patrick.net

If other industries were run this way, this would be a night out on the town:. Go out with your wife and kid, park in a garage, order dinner and just as it comes, the waiter kicks you out of your seat. When you refuse, the bouncer knocks you out and drags you to the curb. You go to get your car and find out it's been towed, because the garage needed the spot. You're pissed, but someone says it was all part of the contract you signed by using the facilities, and the contract is 20 pages of fine print on the web site. Yeah, that makes it all better. What a life.

YesYNot says

If other industries were run this way, this would be a night out on the town:. Go out with your wife and kid, park in a garage, order dinner and just as it comes, the waiter kicks you out of your seat. When you refuse, the bouncer knocks you out and drags you to the curb. You go to get your car and find out it's been towed, because the garage needed the spot. You're pissed, but someone says it was all part of the contract you signed by using the facilities, and the contract is 20 pages of fine print on the web site. Yeah, that makes it all better. What a life.

And then the restaurant and garage get PI's to check you out, and find out 10 years ago you had a DWI, so this is "Divine Punishment" or "Karma", and therefore they Dindu Nutin' wrong.

Strategist says

United lost a billion dollars on their market cap today due to incident. They were too cheap to offer more than $800 to passengers willing to give up their seat. Serves them right.

Pennywise, Pound Foolish. An accountant must have come up with the math.

Fastest way to destroy any company, but an accountant in charge. The understand the bottom line but not how you get there. They'd cut quality, customer service, etc. and then 3 years later wonder why all the customers are abandoning the business.

Society functions mostly on Trust and unwritten rules. If "Everybody read the dotted line" everytime they brought a ticket or a sandwich, it would cost trillions in lost productivity.

Ironman says

As most people do, but how can you cry "foul" if you didn't read it, and the terms of the contract come back to bite you??

Some people here just refuse to take any Personal Responsibility for their actions, and rather blame others...

There should be some legal limit to the amount and complexity of "fine print" because corporations have far greater resources to impose hidden but onerous restrictions than individuals have time to find them and make a rational decision.

www.youtube.com/embed/zSQNl4V_R88

Plane Not Overbooked; Passengers removed to accommodate Employees

United spokesman Jonathan Guerin said Tuesday that all 70 seats on United Express Flight 3411 were filled, but the plane was not overbooked as the airline previously reported. Instead, United and regional affiliate Republic Airlines, which operated the flight, selected four passengers to be removed to accommodate crew members needed in Louisville the next day. The passengers were selected based on a combination of criteria spelled out in United’s contract of carriage, including frequent-flier status, fare type, check-in time and connecting flight implications, among others, according to United.

Toldja So! It was to save $$$ moving employees to a new location so no overtime or other expenses would have to be paid if they couldn't get there. Nor was it employees using some kind of travel privilege; no Airline would remove paying passengers to do that.

Dangerous "Logic":

"Oh, 10 years ago this guy was busted with some weed/soliciting Prostitutes/had $1,000 in upaid parking tickets in East Bumfuck, so Acme Airlines in West Guam has every right to beat the shit out of him for not involuntarily giving up his paid seat today."

I didn't read his court statement from 10 years ago that read "We find that Mr. X at some point, years in the future, can be kicked out of a paid seat and beaten, as part of his sentencing"

I see the Good Doctor is all lawyered up. Looks like he has two of them!

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2017/04/11/united-ceo-employees-followed-procedures-flier-belligerent/100317166/

PCGyver says

Yeah that stuff is boring.

That doc said you could be forced to involuntarily give up your seat if the flight was overbooked. It did not say that the airline could kick you off to give an airline employee a seat. The flight was not overbooked, so this doesn't apply. It also doesn't mention giving up a seat once on the plane. It definitely doesn't mention getting knocked out, which is why people are pissed. It's about abuse of power, by using unnecessary force.

Dan8267 says

There is also a possibility that no one accepts an offer below $10,000.

At some point it would be cheaper to charter a jet for the employees.

jvolstad says

I see the Good Doctor is all lawyered up. Looks like he has two of them!

United may have been unethical and foolish, but they did nothing illegal. The Doctor will lose if this goes before a jury, but most likely United will settle for a $million.

Did the guy have a united ticket or a republic airlines ticket? If united sold his ticket, presumably his contract was with united. They can hire out the flight, but they still have to provide the service.

Ironman says

So are you saying the airline should charge him EXTRA for that, instead of knocking him out for FREE,

This is one of the dumber things you've uttered. The irony is how much he's going to charge them for the privilege.

Strategist says

United may have been unethical and foolish, but they did nothing illegal.

Last time I checked, assault was illegal. Being a rent-a-cop, not a real cop, doesn't give you the right to commit assault even if you are carrying a person off a plain. In any case, he can sue as a tort for pain, injury, emotional trauma, and character assassination. A jury might very well offer him a shitload of money. Remember the McDonald's coffee case? If a jury can award the plaintiff in that, what makes you think this far worse case of intentional harm won't be convincing?

I hope he takes them to the cleaners. And don't worry about airline ticket prices. If airlines had any way to raise prices, they already would have. They sure haven't lacked trying.

Ironman says

So, instead of "plain", if it was vanilla or chocolate, would that make a difference?

Congratulations, the best argument you ever made against something I wrote is pointing out a typo. Did you orgasm? This must be the highlight of your month.

Dan8267 says

Strategist says

United may have been unethical and foolish, but they did nothing illegal.

Last time I checked, assault was illegal.

Not vacating his seat when asked to by security was illegal. If he felt his rights were being violated, he could always take up the issue with a lawyer.
Both the Doctor and United over reacted. Nevertheless, I sympathize with the Doctor, and believe he will come out ahead.

Strategist says

Not vacating his seat when asked to by security was illegal.

Show me the law that states that.

And even if that is the case, it does not justify assault. The laws doesn't allow you to assault a person, rape a person, or murder a person simply because they commit a minor crime. We don't live in a society with a "bash the criminal all you want" law that takes effect immediately when a person commits a technical violation of the law.

Put simply, the actions of the airline cannot be justified and they should be held accountable.

This incident also makes a compelling case that overbooking should be illegal and that passengers should be entitled to $10,000 cash immediately if airlines refuse to fulfill transport a person to whom they sold a ticket. It's fraud, plain and simple.

If they shot him first it would have limited the squealing..

Dan8267 says

Remember the McDonald's coffee case?

My first Econ and Law class: It's been a tort to serve food/beverages hot enough to cause damage since the 1500s-1600s when somebody dumped hot soup in the lap of a customer, causing burns. Anything served at a temperature that can't be immediately consumed without harm is a tort; if it was hot enough to scald her legs with 3rd degree burns within seconds; it was too damn hot. Other restaurants brew coffee at 140 degrees; this cools considerably the moment the liquid is added to any kind of cup. This was actually a no-brainer lawsuit.

Additionally, both McDonalds and the Franchisee were aware and warned that their unmodified machines were too hot and posed a liability months before the woman spilled a little coffee on herself. If memory serves, the cost of the regulator was a nickel per coffee machine.

YesYNot says

If other industries were run this way, this would be a night out on the town:. Go out with your wife and kid, park in a garage, order dinner and just as it comes, the waiter kicks you out of your seat. When you refuse, the bouncer knocks you out and drags you to the curb. You go to get your car and find out it's been towed, because the garage needed the spot. You're pissed, but someone says it was all part of the contract you signed by using the facilities, and the contract is 20 pages of fine print on the web site. Yeah, that makes it all better. What a life.

#GorsuchLife just as the Founding Fathers intended

Dan8267 says

If airlines had any way to raise prices, they already would have. They sure haven't lacked trying.

I'm with you about certain aspects of capitalism. But you're wrong here. Airlines are very competitive, and taken as a whole air travel is what economists call elastic, in the sense that consumers do a lot more of it when prices are low. So they all compete with eachother, also knowing that keeping prices down increases volume for all. They have to contend with the JetBlues and Southwests of the world that will annihilate them if they are too greedy.

https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/02/how-airline-ticket-prices-fell-50-in-30-years-and-why-nobody-noticed/273506/

Peter P says

Dan8267 says

There is also a possibility that no one accepts an offer below $10,000.

At some point it would be cheaper to charter a jet for the employees.

Uber will take you from Chicago airport to Louisville for $412 right now. It's a 5 hours drive. This half-wit wound up delaying the flight more than three hours. LOL!

APOCALYPSEFUCK_is_ADORABLE says

A seriously gay Chinese doctor should have offered United Airlines a blow job and a free prescription of morphine and made everyone on the plane Moo Shi pork.

Why does he hate FREE!dom?

He's not seriously Chinese, he's Vietnamese, ASSHOLE!

Lashkar_i_Trumpi says

Anything served at a temperature that can't be immediately consumed without harm is a tort; if it was hot enough to scald her legs with 3rd degree burns within seconds; it was too damn hot. Other restaurants brew coffee at 140 degrees; this cools considerably the moment the liquid is added to any kind of cup. This was actually a no-brainer lawsuit.

Additionally, both McDonalds and the Franchisee were aware and warned that their unmodified machines were too hot and posed a liability months before the woman spilled a little coffee on herself. If memory serves, the cost of the regulator was a nickel per coffee machine.

This is all true, but if the serving coffee at the temperature McDonald's did is wrong, then anyone who ever boils water is criminally negligent is someone else spills that water on them. I boil water all the time to make tea. Does that mean I'm being negligent?

The old woman wasn't greedy as some say, but it's not reasonable to say that person or business should ever boil water to make tea or coffee. If an individual citizen did this instead of McDonald's, would they be liable for someone else's spills?

There's a lot that McDonald's should answer for, but I don't see this as being one of those things. Yes, some people said the coffee was too hot. Others said anything colder is too cold. McDonald's listened to the most popular opinion because that sells the most coffee. McDonald's didn't serve the coffee that hot to burn people. It did because that was what most people wanted.

Following the reasoning behind this case, if a person poked his eye out with a fork, a restaurant would be liable for having forks that are too sharp. I don't have sympathy for McDonald's, but I cannot rationally justify the idea that boiling water to make coffee is wrong. It's what most people do at home.

marcus says

Dan8267 says

If airlines had any way to raise prices, they already would have. They sure haven't lacked trying.

I'm with you about certain aspects of capitalism. But you're wrong here. Airlines are very competitive, and taken as a whole air travel is what economists elastic

I don't know what's lacking, your economics knowledge or reading comprehension skills, but what you just wrote supports what I just said. Airlines cannot raise prices precisely because the market won't bear higher prices and air travel is largely elastic at this point because of telecommunication.

The price plummets in the graph demonstrate that airlines cannot raise prices. They could not even maintain prices. So it sounds like you are saying exactly what I am.

Dan8267 says

This is all true, but if the serving coffee at the temperature McDonald's did is wrong, then anyone who ever boils water is criminally negligent is someone else spills that water on them. I boil water all the time to make tea. Does that mean I'm being negligent?

You're serving yourself, so it's on you. You also don't drink it the moment you pour it, you wait a bit for the tea to seep, by that time it's not going to cause harm.

Dan8267 says

Following the reasoning behind this case, if a person poked his eye out with a fork, a restaurant would be liable for having forks that are too sharp. I don't have sympathy for McDonald's, but I cannot rationally justify the idea that boiling water to make coffee is wrong. It's what most people do at home.

Maybe so, but this is ancient, settled law on the grounds that when something is served to you, you can eat/drink it immediately.

McD's was keeping the coffee at 180 degrees, which is almost boiling. Almost everybody else, including Dunkies, at 140.

Also, you shouldn't be making coffee with boiled water. That's why coffee via perculator tastes like shit. I turn off my water heater the moment I hear/see the first simmer.

Dan8267 says

The price plummets in the graph demonstrate that airlines cannot raise prices. They could not even maintain prices. So it sounds like you are saying exactly what I am.

Good reason to stop subsidizing the airlines, airports, and commerical aircraft.

I hear the train a'comin' right around the bend...

APOCALYPSEFUCK_is_ADORABLE says

Woah. That answers a question. In another life, in another pursuit, I was subject to ending up on unfamiliar streets in cold weather and remembered getting McDo coffee that was ridiculous in that by the time we would have to leave, it was still too hot to actually drink. Remember leaving a couple behind.

Yeah.

Also why it tasted like shit ("Burnt Coffee" sitting at 180 for a long time), and the only people who survived the Depression and drank instant Coffee in WW2 were the only ones who thought it was great.

Dan8267 says

They could not even maintain prices. So it sounds like you are saying exactly what I am.

Well, I don't get your contention that maximizing the number of passengers on planes is about greed or increasing profits.

A law preventing the practice would very simply be paid for by us in higher prices. It would not come out of some extra profits they are making becasue of the practice.

marcus says

Ironman says

Try again:

-

Don't have to. I was talking about the graph Marcus showed which covers a much larger timeframe than yours. That makes your accusation a fail.

Lashkar_i_Trumpi says

You're serving yourself, so it's on you.

What if I serve a guess a cup of tea by boiling water and placing a tea bag in a tea cup filled with that water? What if that guess spills the hot tea on herself through no fault of mine? Am I to pay out tens of thousands of dollars? I think that would be ridiculous. That's the problem I have with the McDonald's case. It requires treating that company different than we would anyone else.

Lashkar_i_Trumpi says

You also don't drink it the moment you pour it, you wait a bit for the tea to seep, by that time it's not going to cause harm.

That's exactly why some people want really hot coffee from drive-thru's. They want the coffee to stay hot by the time they've driven to work.

The fact is that you cannot please all the people all the time. It's not unreasonable or sadistic for a fast-food restaurant to serve boiling coffee to customers who want exactly that because they are driving 20 minutes in winter and they want the coffee to still be hot 20 minutes from now.

Now those people have no option to get coffee as hot as they want. Maybe that's an acceptable trade-off to prevent accidental spills from burning people, but it's not like before this incident the public had a debate and a law was passed to limit the temperature of hot beverages for that reason.

Lashkar_i_Trumpi says

Also, you shouldn't be making coffee with boiled water.

True, doing so makes the coffee more bitter. I do know some people who love bitter coffee, mostly old people. However, black tea is brewed in boiling water, so I boil water all the time.

APOCALYPSEFUCK_is_ADORABLE says

I was subject to ending up on unfamiliar streets in cold weather and remembered getting McDo coffee that was ridiculous in that by the time we would have to leave, it was still too hot to actually drink.

I think that's the point. People don't expect to drink it right away but rather 5 to 20 minutes later as they sip at traffic stops.

What's really screwed up is that McDonald's ultimately benefited from the lawsuit because of the publicity and the public thinking the lawsuit was ridiculous and frivolous. The old lady wasn't being greedy and just wanted her medical bills paid, but she was made out to be stupid and entitled. People started to sympathized with McDonald's, a company that sells pink slime and poison.

And public perception allowed laws to be enacted that made it basically impossible to win a lawsuit against a big company.

PCGyver says

Hey Dan did you know the largest plane operated by United Express only seats 76 passengers?

Or 43 Americans.

PCGyver says

Other than a momentary drop in their stock price this incident won't hurt United in fact they might end up with more business from this.

Why do you say that?

Lashkar_i_Trumpi says

You also don't drink it the moment you pour it

That reminds me of how when I was a youngster we had a yard man named Van who also mowed my grandparents' and aunt and uncle's yards. He'd knock on the back door and say "tell Miss Cora I'm ready for my lunch". My mother would fix a plate of lunch and put it on a tray and I'd take it out to him in the garage and talk to him while he ate. He'd pour a little coffee in the saucer and blow on it before he drank it and I thought it was funny. I told my mother and she laughed and said that's something the old folks used to do, it's called "saucered and blowed" and of course I wanted some to drink some like that but they wouldn't let me, told me it would turn my insides black so I never drank coffee.

it's called "saucered and blowed"

-------------

My lady does that, also. Except it's her cupping her hands under my balls while i get blowed. Cheers

Aren't any of the sympathizers going to organize a 3 day boycott? At least until they need a cheap flight and find that United has the best price online.

When does United ever have the cheapest fare? They already sucked before communicating to the world that they might just jack you out your seat and toss your ass, if the need arises

errc says

When does United ever have the cheapest fare? They already sucked before communicating to the world that they might just jack you out your seat and toss your ass, if the need arises

I happened to check September flights to London on Expedia. United came in at the lowest...$605 round trip.
I won't mind getting bumped for $800. It's just a pleasure trip.

There is a positive correlation between the attractiveness of the stewardesses and the quality of customer experience.

Airlines who hire/retain old/ugly stewardesses are telling the customers that the management does not care about service.

Peter P says

Airlines who hire/retain old/ugly stewardesses are telling the customers that the management does not care about service.

Additionally, older people in customer service will put up with less shit, develop a coast to retirement mentality, etc. whereas a young person wants to prove themselves.

There's a reason restaurants, retail stores, etc. prefer young gals.

Dan8267 says

Now those people have no option to get coffee as hot as they want. Maybe that's an acceptable trade-off to prevent accidental spills from burning people, but it's not like before this incident the public had a debate and a law was passed to limit the temperature of hot beverages for that reason.

They can always nuke it at their destination. Frankly I have no problem with a customer asking McDonalds to put the coffee in a microwave and make it scalding hot.

There were actually many other incidents at McDs over scalding coffee prior to the lady getting burned. "They knew". Most people want to drink their coffee the moment they get it or at least within a minute.. They don't want to wait 5-10 min to take sip due to the heat.

It's telling that McDonalds was the Outlier, I guess it could be argued it was for their customers, but everybody else was serving at 140.