But It Was Just A LITTLE Screw-Up!
A couple of days ago, a mom in Boston paid the extra fee to have Continental Airlines employees look after her 10-year-old daughter who was flying by herself on a flight to Cleveland for a visit with her grandparents. It all went off without a hitch … except for one small detail: the Continental people put the kid on a flight to Newark by mistake.
It took a while, but everything was finally sorted out. Continental flew the kid to the right city and, to make amends — Are you ready? — offered to refund the extra Unaccompanied Minor Fee.
I wonder how much more that “gesture” is gonna cost the airline when the lawyer for the kid’s parents gets through with them!
You are right, of course: It was “just” a mistake. But my point was that Continental apparently made just a half-assed gesture to the parents of this kid. In my experience (I ran the Complaint Department for the City of Honolulu for 8 years), a little extra effort could have made everything right: Launch a review of procedures to prevent a reoccurance, a personal phone call from a top airline exec expressinbg regret, first class tickets anywhere on the Continental system for the parents and daughter, whatever … but something to let them know that there was sincere regret.
Christopher, I disagree since we’re talking neglect of a ten-year old child.
Not to mention failure to execute a contract following the offer to perform and acceptance of consideration.
You cannot despise lawyers as a race more than I do; but in this case, Continental is not likely to modify its behavior without punishment.
Come on, it was a mistake. Sure it had consequences, but we are humans and we make mistakes. You have to allow for that.
If there is a problem in the system, fix it. If there’s a pattern of mistakes, then there is a larger problem. Maybe there was a problem in the system, but you haven’t presented that. All we know is that someone screwed up.
This is the kind of thing that has no business in a lawsuit. Not unless there is some larger problem.
Plus there is the business about the one who is not guilty throwing the first stone and all of that . . .