United Airlines Apologizes After Another Mini PR Nightmare

Good grief, United Airlines.

A United customer recently recorded part of a contentious exchange with a New Orleans ticket counter agent. Navang Oza, 37, said the entire situation started because United wanted to charge him $300 for an oversized bag, even though it only cost him $125 on his incoming flight. After issuing a complaint, the agent, according to Oza, was rude to him, and that’s when he started recording.

I guess @united harassment isn't limited to the unfriendly skies. #unacceptable #united #lackofcustomerservice pic.twitter.com/A5P6A8XJjC

— Navang Oza (@Navang25) May 8, 2017

The agent didn’t approve of him recording, and Oza said she ultimately canceled his reservation to go home to San Francisco after he refused to stop.

The exchange went something like this–

“You did not have my permission to videotape,” the agent said.

“What’s his name?” the agent asked. “Cancel the reservation.”

Um…pretty sure you’re not allowed to randomly cancel a customer’s reservation…

“I was shocked because I didn’t know she had the right to cancel my flight because I started recording,” Oza said, according to NBC News.

Back to the conversation–

“I don’t know the situation, I know that you’re videotaping and this is not acceptable,” the agent said.

“Do you know why I’m videotaping you? Because you guys have terrible customer service,” Oza said.

At some point, the agent threatened to get the police involved. And then, she pulled out her cellphone and started recording him.

“Hold on, let me get my phone out,” the agent said. “I’ll do the same thing … and let me take a picture of your oversized bag, so you want to play that game.”

Great customer service there, United. Great stuff. Truly.

Long story short, the agent called airport police, who basically told Oza that he didn’t do anything wrong.

Now, Oza told NBC News that he had a bit of alcohol in his system and was short on sleep but contends that those factors had nothing to do with the situation. He decided to record the agent because she was rude. She didn’t want to be on video and ultimately canceled his reservation. That’s his story, and he’s sticking to it.

He ended up buying a ticket with a different airline and wants a refund from United.

“If people are being rude, if people are making up rules at kiosks of airlines, I feel like that’s something we should be recording and sharing with everyone,” he told NBC.

United is investigating the incident and released the following statement–

“The video does not reflect the positive customer experience we strive to offer, and for that we apologize,” United said in a statement. “We are reviewing this situation, including talking with Mr. Oza and our employees to better understand what happened.”

I can see both sides of this conflict. On one hand, it kinda seemed like Oza was instigating. On the other hand, agents aren’t supposed to be rude to customers, no matter how belligerent they may be. Either way, United can’t afford this kind of unnecessary drama.