A New York lawyer is suing Delta Air Lines for $1 million, saying his family vacation turned into a nightmare after they were stranded in an airport for days and treated disdainfully by airline employees.
Richard Roth, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of himself and his mother, said he planned the Christmas 2007 trip to Buenos Aires to celebrate his mother's 80th birthday. She had grown up in the city, but had not returned in years, he said.
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Like 99% of all lawyers, he should be taken out, castrated, and have his genitals stuffed in his mouth. Just another trial lawyer tyring to get something for nothing.
SOMETHING FOR NOTHING?
Did you READ the article. Delta totally screwed up and should be HIT HARD for doing this. I've had something similar happen because of a late connecting flight and ran to the connecting airline. The doors were open and they REFUSED to let me board claiming some lame rule about after "closing" time EVEN THOUGH THE DOORS WERE STILL OPEN.
You can't do anything but fume. I missed the flight to Europe as a result and it cost me all because RUDE INEFFECTIVE employees couldn't simply usher me on board the flight. THE DOORS WERE STILL OPEN!
So I had to rebook (NEVER FLY AIR FRANCE AGAIN) This cost me close to FIFTEEN HUNDRED with two nights in a hotel waiting for an open flight plus new air fare.
As soon as I got home I contacted an attorney. AND yes we won. Airlines that are just plain rude AND STUPID should be hit hard. All the connecting air flight had to do was say, "Sure go ahead, the planes still here and the gate is open"
And they would have had no problem. The offending airline was American Airlines for the connecting, and Air France REFUSED to honor the paid ticket for another flight.
So spare me the bullshit about a typical lawyer. WHO you gonna call when you get in trouble? Yor mechanic?
You're a nice person, aren't you?
Obviously, you've never flown on Delta. Exact same thing happened to me in Atlanta, twice on the samet trip. Both going to and returning from Florida, my daughter and I were refused reserved seats on a flight that was on the ramp with the doors open. On these two flights alone, at least 25 people were delayed by incompetent and VERY rude Delta personel. Personally, I would like to see them sued for 10's of millions. Maybe when Bush is on his way to the Hague to defend against his war crimes, the new administration can put some teeth back into the FAA and we can get our airlines back to where they were historically.
Yeah, but only AFTER he's ripped Delta a new A**hole!
I live abroad and cringe each year as I visit "home" at the prospect of several flights within the US--the entire industry is a nightmare. Flying in Russia is no pleasure either, but at least here they don't pretend to be any better than they are (with one S7 rep. telling me that bad service is part of Russia and if I don't like it, leave---rude, but honest)...
Deregulation......
My low point--so far--has actually been with security rather than an airline. A TSA employee at Chicago-Midway made us take the shoes off our son, who was 10 months old at the time, in order to run them through the x-ray machine. I think making adults taking their shoes off is nuts, but it's defensible (if barely). Baby shoes though?? I couldn't smuggle a communion wafer in those things, let alone anything dangerous!
Another glorious chapter in the Great Deregulation saga. There was a time in the dim reaches of history (a whole 30 years ago) when fares were reasonable, if not as cheap in real terms as today's. I managed to get around to some pretty nice places on a 20-something's salary. Flights were rarely cancelled except for weather reasons. You left pretty much on time and arrived the same way. Your luggage was generally waiting for you. You got fed on flights longer than three hours.
My most memorable trip was from Atlanta to L.A. in the late 70's. The original flight was cancelled for one reason or another and the ticketed passengers wound up leaving two hours late with what appeared to be a plane and a crew that the carrier rounded up on the spur of the moment. The plane was about one-third full so we all stretched out and got comfy. The cabin crew were in a merry mood and were lavish with the free drinks and meals. We had a lot of fun.
It's hard to imagine the horrors that would be inflicted on us in the same situation today. I'm pretty sure "fun" wouldn't be part of the mix.
How to interact with airline customer service in our declining empire: approach customer service person with everything they will need in hand, hand it to them, they will avoid eye contact and unnecessary conversation (you should do the same), hopefully there will be no snafus, board, squeeze through 10-inch-wide rabbit warren called an aisle and into seat, don't look at anybody, don't say anything, enjoy your flight.
You get better service from the automatic check in machines. I recommend them. No snarls.
Everyone should be suing the pants off the airlines for what they/ve been doing to Joe Public for a few years now. Show them that without their customers, they are nothing...
And to think, a mere 40 or so years ago, there were DC-10s with piano bar/video game-tabled/cute stews-attended (my apologies to the PC Police) lounges IN COACH! And decent, comped food. And friendly service. And mostly ON TIME departures and arrivals. And many carriers to choose from that had no probs with flying half-filled equipment.. And...and...and...travel was an enjoyable experience. Arrive at the gate 5 minutes ahead of departure? No problem.
The horror. The horror of modern-day air travel. But if you can get from A to B at a reasonable price, take a deep breath, maybe 5mg of Valium, and a good book.
It's amazing how Customer Service has become a lost art form. It's so simple, and so easy to master. it's all in relation to another lost art form....
Common Sense
I should have seminars on this and rip off corporations for thousands and thousands of dollars. Here's the secret... treat people the way you want to be treated.
Sure, we all have bad days. But you come to work with your game face on, and you can vent & release when you're off duty.
It's amazing how a little kindness and consideration will take you a long way, and keep bringing business back.
I think that airlines need to give better customer service, and need to be held accountable for it. But it bugs me to no end for someone to think that their horrible 3 weeks is worth $1 million. I think he should get his $21,000 (although what kind of hotels was he staying in that it cost him $21K for 3 days) and maybe even another $25,000 for effort. But $275,000 for emotional distress, it will take most people a few years to make that kind of money, I would have to work about 9,000 hours to make that money, that is 9,000 hours or working my ass off. Yet he has a bad 3 weeks and he deserves that? That doesn include the punitive damages. I would be willing to go through airline hell for a few weeks for $1 million dollars. Better than 20 years of working.
I think guys like this are taking advantage of our legal system. I don't have a problem with large lawsuits for people who are injured, disfigured, ect. But this is insane. Give him $50K an be happy. Like I said while I think airlines need to change their tune, this isn't going to help. If Delta loses this $1 million where do you think their get the money? From our airfare, so it only hurts us.
people often sue in excess of actual damages since the award is often less than amount being sued for.
Ironic, if anyone else wanted to sue, they might have a hard time getting a lawyer to take the case. Looks like Delta picked the wrong person to take a dump on.
Customer Service is in as bad a shpae as the economy, and has been for years. I've seen airline personal be extremely rude to the elderly, handicapped, and people travelling with small children who may be having a tough time. Instead of helping out, which is supposed to be their job, they give these little smirks, and condescending remarks.
I hope he wins, and the arilines give their employees more training in CS, then follow-up with some of us who fly regularly.
By the same token, I'm the first to email or phone CS of any business to compliment anyone who has gone above and beyond, or just does his or her job with grace, effeciency, and tact!
Some seem to think nice ppl don't have problems. Not entirely true. Here's one of my fiasco stories:
Flew to CA for someone's wedding. Trip back started in Santa Barbara. Flight got cancelled and we were put on another airline to make a connection in LA (cross country flight). No info on connection. Didn't even know where/when. Turns out too little time. Got to the connecting area 10 minutes late. It's about 1 pm. They tell me I can't get on another flight till that night, 10-12 hrs later. It's my birthday. No one cared or offered any compensation or suggestions. My travel partner suggested a way out: they had a nearby flight to Philly (we weren't going there but his brother lived nearby). Fly us to Philly right then and the next morning give us connections to our destinations (he Newark; me Charlottesville, VA via Baltimore). If he hadn't proposed that area we would have been sitting all day. There was no compensation for THEIR mistake -- and missing the connection was their fault, since we had less than 15 minutes to get around LAX.
Why won't the "free market" proponents address the real problem with American airline companies: There is no competition from outside markets so all the US based companies can remain compliant with their substandard services. Anyone who has flown with a European airline will tell you that the experience is incomparably better than what we get in the states. The government will not, however, allow these superior airlines to do business in the US for domestic flights. The only way we can ensure better quality and lower prices is to truly open up the airline industry to free market competition.
Oh ! The Tort Reformers will be spinning and deflecting all over this...
-ralph
Delta will not tell you that they are having problems in Dallas landing planes due to lightning storms in June. They will keep you locked inside the aircraft for hours. They are cheap and dishonest about problems in crew levels, slow downs, and scheduling problems. They will even fly you another state and leave you on the tarmack for hours. I could have flown through Chicago and made my wedding engagement. I did finally arrive at the reception after the ceremony. Too bad it wasn't one of my marriages - it could have saved me money. Anyway, it should be false imprisonment in such cases - the flight, that is, not the marriage.
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Reuters | May 28, 2008 08:17 PM