Supermodel Naomi Campbell is at it again.
This time, she’s been accused of spitting, kicking and swearing at officers aboard a British Airways plane while at Heathrow Airport in London. The judge must agree, because he sentenced her to 200 hours of community service and a $4,600 fine, despite her claims that airline personnel provoked the situation by behaving in a racially insensitive manner.
I know, I know. Another air rage story.
But what gives?
With all due respect, Ms. Campbell, there’s a trend here. You’ve been in the news before about this kind of thing, including a reckless assault charge brought by a housekeeper last year, an assault charge for allegedly beating an assistant while making a film in Canada in 2000 — there seems to be a whole host of cell-phone wielding shenanigans.
This begs the question, when is enough enough for airlines?
Most airlines’ Terms of Transportation or Contracts of Carriage (terms used interchangeably) say that an airline may refuse transportation to a customer whose behavior is disorderly, violent or abusive.
During my airline customer-relations career, I recall two occasions where customers were “fired” for poor behavior — and deservedly so, in my opinion.
Customer X, we’ll call him, was an infrequent flier (a “kettle,” as in Ma & Pa Kettle, to coin a popular term), and was permanently canned after he came across a gate podium and beat up an agent. He severely injured the employee and broke the podium and the backdrop to smithereens, all with his bare hands.
The cause of his anger? A missed connection because of bad weather. He did some time for that stunt.
Add self-defense to the list of things a gate agent has to pay attention to.
Customer Y, a very frequent flier, was sacked because of the way he repeatedly treated my former airline’s employees. This was no easy decision for company bigwigs. This guy spent a lot of money and flew at full, top-dollar fare many days of the week. He was among the top 100 of our revenue producers.
But the fact was, every time he interacted with employees — at any level — he berated them, cursed at them, threatened them and eventually reduced many of them to tears. He would regularly complain that nobody would help him.
Duh! You reap what you sow, and this guy was known throughout the system.
The ironic part? He is a nationally recognized guru on customer interaction techniques.
Finally, he crossed the line, and the opportunity cost of putting up with his antics was greater than the revenue he generated. He was sent to pasture, and left to connect through someone else’s hub, rather than enjoying our non-stop service.
All his coveted frequent flier miles were confiscated and he was added to the airline’s “no fly” list. Instant persona non grata.
After about a year, and a good bit of groveling on his part, the company’s money-seekers caved, and he was allowed back, but with the solemn promise that he would sit down, shut up and fly. No exception requests. No complaints. Just his American Express card and a humble “thank you.”
When I left, that’s exactly what he was doing.
If you’re reading this, and if you work or worked for my former employer in a customer-facing position, you’re likely laughing, crying, cringing or some combination thereof at the mere mention of Customer Y.
You know who he is.
If you’re him, or someone like him, I hope you are blushing. You know who you are.
Just like when Seinfeld’s Elaine was labeled a difficult patient, maybe Naomi would benefit from some time in the cornfield.
