Southwest Flight Attendant Disses Passenger Wearing Trump T-shirt in Facebook Post
One Southwest flight attendant may be re-thinking his social media strategy today after his private Facebook post went viral for all the wrong reasons.
On Thursday, Mark Kaminski took to Southwest’s Facebook page to call out one of its crew members for posting a private message to his Facebook page, in which he shamed a passenger for wearing a Trump t-shirt.
According to The Chicago Sun-Times, the flight attendant posted a photo of a passenger in an aisle seat wearing a camouflage hat and a blue T-shirt printed with an American flag on the front. The t-shirt also had the words “Trump 45’’ and “Suck it up Buttercup” printed on the front.
The flight attendant reportedly captioned the shot: “Someone did NOT get my most Positively Outrageous Service today on my flight ... #notgoingtosuckitup #dumpTrump #eeew.’’
Kaminski posted a link to the offending flight attendant’s page on Southwest’s feed writing, “So this is how they treat passengers?'' He added, "He should be fired because he can't do his job. Very sad employee.''
Southwest replied to Kaminski’s post sharing, "We aim to provide outstanding service to all who travel with us and regret if we missed the mark. We appreciate you sharing your feedback.''
Other fans of Southwest’s page quickly jumped on the post to add their own thoughts to the conversation. And, predictably, it became a bit of a political battleground. Some even took it so far as to hop on Twitter with the hashtag #BoycottSouthwest.
"I’m the farthest thing from a Trump supporter, but I am a 'people' supporter,'' one commenter said. "This is clearly unacceptable. Southwest Airlines, I love a lot of Trump supporters even though I don’t agree with them and frankly this kind of behavior from your FA is what’s making civil discussion in our country all but a memory. If you think it is OK for your (employee) to give lesser treatment to someone he disagrees with, I hope you’ll find it OK when I take my business to an airline I agree with."
However, there were a few people in the comments who praised the crew member, saying things like “Give this man a raise.”
The post reached about 100 comments before Southwest removed it. The flight attendant reportedly removed the post from his own feed as well. According to Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz, who spoke with USA Today, the post was removed as the airline conducts its own internal investigation.
"We aim to provide outstanding service to all who travel with us,'' Mainz additionally noted. "The post in question does not reflect the inclusive environment we strive to provide for our customers and employees."
