Planes, Pulitzers and a resignation resulted in OYs! and Yos! yesterday:
OYs! to United airlines which went against its iconic logo – “Fly the Friendly Skies of United” – when a thug, I mean a security official, dragged a doctor off the plane when he wouldn’t give up his seat to a United employee. I’m not sure what the charge for that is, against the doctor I mean. Maybe it’s un-aggravated and not-disorderly conduct.
But clearly there was a snake on that plane and it was the security guard who now has been suspended over an incident that I’m guessing the doc has a good lawsuit for, if he so chooses. The incident did educate us (or me at least) on passenger rights when being asked to give up your properly purchased seat at the time appropriate to your needs, not the airline's needs. For example under U.S. Department of Transportation (DoT) regulations in some circumstances you may be eligible for 400% of the ticket price you paid, up to $1350. There is nothing in DoT regulations that says you get a bloodied nose or manhandled for giving up or being asked to give up your seat.
Having handled a bunch of public relations crises for clients over the years, I can point to yesterday’s United example as a classic case of what not to do in a situation. Okay, you needn’t be an experienced PR professional to know what United did was wrong from physically abusing the passenger to the company CEO talking about “reaccommodating” the passengers. In fact, as I type “reaccomodating” that red underline thingie shows up to say not only is a dumb concept, it is not a word.
Certainly worthy of five Oys!: Oy! Oy! Oy! Oy! Oy! (And six Oys! if the rules allowed it for the security guy who dragged the doc off the plane)
Pulitzer prizes always get a Yo! Pulitizers were awarded yesterday and most notably yesterday to me David Fahrenthold of the Washington Post won a Pulitzer for his series of articles uncovering then-candidate Donald Trump’s philanthropic claims over the course of his campaign. Fahrenthold is the one who discovered through shoe-leather and dogged reporting that Trump’s “charity” over the years was mostly to himself, such as purchasing portraits of himself with his charity’s money and paying off lost or settled lawsuits with his foundation’s funds. Fahrenthold also did the story uncovering that “Access Hollywood” tape in which Trump admitted to promoting sexual harassment against women. Good thing Farnenthold got the Pulitzer because his outstanding reporting didn’t stop Trump from being elected. Five Yos! Yo! Yo! Yo! Yo! Yo!
Alabama governor resigns. And let us not forget yesterday’s “other news” where the governor of Alabama resigned because he had an affair with a staff member resulting in the governor’s divorce and an investigation into that and his misuse of state money. The guv hung in for a long time, refusing to resign and claiming innocence, but we all know how that story ends. Three Oys!, only because he isn’t the first and won’t be the last to leave under these circumstances. Oy! Oy! Oy!
And a final category that occurred only when I read again the former governor’s statement of resignation and the United CEOs statement that didn’t include his resignation. The Oys! have been aplenty today but the stockroom tells me we have 10 left. So, five Oys! each to the airline president and the former governor!
Here are their statements:
The governor: “I have decided it is time for me to step down as governor. I've not always made the right choices. I've not always said the right things. Though I have sometimes failed, I've always tried to live up to the high expectations the people place on the person who holds this esteemed office." (Emphasis added to show his high expectations differ from the voters.)
The United CEO: "This is an upsetting event to all of us here at United. I apologize for having to re-accommodate these customers. Our team is moving with a sense of urgency to work with the authorities and conduct our own detailed review of what happened." (Emphasis added because a red underline doesn’t show up here.)
Five Oys! to each Oy! Oy! Oy! Oy! Oy!
I’d “voice” the other five but you get the idea.
OYs! to United airlines which went against its iconic logo – “Fly the Friendly Skies of United” – when a thug, I mean a security official, dragged a doctor off the plane when he wouldn’t give up his seat to a United employee. I’m not sure what the charge for that is, against the doctor I mean. Maybe it’s un-aggravated and not-disorderly conduct.
But clearly there was a snake on that plane and it was the security guard who now has been suspended over an incident that I’m guessing the doc has a good lawsuit for, if he so chooses. The incident did educate us (or me at least) on passenger rights when being asked to give up your properly purchased seat at the time appropriate to your needs, not the airline's needs. For example under U.S. Department of Transportation (DoT) regulations in some circumstances you may be eligible for 400% of the ticket price you paid, up to $1350. There is nothing in DoT regulations that says you get a bloodied nose or manhandled for giving up or being asked to give up your seat.
Having handled a bunch of public relations crises for clients over the years, I can point to yesterday’s United example as a classic case of what not to do in a situation. Okay, you needn’t be an experienced PR professional to know what United did was wrong from physically abusing the passenger to the company CEO talking about “reaccommodating” the passengers. In fact, as I type “reaccomodating” that red underline thingie shows up to say not only is a dumb concept, it is not a word.
Certainly worthy of five Oys!: Oy! Oy! Oy! Oy! Oy! (And six Oys! if the rules allowed it for the security guy who dragged the doc off the plane)
Pulitzer prizes always get a Yo! Pulitizers were awarded yesterday and most notably yesterday to me David Fahrenthold of the Washington Post won a Pulitzer for his series of articles uncovering then-candidate Donald Trump’s philanthropic claims over the course of his campaign. Fahrenthold is the one who discovered through shoe-leather and dogged reporting that Trump’s “charity” over the years was mostly to himself, such as purchasing portraits of himself with his charity’s money and paying off lost or settled lawsuits with his foundation’s funds. Fahrenthold also did the story uncovering that “Access Hollywood” tape in which Trump admitted to promoting sexual harassment against women. Good thing Farnenthold got the Pulitzer because his outstanding reporting didn’t stop Trump from being elected. Five Yos! Yo! Yo! Yo! Yo! Yo!
Alabama governor resigns. And let us not forget yesterday’s “other news” where the governor of Alabama resigned because he had an affair with a staff member resulting in the governor’s divorce and an investigation into that and his misuse of state money. The guv hung in for a long time, refusing to resign and claiming innocence, but we all know how that story ends. Three Oys!, only because he isn’t the first and won’t be the last to leave under these circumstances. Oy! Oy! Oy!
And a final category that occurred only when I read again the former governor’s statement of resignation and the United CEOs statement that didn’t include his resignation. The Oys! have been aplenty today but the stockroom tells me we have 10 left. So, five Oys! each to the airline president and the former governor!
Here are their statements:
The governor: “I have decided it is time for me to step down as governor. I've not always made the right choices. I've not always said the right things. Though I have sometimes failed, I've always tried to live up to the high expectations the people place on the person who holds this esteemed office." (Emphasis added to show his high expectations differ from the voters.)
The United CEO: "This is an upsetting event to all of us here at United. I apologize for having to re-accommodate these customers. Our team is moving with a sense of urgency to work with the authorities and conduct our own detailed review of what happened." (Emphasis added because a red underline doesn’t show up here.)
Five Oys! to each Oy! Oy! Oy! Oy! Oy!
I’d “voice” the other five but you get the idea.
RSS Feed