A Note to the Disgrunted Passenger at UA Baggage Claim Last Night at LAX

Dear Disgruntled Passenger,

Hi. I was the young man being assisted at the United baggage claim counter last night at LAX when you stormed in and demanded to cut to the front of the line.

It was apparent that you were a senior citizen, but judging by the speed at which you were moving and the loud volume of your voice, I didn’t quite buy your statement that you were too old to wait in line.

You were not very nice to the service director behind the counter. What good did it do to yell at her? Yelling wasn’t going to make your bag magically appear. And why would you ever put your medications into your checked bag? Based on your behavior, it appeared that you already had missed a few doses.

I was really taken aback that the UA agent remained so patient. You could learn a few things from her. Despite enduring a great deal of verbal abuse from you about how evil United Airlines is and how your son is going to look into a lawsuit, and how you never trust any flight attendants, the agent calmly listened to you then attempted to help.

Patience is a virtue. The agent quickly determined when she looked up your information that the bags from your flight from Denver were still being unloaded. Next time, look up at the baggage monitors and check for your flight number. Also, if bags are still coming out of the chute, it’s probably a good idea to wait for the last one instead of storming over to the baggage claim office and whining that your bag is lost.

Respect is also a virtue. In the future, it would serve you well to put yourself in the place of others. Imagine how you would feel if you had been waiting in line for 20 minutes when an irate customer cut in front of you. And an apology to the baggage claim agent would have been nice instead of storming out in a huff, muttering about how much you hate United.

I’m glad you finally located your bag. Now please take your medication and show a bit more discretion next time.

Sincerely,

Matthew