Why hold airline industry to different standards?
Reader Gary Colvin wrote that Northwest Airlines lacked compassion in dealing with his wife's emergency medical circumstances. There's a lot more to Colvin's story than meets the eye ("Ailing airline lacks compassion," Letters, Friday).
As an employee of Northwest Airlines for 19 years, I feel the need to defend my company.
The Internet now allows the traveling public fee options. While we certainly would sympathize with the fact that Colvin was trying to get his wife to proper medical treatment at the Mayo Clinic, he apparently missed the seven-day advance booking the better Internet fare had required. Northwest Airlines is a business, not a charitable organization.
What other industry would a customer ask for or even expect a special discount because of extraordinary circumstances?
Is the surgeon discounting his fees? Are the mortgage and utility companies going to discount payments because a family member is in need of important medical treatment? How about the grocery store? If not, do the other businesses lack compassion, too?
I wish people would see things from the airline's perspective.
What other industry's pricing is such that it is less than 30 years ago?
There are thousands of people losing their jobs and getting pay cuts that equal what many workers were earning 10 years ago. I find it unfortunate that in today's pricing environment, many fares are below the costs of delivering the product to the customer.
And by the way, customer service does not always mean giving everyone what he or she wants.
The extraordinary folks at the Mayo Clinic were doing their jobs, as was, I am sure, the Northwest representative. Good customer service, in some cases, is a matter of interpretation.
Sandra Rhodes, Palm Harbor, Fla.