticket at that time on that day because he was in a time crunch as was everyone on that plane.If I pay for a plane ticket. Or a hotel. Or a meal. I expect things to get done the way I paid for them. And a good business would make sure the customer is satisfied. United did not in this case. The man did nothing wrong.

So, considering that United did not choose to do the right thing (because they didn't), what should've happened?1- The person who was unlucky enough to be chosen for removal should've got of the plane under his own power.2- Somebody less important should've been forced to take the bullet for him.3- Since he refused to get off, they should've cancelled the flight inconveniencing all customers (you know, to be fair).4- He should've fought the removal and been injured in the process.These are your only choices considering United didn't do the right thing. So what's the correct answer?

Those aren't the options. I just went over it in previous reply but: 5-Since he refused to get off, they should've booked their employees on a different flight, inconveniencing the employees and United.

Guess you missed his 1st and 2nd to last line...

Why should he be allowed to make rules and then not follow them in the same post? "3- Since he refused to get off, they should've cancelled the flight inconveniencing all customers (you know, to be fair)."Also, the customer can't read people's minds. He didn't know exactly what was going to happen. One of the possibilities was the #5 I gave. It's easy for us to say what he did was wrong. He said they'd have to drag him out but I'm guessing he didn't think that would actually happen. Lastly, once again I like dewiz's posts more than yours. And ED's, but that's not saying much 'cause I like him a good portion of the time. You basically came here to tell people they were being mean.

What rule did I not follow?I included #3 specifically because Rike said "Equal treatment would mean everyone on that flight getting kicked off" In my mind that is a ridiculous option but I made it available to be defended anyway.

We already know what United did, therefore we can't have them doing anything different. That means your options should only be things the guy can do himself. For instance leaving when asked to, not leaving when asked to. Those are the 2 options you said were available later on. But one of your options was a potential act done by United.Well, in this guy's mind there were many other possibilities that could happen besides what happened. Not these few that you listed and then stated that there was no other possibility. In his mind in that reality, that's not the case. He wasn't deciding between leaving and being beaten. He was deciding between leaving and having something else happen if he didn't leave. That "something else" wasn't necessarily one of the other 3 things you mentioned.

I'll admit I don't know exactly what happened right before anyone actually laid hands on him. I imagine the verbal stuff went back and forth for awhile and then I imagine there came the point in time where somebody informed he this was it and they actually grabbed an arm or something. I think once they start grabbing and pulling a bit, that is the time when a reasonable person says okay f#*k it, I'll get off. This is the point in time I feel he became unreasonable and shouldve realized it was not going to end well. I could be wrong. Maybe some overzealous mall cop blindsided him with no warning and curb stomped him because he felt like it. Something tells me that's probably not how it went down though.

My only point has been, he could've prevented getting his a$$ kicked. United could've prevented it also by doing the right thing but they didn't. He could've argued for quite awhile, I sure would've. But I definitely would've stopped somewhere short of missing teeth, blood and all those type things.

 

[Mierin]

I'm not sure how I would have dealt with it, assuming I had something important to get to.

What I do know is airports and flights are very stressful for me. I get a stomach ache due to stress (although it's gotten better over the years) and it doesn't usually go away until I've boarded the plane and gotten into my seat.

If someone came and told me I had to get off the plane and come back to the airport the next day I would be absolutely livid. Especially if they told me it was so someone else can replace me and not because I was the last person to check in. Especially if they told me it was for one of their employees. I've probably just spent 3 years preparing to get onto this flight and because of your sh**ty planning you're kicking me off for one of your employees?

 

[JJ Husker]

Anyone who says a doctor is not more important than say, a fast food employee is freakin nuts. Thats just the way society is. People get paid more because their job is more important.

So, I'm more important than you? I might like it in your twisted world.

So we should all be compensated the same because we are all equal. Everyone should be given a living wage, free college and free health care. I like your newfound philosophy.

What the hell does a person's compensation have to do with their worth as a human being. JFC people...

You're the one who brought up people's worth as human beings. That's not what anyone's actually talking about when they say a Dr. needing to see his patients or someone attending a funeral is more important than a McDonald's employee getting back for a 4 hour shift or an unemployed person getting back a day late. They're not more important in the eyes of God or whatever you want to call it but that's not what anyone's saying when they say a Dr. is more important when it comes to getting somewhere on time.

Saying we're all equal when it comes to getting from point A to point B is the same as saying we should all be compensated the same for doing different jobs. I.E. it doesn't matter what our job is or why we're going to our destination. We're all the same. Our time is worth the same exact amount of $ or inconvenience regardless of what our job is.

So, since a doctor's job is more important than a ditch digger, what is supposed to happen in this commercial flying scenario? United is supposed to determine whose jobs are less important and triage the removal list to eliminate important people? Who gets booted, the person with least important job? And how exactly is that determination arrived at? Their bank account, some random customer service persons personal opinion, a vote of everyone on the aircraft? I need to understand how the perceived importance of any passenger's job has one frikken thing to do with who is worthy of not getting off the plane.

And please don't go back to saying United should've prevented the whole issue. I know that and acknowledge it but they didn't. So what happens at that point?

Maybe United can enlighten us as to who is more important http://www.latimes.com/business/lazarus/la-fi-lazarus-united-low-priority-passenger-20170412-story.html

Then, as Fearns tells it, a United employee rushed onto the aircraft and informed him that he had to get off the plane. “I asked why,” he told me. “They said the flight was overfull.”Fearns, like the doctor at the center of that viral video from Sunday night, held his ground. He was already on the plane, already seated. He shouldn’t have to disembark.“That’s when they told me they needed the seat for somebody more important who came at the last minute,” Fearns said. “They said they have a priority list and this other person was higher on the list than me.”

That ship sailed in the case at hand when United determined their employees were more important than paying customers....when they determine who gets removed first based on the lowest paid fare.

 

[JJ Husker]

I'm not sure how I would have dealt with it, assuming I had something important to get to.

What I do know is airports and flights are very stressful for me. I get a stomach ache due to stress (although it's gotten better over the years) and it doesn't usually go away until I've boarded the plane and gotten into my seat.

If someone came and told me I had to get off the plane and come back to the airport the next day I would be absolutely livid. Especially if they told me it was so someone else can replace me and not because I was the last person to check in. Especially if they told me it was for one of their employees. I've probably just spent 3 years preparing to get onto this flight and because of your sh**ty planning you're kicking me off for one of your employees?

I agree. I would feel sorry for anyone who had young children within earshot of me. They'd learn some new colorful language for sure. But they wouldn't see me get physically dragged off and they sure wouldn't see me all bloody with missing teeth.

The trick to stress free flying is to get there really early and drop some $$ in the bar. I'm half f'd up whenever I fly, seriously. It makes it much more enjoyable and stress free. Just don't get so ripped you can't make a connecting fly or something like that.

 

[JJ Husker]

Ya know, I was just thinking. Whenever I go to the airport I expect things to go wrong. Flight late or cancelled, luggage lost, etc and I expect at some point some representative, of whatever airline I'm on, will disappoint me or piss me off. I never expect things to go smoothly and I sure never expect to be fully satisfied. I'm being serious. That is my outlook whenever I fly. It is based on past experiences. The good thing is, when things do go well, it seems that much better because my expectations were so low to begin with.

Maybe this is why I have a hard time understanding why anyone would be surprised an airline like United would make sh#tty choices that screw over a customer. That's basically been most of my flight experiences with United and every other airline I've ever flown on.

 

[Cdog923]

JFC people, the man is a doctor and had to work the next day. He has a responsibility to patients. Im sorry you people thinking if he would have just obeyed and none of this would have happened do not have a job that OTHER people depend on in a timely manner...

So because he's a doctor he's more important than anybody else on that plane? Lol

 

[JJ Husker]

JFC people, the man is a doctor and had to work the next day. He has a responsibility to patients. Im sorry you people thinking if he would have just obeyed and none of this would have happened do not have a job that OTHER people depend on in a timely manner...

So because he's a doctor he's more important than anybody else on that plane? Lol

 

[teachercd]

There are basically two people that are posting in this thread that are being honest. The rest are being what I like to call "Message Board Honest"

 

[Saunders]

Lol if a cop asked for my ID, I'm going to give him my ID cause I have nothing to hide.
What's really your issue with cops?

They need a probable cause, that's why. Otherwise, a scared populace ends up giving up personal freedoms for the illusion of safety, and you end up with this.

 

[funhusker]

Is there anyone in this thread that doesn't think United handled this whole situation in a completely pathetic and avoidable manner? I.e. the doctor should have never been given the chance to "disobey"?