Words are a powerful weapon and can instantly inflict great pain. As tensions escalated over a missing checked bag, two children grown men exchanged terse insults at Memphis International Airport. Now American Airlines has been forced to apologize for a gratuitous slur.
Theresia and Michael Tirado were traveling home to New Jersey when their American Airlines’ flight diverted to Memphis. The Tirado’s tried to claim their checked bag but a baggage agent (apparently employed by Envoy Air but still wearing the AA uniform) was not able to locate it.
Theresia told WREG, a local CBS affiliate:
And my husband said you’re basically useless to us.
That little insult sparked a volley of insults between Tirado and the agent. Somehow, Tirado identified himself as a police officer, prompting the AA employee to allegedly say, “Oh you’re a cop? That means you’re a killer!”
The agent can be heard on video (below) expressing fear that Tirado will kill him.
American Airlines has been in contact with the Triados. It promised the agent above will receive more training and apologized to the family. AA added:
What we see in the video is extremely concerning: In our culture, every interaction with a customer or team member should be grounded in respect. That’s not what we saw here.
My Thoughts
I have two thoughts on this incident. First, the AA agent was out of line for insulting the cop. As a uniformed employee in a customer service position, he has the responsibility to bite his tongue and remain professional. No matter what this man may have personally experienced with police, his blanket generalization is disgusting and uncalled for.
That said, we don’t know what was said leading up to the recording. How insulting was the cop? What exactly was said to make the AA agent so mad? Theresia Tirado admits that the agent became angry after her husband called him useless. I can imagine some other harsh words may have been leveled at the agent before he snapped. It doesn’t excuse it, but it also reflects very poorly on Michael Tirado.
CONCLUSION
AA handled this well. The situation proved an unfortunate escalation of what was likely a matter beyond the control of Tirado or the AA agent. Such language, if leveled, is intolerable. At the same time, we all have a responsibility to treat one another with respect or at least basic courtesy…sometimes even when it is not deserved.
image: AA
Typical hot-blooded New Jersey Italian. I bet he made a racial insult against the AA agent.
Why would a customer service agent have to “bit his tongue”? There was no reason for a customer to inform someone that he is a cop unless it’s used as a threat to kill you and get away with it or arrest you and make your life miserable. The cop is the person is the one who was the problem. If he couldn’t get satisfactory action from the Envoy employee then he should have asked for a supervisor. A cop know how to use the chain of command. But instead threatens someone by saying that you are “useless” and I am a cop is a threat to kill or arrest.
No need for any employee to “bite his/her tongue” and Matthew whoever told you that because you interact with the public that you must “bit your tongue” told you wrong.
My luggage never made it to my destination when travelling on Christmas Eve once. I went to the airline’s luggage office, they did the usual thing where they located it, said it didn’t make it in transit and would forward it to me the next day. I’ve had lost luggage before, so I knew that this would be the resolution and that there was nothing more that could be done. I said: “Sounds good” and was about to go on my way when the agent said “thank you for being so understanding, you don’t know how many angry and irate customers we’ve had to deal with today!” I replied “well, its not your fault and there’s nothing any of us can do with the bag being where it is. So long as it comes on the next flight and is delivered to my address the next day, I’m not put out. These things happen.” I went on my way, got my bag the next day.
where’s the lie though?
It’s pretty obvious that some fault is with the cop: there is absolutely NOTHING about interaction over lost luggage that requires stating one’s profession, unless there is some perceived advantage in doing so. Why did this guy have to say “I’m a cop”. Could be read as a request for special consideration. Childishness by all parties.
The only way that the passengers occupation being a police officer could have come up is if the passenger announced himself as one. Police officers as a group commit more homicides in the United States each year than MS-13 or any other foreign or domestic terrorist groups. When out of the blue announces they are a cop, you should be concerned for you welfare.
American Airlines doesn’t need to apologize for this agent, the agent could have been more professional but his conduct wasn’t significantly out of line.
If only AA were like Alaska Airlines. With Alaska, no effort is required except to ask. Bag late to come out, $25. Bag missing, $75 now, claim for missing stuff later. After many, many AS flights with most baggage delivered as promised, $150 so far (25+25+25+75) and not disgruntled.
The part that I find odd is that the passenger just happened to say “I’m a cop”. I’m trying to find a way to take that other than some kind of threat.
The comments here have partially refreshed my believe in humanity. I am glad most people here see the cop’s implicit threat for what it was. I myself worshipped the police state but after years of thinking about it came to the conclusion: why would I support people enforcing laws that I disagree with and find immoral, evil and wrong 90% of the time and why would I trust people hired by burecreats and their judgement in following guidelines and protocols which I disagree with most of the time in the first place. The answer is I don’t. I want security guards and peace officers not people blindly enforcing politicians laws which infringe on fundamental freedoms of ones own body and property (not wearing seat belts, drugs, and things like a Christian bake shop who doesn’t want to bake cakes for gay marriage that they don’t support).
Okay buddy one should have to wear a seat belt or accept full liability for any damage to thenselves in a car wreck that would easily be avoided by wearing a seat belt. Unfortunately before seat belt laws if one caused a wreck and someone died when they wouldn’t have if they had a seat belt on the poor person that made a mistake now has to deal with the pain of taking a life. You are too extreme.
But yes a cop shouldn’t ever bring up such a job title as a means to go after a agent that is simply the front spokesman for an issue by the airline completely out of his control and thus understand his response and think the cop was an absolute rude immature child.
That airline employee is a cop hater and nothing more, why else would he call the guy a killer? American airlines should fire him, instead he’s to receive additional training.
How does someone named Juan mistake Tirado, a Spanish surname, as Italian?
Lots of Russian trolls posting today. You need to up your comment moderation game in advance of the coming elections. Putin is hard at work — you supporting his efforts?
When an airline misplaces your luggage (or loses it), it is because of the incompetence and stupidity of their baggage crews, in misdirecting the luggage. The personnel, whom one must deal with, for the most part, could care less, and show very little empathy. One time, I landed at the Akron-Canton Airport, and by the time I got to the luggage carousel, (it was only a few minutes after I landed), my luggage was not on the carousel. Finally, I went inside the claims office to report my missing luggage. Would everyone believe that the witch inside the office had actually removed my luggage from the carousel, and placed it inside her office? I was standing like a fool at the carousel waiting for my luggage, which that idiot had placed inside, prior to my arriving to retrieve it. She didn’t even give me the courtesy to tell me that she had done so. When I asked her why she did what she did. she gave some idiotic excuse that “our luggage was the last one left on the carousel” First of all, it took a while (10-15 minutes at the most), to get to that area. She had no business removing our luggage, within a very brief time after our flight landed. Secondly, she didn’t even give me the courtesy to tell me that she removed my luggage. She was totally unapologetic. Hence, I can understand Officer Tirado escalating the situation verbally, as the arrogant West Indian, who worked for American, also had a bad attitude, similar to the witch at the Akron-Canton Airport. However, Tirado should not have identified himself as a cop, since he had no authority in Memphis. I really miss the old days of flying, when the gate agents, ticket agents, and flight crews treated all of the passengers like royalty. Today, it appears that the animals on board commercial flights (with rare exceptions), are treated more humanely than the human beings!
There was no need to apologize. Everyone knows that Amerikkkan cops are braindead murderers on steroids. Happily, I have nothing to do with this hideous country.