[bah humbug]

Sounds like she was rude, no excuse for that.

However, I don't understand one thing.....

You said the service animal was for your mom. You said YOU were put in an exit row, where a service animal can not be. If the service animal is for your mom, then why are you complaining about having an exit row where the dog could not be.(othere than not being seated together) The service animal should have been with your mother.

[jimworcs]

Personally, I don't agree with service animals being allowed in the cabin of a plane period. They should be shipped in the hold. However, it is perfectly feasible that an animal would be handled by a support worker or relative, whilst on the actual plane itself. I can find no problem with that.

Dana McGrath should be dealt with by US Air as it is clear that she was unprofessional and discourteous. Phx.. I am mysified by your suggestion as to who else was rude. Perhaps you would like to enlighten us and tell us where the others were rude also?

[bah humbug]

Originally Posted by jimworcs

However, it is perfectly feasible that an animal would be handled by a support worker or relative, whilst on the actual plane itself.

Sure it is, but that is not a reason to complain about being in the exit row. The service animal did not belong with him, therefore that is not a reason to be upset about being placed in an exit row. It seemed that statement was made a couple of times in his complaint and it is irrelevent that he was placed in an exit row because HE did not have a service animal.

[PHXFlyer]

Originally Posted by jimworcs

Phx.. I am mysified by your suggestion as to who else was rude. Perhaps you would like to enlighten us and tell us where the others were rude also?

Originally Posted by mmiakisu

Need less to say I was speechless and disgusted by Dana's behavior. I told her I was in the medical field and she shouldn't be in customer service since she doesn't want to help her customers. She then said she was going to count to 3 and if I said a word she was calling security.

If you have an issue with a "front line" employee it is acceptable to speak with a supervisor or write a letter to customer service to report the behavior of said employee. It is not acceptable (and, in my himble opinion, downright rude) to tell an employee "you don't belong in this linbe of work." Rude, rude, RUDE! If you find yourself in a situation where you think you are not being treated appropriately then DON'T STOOP TO THEIR LEVEL! This action by the OP demonstrates that she herself was rude and possibly her behavior towards this employee contributed to the situation.

And a note to the OP. So-called "emotional assistance" animals are a **** OF ****! If your poor old mother can't survive the rigors of travel without "fluffy" then she either needs better meds or she should just STAY HOME!

[The_Judge]

The ticket agent completely screwed up this situation and I would blame him/her for all of it. They should have NEVER seated either of them in an exit row. If only exits were left, they should have been sent to the gate so the gate agent could seat them. Problem would have been avoided.

This being said, if it happened the way it's written, the gate agent acted completely out of line bordering on harrassing. Emotional service animals are not something I'd like to get into but to personally attack a customer is unacceptable.

The getting of the last name was always a pet peeve of mine. We were not required to give that out and for you to be proactive in trying to get it then printing it here is a bit too much, imo. Admin allows names here so I can't say much but I disagree with giving out last names whole-heartedly.

PHX......it appears you like to live on the edge......end of the year and maybe you don't have enough points yet, eh??

[PHXFlyer]

Originally Posted by The_Judge

PHX......it appears you like to live on the edge......end of the year and maybe you don't have enough points yet, eh??

Who dies and made you the moderator?

[jimworcs]

Where does it say that it was an "emotional assistance" animal? There are many people with disabilities who use service animals for a lot more than just "emotional assistance". Alerting the owner of danger, detecting an oncoming epileptic fit, picking up things and giving them to the owner, and the classic guide dog for the blind. All perfectly legitimate to travel with.

I am less than enamoured with the concept of service animals which provide companionship and reassurance being treated in the same way. Especially if it is a goose... but that is the crazy world created by the DOT Disabilities rules.

Phx.. there is no evidence in the complaint that the complainant spoke rudely to the gate agent. Indeed, the FA subsequently apologised to the passenger for the behaviour of the gate agent. It is not automatically rude to tell an employee that you find their actions either unhelpful, unprofessional or inappropriate... and this gate agent clearly had a problem. Given the style and approach you take with posters on this website, accusing the OP of being rude is a bit "pot and kettle" don't you think?

Troy... why should agents not be accountable for their behaviour? Why not post the names of people who behave inappropriately? If the OP is lying it gives the agent a perfect remedy to sue in small claims. If it is truthful, it could have 3 benefits. One, it alerts the travelling public to beware of Dana McGrath. Two, it may alert Dana McGrath to the fact that her actions are noted and could have some "chilling" effect on her obnoxious behaviour AND three it could expose a pattern of behaviour where others come out of the woodwork and give their experiences.

The recent incident on AA when a passenger asked for an orange juice, not only exposed the abuse of power of the FA and her totally inappropriate actions, but in internet forums exposed her behaviour at other times. It was not a "one off" but a pattern of inappropriate behaviour was exposed. Without naming and shaming this would not happen.

[mmiakisu]

Originally Posted by PHXFlyer

If you have an issue with a "front line" employee it is acceptable to speak with a supervisor or write a letter to customer service to report the behavior of said employee. It is not acceptable (and, in my himble opinion, downright rude) to tell an employee "you don't belong in this linbe of work." Rude, rude, RUDE! If you find yourself in a situation where you think you are not being treated appropriately then DON'T STOOP TO THEIR LEVEL! This action by the OP demonstrates that she herself was rude and possibly her behavior towards this employee contributed to the situation.

And a note to the OP. So-called "emotional assistance" animals are a **** OF ****! If your poor old mother can't survive the rigors of travel without "fluffy" then she either needs better meds or she should just STAY HOME!

I told her that she shouldn't be in customer service after she verbally attacked me telling me that I had an attitude and a person with my attitude shouldn't be handling a dog.... at that point, I had had enough and told her that she shouldn't be in customer service for the way we were treated by her.... Also, agree that I shouldn't have posted her name due to safety issues. I will edit that out. I am still beside myself and have written UsAirways and US Department of Transportation.

[PHXFlyer]

Originally Posted by mmiakisu

I told her that she shouldn't be in customer service after she verbally attacked me telling me that I had an attitude and a person with my attitude shouldn't be handling a dog.... at that point, I had had enough and told her that she shouldn't be in customer service for the way we were treated by her.... Also, agree that I shouldn't have posted her name due to safety issues. I will edit that out. I am still beside myself and have written UsAirways and US Department of Transportation.

Which was my point. Be the better person and don't stoop to their level. No matter how poorly you are or think you are being treated to tell someone that they don't belong in the job they are doing is insulting, demeaning and rude. Even though they may have been insulting, demeaning and rude to you returning it in kind will never improve a situation. Tell a supervisor, manager, or write a letter. It's not your job to discipline the employee. Let their own chain of command handle that.

Originally Posted by mmiakisu

I should have clarified. The dog is a service/therapy dog.

Ding, score one for The_Judge and I.

Originally Posted by mmiakisu

With a service/ therapy dog, the dog is to stay with the handler.

Wrong. And this is was probably the catalyst for everything that happened. Unless a service animal is being trained then it should be traveling with the person for whom it is providing "assistance." If the dog wasn't going to sit with your mother then it wasn't being utilized as a service animal on the flight and therefore should have been classified as a pet traveling in the cabin for which you should have paid the pet fee.

Originally Posted by mmiakisu

This is what is stated on the the back of his dog tag license "Therapy Dog refers to a dog trained to provide affection and comfort to people in hospitals, retirement homes, nursing homes, mental institutions, schools and stressful situations. Therapy animals provide animal contact to numerous people who may or may not have disabilities. A therapy animal works in animal-assisted activities and animal-assisted therapy. It is usually the personal pet of its handler, and typically works with its handler in attendance during sessions. Visiting animal-handler teams are the most common source of therapy animals."

My mother's dog is a therapy animal and she takes her to the local hospital and nursing home to perform that function. She does not, however, expect special status when traveling with her dog since while on the plane the dog is not "in service."

Originally Posted by mmiakisu

My mother is hearing impaired and needs a wheelchair to get around due to hip replacement. She also had a stroke. The dog does help her with her therapy emotionally for she is a very nervous person. The dog also alerts her of any noises. Additionally, being that the dog hadn't flown since he was trained as a puppy, I wasn't sure how he would respond with me not in his presence. Since we always work as a team.

Most dogs will alert their owner, hearing impaired or not, of unusual noises. Nothing special there. You were on the same plane. After reaching cruise altitude you could have periodically checked on your mom and the dog. Even if that wasn't possible the flight from Richmond to Charlotte is just over an hour long. I'm sure she would have been fine for that amount of time and the FA sounded friendly and would have kept an eye out for her.

[mmiakisu]

Originally Posted by PHXFlyer

Which was my point. Be the better person and don't stoop to their level. No matter how poorly you are or think you are being treated to tell someone that they don't belong in the job they are doing is insulting, demeaning and rude. Even though they may have been insulting, demeaning and rude to you returning it in kind will never improve a situation. Tell a supervisor, manager, or write a letter. It's not your job to discipline the employee. Let their own chain of command handle that.



Ding, score one for The_Judge and I.



Wrong. And this is was probably the catalyst for everything that happened. Unless a service animal is being trained then it should be traveling with the person for whom it is providing "assistance." If the dog wasn't going to sit with your mother then it wasn't being utilized as a service animal on the flight and therefore should have been classified as a pet traveling in the cabin for which you should have paid the pet fee.



My mother's dog is a therapy animal and she takes her to the local hospital and nursing home to perform that function. She does not, however, expect special status when traveling with her dog since while on the plane the dog is not "in service."



Most dogs will alert their owner, hearing impaired or not, of unusual noises. Nothing special there. You were on the same plane. After reaching cruise altitude you could have periodically checked on your mom and the dog. Even if that wasn't possible the flight from Richmond to Charlotte is just over an hour long. I'm sure she would have been fine for that amount of time and the FA sounded friendly and would have kept an eye out for her.

The animal was being used for my mother on the plane, but as I stated the dog stays with the handler and works as a team and this is stated on his tags and documents. I agree with you that stooping to her level may have been wrong, but I had just about had enough. If the gate attendant would have listened to my concern (mind you the ticketing agent assured me that the gate agent would be able to seat us together) and not have been rude and cut me off in the first the place it never would have escalated to this level. I'm a reasonable person and if she would have listened and had been nice and sincere and said something along the lines of I'm sorry you're in this situation but at this time we just can't help you, I would have thanked her for trying and made the best of it. Side note: The arrangements were made way of ahead of time when I booked but our original flight was cancelled and they rebooked us on an earlier flight and I was told by the booking agent that we were sitting together. I'm on sometimes 6 different planes a week for work and never had these problems and always plan accordingly so that I don't run into problems at the airport. Bottom line is, I was not treated properly and the FA agreed and apologized for GA actions. I even had other travelers offer their help. One even gave me her contact info to use as a witness if I needed it for documentation when filing a complaint.
Looking back, I'm sure all could have been handled in a better manner but sometimes you need someone from the outside looking in to point this out. Happy New Year.

[mmiakisu]

Originally Posted by bah humbug

Sounds like she was rude, no excuse for that.

However, I don't understand one thing.....

You said the service animal was for your mom. You said YOU were put in an exit row, where a service animal can not be. If the service animal is for your mom, then why are you complaining about having an exit row where the dog could not be.(othere than not being seated together) The service animal should have been with your mother.

I should have clarified. The dog is a service/therapy dog. With a service/ therapy dog, the dog is to stay with the handler. This is what is stated on the the back of his dog tag license "Therapy Dog refers to a dog trained to provide affection and comfort to people in hospitals, retirement homes, nursing homes, mental institutions, schools and stressful situations. Therapy animals provide animal contact to numerous people who may or may not have disabilities. A therapy animal works in animal-assisted activities and animal-assisted therapy. It is usually the personal pet of its handler, and typically works with its handler in attendance during sessions. Visiting animal-handler teams are the most common source of therapy animals."
My mother is hearing impaired and needs a wheelchair to get around due to hip replacement. She also had a stroke. The dog does help her with her therapy emotionally for she is a very nervous person. The dog also alerts her of any noises. Additionally, being that the dog hadn't flown since he was trained as a puppy, I wasn't sure how he would respond with me not in his presence. Since we always work as a team.