Comments on: It’s not about the money

By: UMNRs – Unaccompanied Minors | Flight Wisdom

UMNRs – Unaccompanied Minors | Flight Wisdom — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 21:49:47 +0000

[...] maintains it isn’t about the money. He gave them what he thought was reasonable…a full refund, [...]

By: Heidi

Heidi — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 01:22:17 +0000

Losing luggage is one thing. But losing children? I’d certainly hesitate now before letting my kids fly to Florida by themselves as I’ve been considering. If airline employees can’t be trusted to put a kid on the right plane, how can you be sure they’ll be put into the right hands at the other end? In any case, I don’t think this girl’s father is asking for too much from the airline. At the very least it is the MINIMUM the airline should have OFFERED. He should not have to DEMAND such basic common sense restitution. Good luck!

By: jik

jik — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 00:11:02 +0000

If her daughter is embarassed, how is that Jonathan’s fault, and not the fault of the airline that caused the situation?

As much as I hate to argue with someone who is supporting me , if indeed my daughter were embarrassed by the publicity surrounding what happened to her, then that would indeed be my fault, since I would have chosen to publicize it despite the increased pain for her.

But she hasn’t been embarrassed by the publicity, so this is about as relevant as how many angels can fit on the head of a pin.

By: Rob

Rob — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 23:44:22 +0000

KB,

If her daughter is embarassed, how is that Jonathan’s fault, and not the fault of the airline that caused the situation?

By: Frisky070802

Frisky070802 — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 18:36:10 +0000

Very well said!

By: Katya Gardner

Katya Gardner — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 18:31:32 +0000

I had an, um, discussion with my husband last night about this kerfuffle, he (who has not taken the time to familiarize himself with your blog) insists that the only viable option here is a 2.3 million dollar lawsuit, because corporations can’t afford to do the right thing, less they admit liability and open themselves to… lawsuits. Yes, he’s a pessimist about the way society currently functions.

It may please you to know that I was in complete “roll my eyes” mode during this rant, because, Jonathan, I have faith that you are more than capable of following this through to a rational, just, community-appropriate resolution.

Which, yes, does involve Continental “making up” for their failure to deliver services. This is not punitive, in my mind–it’s just the right thing for them to do.

By: jik

jik — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 18:00:32 +0000

Here is my question, you said that what you asked for was, and in bold, capitalized print “MINIMUM” that you would accept. Then you went on to say that Continental should offer you much more, that doesn’t sound like you just want this matter resolved? As I've said before, I'm giving Continental the opportunity to make themselves coming out of this looking better than they have so far. The best way for them to do that is by offering me more than the minimum I asked for. They know that, and I know that. If you want to understand why, read the book Customer Satisfaction Is Worthless, Customer Loyalty Is Priceless by Jeffrey Gittomer. If they have given you everything you’ve asked for, why are you still demanding more? Why do you think they've given me everything that I've asked for? In fact, I didn't hear from them until an hour ago about what they were willing to offer, long after I posted the article above to my blog. I will post separately about that. How is Continental supposed to know what you want if you don’t tell them? That's just it. Giving the customer exactly what they demand may earn customer satisfaction but will never earn customer loyalty. And if Continental just can't figure out what to offer me over and above my minimum demands, then, well, they're simply hopeless.

By: KB

KB — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 16:52:31 +0000

If they have given you everything you’ve asked for, why are you still demanding more? I don’t think that coming out smelling better than you went in with is really right. I certainly have a daughter and feel just as freaked at the thought of what you went through as anyone else, but you already put together your list of what your demands were, you said they agreed, and you’re still trying to rile up the media, demand more, etc. How is Continental supposed to know what you want if you don’t tell them? Apparently you told them but it is still not good enough.
It is starting to sound like this has become your opportunity to cash in on your poor daughter’s ordeal. Have you stopped and asked your daughter how she feels about all of the kids in her school knowing she went through this and if she is in the slightest bit embarrassed that her picture is being splashed all over National news?

By: Anna

Anna — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 15:30:18 +0000

I stil can’t believe this happened. And I think you are handling it very well. I’d still be in shock, even after learning the kid is ok.

By: Kelly

Kelly — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 13:42:25 +0000

You haven’t said or done anything I wouldn’t have done myself if an airline violated several security measures to fly my child to the wrong location and then proceeded to lose track of him. A lot of people who blame the victim don’t actually read the entire story, let alone understand why the airline is at fault because it’s soooooooooo much easier to just blame the victim for getting in that situation in the first place. If it was their child/pet/loved one who was lost in NJ due to an airline failing in more ways than one, they wouldn’t be so passive as to think that an apology is a “fair” resolution.