How would you have reacted?
 

Had a great trip to Disneyworld and back last week. SW Flight from Indy to FL was great and entire week was spectacular. However, when my wife and 2 kids were traveling back to INDY on Mothers day we had a strange experience with a flight attendant that upset my wife on her special day. Here is the situation --My wife and I discovered that on Mother's day SW gives complimentary drink to all mothers. My wife is not much of a drinker but ahead of time she said see would order a beer and if she didn't like it she would just trade me for the coke I planned to order. Kind of a win , win for both of us because I like beer and she likes coke so I kind of figured she might give me the beer and after a sip. She ended of giving me the beer so the plan worked out for me. Well later the flight attendant was picking up trash and she asked me if I would be paying for my beer with cash or charge. I said my wife gave it to me because she didn't like it and she replied with "then why did she order something she didn't like..these drinks were for mothers only"...I didn't really say much to her but I thought these things: If my wife orders the SW complimentary beer she is allowed to do with it as she desires which might be drinking it, giving to her husband as a nice gesture, pouring on the floor, or perhaps drinking it and then shoving then empty can up the ass of a rude flight attendant(not really). She must have thought she was going to save the company financially by preventing the loss of one complimentary drink by two scam artist. Anyway, long story short ; My wife and I both thought to ourselves why does this lady care what my wife does with her complimentary drink and we kind of confronted her about that point later in the flight as she passed by us. My wife expressed her disgust about her comments to me and got her name and badge #. We might file a complaint for harassing us about it. My wife and I didn't need extra stress after a long week at Disney with 2 kids. We were also dealing with my sons ear infection on Mother's day.

Just wandered other peoples thoughts on this situation.

Just "wondered" other peoples thoughts on this situation.

I think the FA didn't really need to make a big deal out of this, but I think you are making a big deal too. She did not "harass" you.... You confronted her about it... It was a minor incident and both of you made a mountain out of a molehill.

OK I agree harass is the wrong word.

My point is there was no reason to bother me with this $5 verbal tiff after I paid over $800 to fly my family on their airline. FA's should get off their "High Horse" that they are on because they believe they have some special authority to be rude and "screw" with customers because of heightened security and the FAA rules that govern air travel. Sometimes they should be called out for it. Again, I was minding my own business and quietly consuming 1 beer only. If they are bored maybe they should check the fuselage for cracks.

Unfortunately, when FA's do these type of things to people the company itself loses because next time I will fly another airline.

I am with you there... FAs and other airline staff can abuse their power and seem to be totally unaccountable for it..

Google the AA flight attendant who turned on a passenger who asked for an orange juice or the Continental FA who threw a child off a plane for saying "bye bye plane" and waving and you will see examples of this excess!

Looking at this situation only instead of the whole world......you planned on cheating SW out of a beer. Your wife had no intention of drinking it. SW was nice enough to offer a free drink to mom's and you tried to scam the system. I'm so glad I left this industry.

I am sure SW executives knew this would happen when they made the promotion and didn't give a ****...It is about the gesture...not who drinks the beer...give me a break.

i agree with Jim on this....both sides making too big of a deal out of something so small

I didn't say too much to the FA and my wife and I were pleasant when we talked to her...actually not more than 1 or 2 sentences were spoke. We just asked her why she brought it up and whyit was any of her business. Please understand my wife and I didn't make too much out of it as you say we just felt we were being singled out. In reflection, I wish I would have just paid her the $5 cash when she had the nerve to ask me about it(Then she could have tipped herself). I do think it is interesting that many people in this forum believe a mom has no right to take the gift drink that was given to her and give it away if she wants to. I suppose with that mentality non-drinker mom's just lose out on the "gift" as they would be treated as any other customer. PS - My wife gave me her bag of peanuts too which were free...Is that wrong too since those 12 peanuts in the bag were really for her and not me? I wonder how hypocritical people are being when you mention we scammed the airline out of a $5 beer.

MLH you asked for comments and the judge said something you did not agree with and tell him to give you a break, if your gonna ask for comments it opens up to that type if you agree or not

It kind is cheating the system when you know that a person won't use the product and trade it for something they do want to save money, the program was for mothers not fathers, its kind of making a joke out of them if you look at it that way

it all went out of proportion but you did know that she wasn't going to have the drink or most of it, while the flight attendant had the right to charge you since the drink was supposed to be for your wife on mothers day.........as i said it goes against the manner of the "event"

I appreciate everyones opinion...I am not saying they are wrong or right. I am not judging the judge. Maybe I needed a lesson in morality but again...let me say this....let those that have never taken advantage of a situation be the first to cast a stone.

If I give my mom a gift certificate to go out to some dinner location I don't expect her not to use a portion of the gift certificate amount on her husband just because the gift was given to her. The 2 are one.

you can't compare something that you purchased (gift card) to something that was free with the purpose for the mother to use

there is a difference there, especially since the intention of a dinner gift card is for 1 or several people, whereas this was supposed to be for mothers, it isn't that comparable

i wouldn't have an issue with it but i can also see their (fa's) view on it and asking you to pay for it since your the one who had the drink rather then who the drink was intended for

Ok my analogy was a little off base...So let me wrap this up...seems the overall opinion of people responding to this tread is that issue was blown out of proportion and that SW FA has the every right to "police" that cabin and ensure the moms are the only one consuming the complimentary drink....

Have we all lost our collective minds...Sounds like Big Brother in 1984.

"Sanity is not statistical."

I am taken aback by these responses. The OP is absolutely correct. If someone gives me something for free I should have the right to give it, in turn, to whomever the f*** I want. This is not "gaming" anything. The FA was totally out of line here and her behavior was outrageous. I think the OP has every rational reason to pursue this with the airline. It's certainly a legitimate complaint.

Thanks for making feel a little more like I still live in a free country where I can do with my possessions as I please. I was beginning to feel like I was guilty of some crime.

It is interesting to see the comments that more severely criticizing our actions came from sympathizer and former airline employee.

Just for the purposes of clarity. I think the FA was petty and ridiculous for bringing it up. I think the OP was misguided to raise the issue with the FA. for that reason, in think both made a meal of it.....but I actually agree with the OP that once a gift is given.. It becomes unconditional... And the receiver is free to gift it on.

A better analogy would however be a restaurant which offers children a free ice cream. If the child accepts the free ice cream, they are probably legally entitled to gift it to Mum or Dad. I think however, Mum or Dad would be tacky to take it! The waitress would be equally tacky to make an issue of it. Sounds like something for Miss Manners!

Why do you think the companies offer the free ice cream for kids? Do you think it is just because they love the kids so much or do you think the marketing dept. wants to bring in families and could care a less if the tacky parents eat some of the ice cream? Once they have the main amount of your money for the dinner the scoop of ice cream or who consumes it is of no concern to the marketing company that has the cost bought and paid within the cost of the food. Also, have the FA thought through that many women without kids probably order a drink on mothers day...They have already put this in the cost of the tickets and always will. I don't sympathize with big corporations and if you knew how they rape you every day you wouldn't either. They are smart...that is why they are big corporations.

I have to say MLH I hope you will stick around in these forums... Because I quite admire your dogged pursuit of your point.

Actually, the marketing department might care if the tacky parents ate the ice cream. The intent is to encourage families to eat at the restaurant, but they might also hope and/or expect to sell dessert to the adults. If they eat the kids free ice cream, that could lose revenue. These greedy corporations don't like that.

Southwest may have calculated that say 50% of the woman would take up the offer, but if the "onward gifters" were too prolific it becomes a double whammy. They give out more free beer than anticipated and they lose sales to some of the men who received the beer. Bear in mind that this promotion didn't increase sales.. The ticket was sold without anyone knowing a free beer was included. It was pure PR. Anyway, I think the FA managed to take away any PR benefit by her silly intervention, but on the bright side... It gave you hours of fun debating the ethics of the whole thing on an airline forum...

I am hopeful you and the others had fun too Jimworcs! I still standby my original point although I appreciate where I might be a little rough around the edges in my manners.

OMG. I just read this thread and I cannot believe it. What is wrong with this airline?? They are angry and nasty TO THEIR CUSTOMERS. Courtesy is f***ing FREE. I just returned from a trip and will never fly SW again. They were incompetent, indifferent, hostile and badly trained. We ended up shelling out a pile of dough to USAir to get home. BTW USAir were great. How small, how ridiculous, how crummy can you get to question someone about their use of a beverage. The damage done is so large compared to the actual THING! Do you think MLH will tell anyone about this, anyone who might someday need a plane ticket?! Good grief. This entire airline needs major attitude adjustment.

SusanR

Hi! Thanks for your comment to my thread. It is nice to hear from people that agree with me. I appreciate you taking the time to voice your opinion.

Here is a news article that a friend sent me this morning that outraged me. Many of these people at the airlines and TSA are "drunk" with their so called authority and totally out of control.


http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/06/10...port-pat-down/

This statement is absolutely absurd! The OP is absolutely 100% correct. Mom had the right to do whatever she wanted with that "free" beer. It was none of the flight attendants business.

I really hate to say it, but I think "the terrorists have won" this battle. Between the security and the hostility travel is really horrible.

Absolutely it's not absurd. Going into something with the mindset of cheating someone out of something is wrong. The mom had zero intention of drinking the free offer that was given only to moms. Someone please enlighten me how an offer of giving something free to moms and then deferring that to someone else is right. If she didn't want the free offer given only to moms, then pass. The sense of entitlement and then the excuses given for stealing are what's absurd.