Getting Petty Revenge
I was on a flight where a middle-aged gentleman wound up sitting next to me. He was obviously on a business trip from his attire. He was late getting to the Southwest flight, and he had a roller carry-on. He starts trying to shove it forcefully into an overhead bin. He does it in a way that shows a complete disregard for the other items already in the bin, smashing it against everything to get it in.
The flight attendant comes up, and he politely says, “Sir, I don’t think it’s going to fit, and the flight is rather full, I think I will need to check your bag”. The businessman gives him a snooty response, the flight attendant repeats herself. This goes on for about five minutes, with the businessman insisting that his bag goes into the overhead bin.
The guy is getting more agitated. The attendant finally appears to relent, and says “Okay, how about you let me try”?. The guy hands him the bag, and as soon as he has it in hand, begins walking away saying, “I’m sorry sir, we’re going to have to check this”. The businessman has a hissy fit but takes his seat next to me.
I noticed him immediately take out his laptop, open his email, and start typing an email to Southwest customer service, complaining about the rude and awful behavior of the flight attendant by name and about how he had been “publicly embarrassed”. Seeing this happen, I knew exactly how to get some petty revenge.
Already having my laptop out, I also immediately drafted an email to Southwest customer service. The guy put his full name in his email, so I saw his name. I sent an email to customer service, saying that I’m watching my seatmate currently sending a very nasty email about the flight attendant. I made sure to comment on how polite and professional the flight attendant was, and that the businessman was far too old to be throwing a hissy fit when we’re trying to get people in the seats to pull back from the gate.
I still feel good about it.
Story credit: Reddit / Kinmuan