Travelers usually turn to Southwest Airlines’ Facebook page to ask travel questions, whine about fares and flight delays or share heartwarming customer service stories.
On Thursday, Mark Kaminski had one mission: to call out a Southwest flight attendant for shaming a passenger wearing a Trump T-shirt.
Kaminski, a 51-year-old Chicago resident, shared a screenshot of a personal Facebook post by a male Southwest flight attendant. A friend had shared it with him. Both are Trump supporters.
The flight attendant’s post featured a photo of a man in an aisle seat on a Southwest flight, dressed in shorts, a camouflage hat and a navy blue T-shirt with an American flag and the words “Trump 45’’ and “Suck it up Buttercup.’’
The caption: “Someone did NOT get my most Positively Outrageous Service today on my flight ... #notgoingtosuckitup #dumpTrump #eeew.’’ The “outrageous” line is a customer service mantra long espoused by Southwest.
Kaminski asked Southwest, “So this is how they treat passengers?’’
He criticized the flight attendant for not “giving his best to a customer because he hates the man’s shirt and our president.”
“Wow,’’ Kaminski added. “He should be fired because he can’t do his job. Very sad employee.’’
A Southwest representative quickly replied to the post with one of the airline’s stock social media responses: “We aim to provide outstanding service to all who travel with us and regret if we missed the mark. We appreciate you sharing your feedback.’’
And then the comments began pouring in, in most cases along party lines.
“Give this man a raise,’’ one said, while another said, “This guy should be fired.’’
“I’m the farthest thing from a Trump supporter, but I am a ‘people’ supporter,’’ one poster said. “This is clearly unacceptable. Southwest Airlines, I love a lot of Trump supporters even though I don’t agree with them and frankly this kind of behavior from your FA is what’s making civil discussion in our country all but a memory. If you think it is OK for your [employee] to give lesser treatment to someone he disagrees with, I hope you’ll find it OK when I take my business to an airline I agree with.”
Hashtags emerged, including #boycottSouthwest. One poster handed out the number, extension included, of Southwest’s customer relations team.
The number of comments was approaching 100 by the time Southwest removed the post, a large number for a post that is not easy to find. The flight attendant also scrubbed photos and other information from his Facebook page and shortened his last name. He did not respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment.
Read more at usatoday.com.
