My flight home this evening was several hours late. Shocking news, I know, but what was really shocking was how they handled it. It is important to note that I was flying on Southwest. They are not my airline of choice but they usually do a good job. Today was no different. The delays were mechanical and weather related.

We eventually took off three hours late. The gate agent apologized a few times along the way as she kept us updated. Then, as we boarded, the flight attendant acknowledged the delay as she gave us the usual instructions.

In flight, the pilot said, “I am sorry I got you down here late tonight but I appreciate your patience and hope you will fly us again.” The remarkable thing there is he took responsibility for something he didn’t have to. He could have said sorry but weather etc…..but he didn’t. Nice. Then on landing the flight attendant again, “Thanks for flying us and hope the delay isn’t a big problem, sorry.”

The final straw and the one that caused me to write this was the gate agent walking down the gate with a wheelchair as I was walking up the ramp. “Hi folks, welcome to Raleigh, Sorry for the delay.” WOW.

I can honestly say I have flown other carriers (most often USAirways) and been delayed for hours and had NO ONE say anything about the delay. Nothing. I have even written to complain a on few incredible occasions and never gotten a reply.

I just want someone to acknowledge the inconvenience but so often today nobody does. Our society has become one of shifting blame and most apologies have an asterisk after them. They are offered with some type of excuse which then minimizes the apology. Remember Marion Jones tearfully apologizing as she returned her five Olympic gold medals when she was caught “doping?” She went on to say that everyone was doing it, she had to do it. Uh huh.

My wife reminds me of this sometimes too. I will do something that bothers her. I will recognize this and say, “I am sorry if I hurt you,” or something like that. Her reply might be, “Are you sorry or not. When you say ‘if” you make the whole thing conditional.” What I am doing there is apologizing based on my original intent and perception of the situation. What she expects me to do is apologize on the impact of my words/actions and her perception of the situation.

She is right. I expect Southwest to apologize for the delay and I don’t care that it may not be their fault. I want it on my terms.

Most people don’t want to admit they were wrong so the apology is a tough thing to do. But accountability is far more persuasive and powerful than evasion. So, next time you are wrong, accept it, admit it, be quiet and move on.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 8th, 2008 at 2:56 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.