OPINION:
Ann Coulter unleashed a storm of fiery tweets against Delta, going into the wee hours of the night to wonder aloud why the airline, without explanation, without apology and apparently, without concern for the backlash that could follow, switched her prepaid, carefully selected seat — the one with the large legroom area — to another with far less space.
And Delta, unbelievably enough, took to Twitter to snark back. Not the greatest customer service move to make. Let’s remember: Coulter’s the victim here — not the airline that switched her prepaid, preselected seat without explanation.
Here’s what happened: Coulter booked a seat. Delta changed it and gave her extra legroom to someone else. Coulter — and this was her sin, in the eyes of Delta — complained about it.
A sample of her tweets: “‘Why are you taking me out of the extra room seat I specifically booked, @Delta?’ Flight attendants: ‘I don’t know.’ “
Another: “Just when you think it’s safe to fly them again, the worst airline in America is STILL @Delta.”
Another, with a picture of the woman who was given Coulter’s seat: ” @Delta didn’t give my extra room seat to an air marshall or tall person. Here’s the woman given my PRE-BOOKED seat.”
Another: “Hey @Delta, you mind telling me why it was an ‘emergency’ to move someone else into the seat I had carefully chosen in advance and booked?”
Yet another: ” @JetBlue has free wifi and doesn’t wantonly remove passengers from their assigned seats, booked in advance FOR A REASON. @Delta sucks.”
More: “So glad I took time [to] investigate the aircraft & PRE-BOOK a specific seat on @Delta, so some woman could waltz at the last min & take my seat.”
Another: “But at least @Delta was nice @ it, summarily snatching my ticket from my hand & ordering me to move w/o explanation, compensation or apology.”
There are more — many, many more, comparing Delta employees to prison guards, stasi police officers and such, and calling out the airline for giving the “dachshund-legged woman” her prepaid seat.
But you get the idea.
Delta, for its part, took to Twitter, too, and chided Coulter.
“We are disappointed that the customer has chosen to publicly attack our employees and other customers by posting derogatory and slanderous comments and photos in social media,” the airline tweeted.
And another: “@AnnCoulter Additionally, your insults about our other customers and employees are unacceptable and unnecessary.”
Well, really — they aren’t. And here’s why: Americans are sick and tired of being treated like chattel by airlines. Seats are smaller, legroom is far less ample, fees come fast and furious, lines are outrageously long, customer service is about a zero — or less — and complaints, no matter how valid, are handled with the most dismissive of attitudes that seem to sneer, yeah, we switched your seat, yeah, we lost your baggage, but what are you gonna do about it?
If airlines were Democrats, the passengers would be black voters. The shared logic: Where else are you going to go?
Delta refunded Coulter $30 for the seat. But apparently, Delta failed miserably on the customer service scale — else Coulter wouldn’t have taken to Twitter with such vehemence.
“But I love @Delta declaring my tweets unacceptable,” Coulter tweeted. “@Delta now dictating acceptable conduct off the plane. NOT fascist at all #Resist.”
And any other flyer in America ought to side with Coulter on this. Remember the days when the customer was always right? Delta doesn’t.
Coulter’s story is just an example of one of hundreds of bad airline customer service tales of woes that happen weekly in this country. The fact that Coulter’s in a position to draw massive light on the problem makes her a bullhorn to Delta — but a saving grace for the average Jane and Joe airline ticket holder who may face similar circumstance, but don’t have nearly as loud a voice as the conservative firebrand.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.