The following event ( a true story) took place during a transatlantic flight on
October 14, 1998. A lady was seated next to a black gentleman. The woman,
visibly upset,
asked the flight attendant to find another seat for her as she didn’t
want to sit next to someone so unpleasant. The flight attendant told her
that the flight was quite full, but that she would check and see if there
was room in first class. The rest of the
passengers watched the scene with shock and disgust, not only because
this woman was so obnoxious and rude, but for the fact that she would
actually be moved to first class. The poor man felt terribly
uncomfortable about this whole scene but was cordial enough not to react.
The climate in the cabin was of complete tension, but the lady seemed
pleased and very happy to be moving to first class away from this person.
A few minutes later the flight attendant returned and informed the woman:
"Excuse me ma’am, the flight is indeed pretty full… …Fortunately
I found a seat available in first class. "It took me a while because in
order to make that change I had to get permission from the captain. He
told me that we shouldn’t force anyone to have to sit next to someone so
unpleasant, and authorized the change right away."
The other passengers couldn’t believe what they were hearing… and the
woman, with a triumphant expression on her face, proceeded to get up from
her seat.
Then the flight attendant turned towards the black man and said:
"Sir… would you be so kind as to follow me to your new seat in first
class? On behalf of our airline, the captain offers you his apology for
the fact that you had to put up with someone so unpleasant sitting next
to you."
All the passengers applauded and gave a standing ovation to the crew
for handling the situation so well. That year, the captain and the flight
attendant were awarded for their actions on that flight. Due to this, the
company realized they had not placed sufficient priority on costumer
service training for their employees.
The Airline made immediate changes! Since this event, in all of their
offices and in clear sight of their personnel, the following message is
posted:
"People may forget what you said to them.
People may forget what you do to them.
But they will never forget the way you made them feel."
To have a kind of love that would cause us to be
considerate and kind to others, we must ask God to come into our
hearts, forgive our sins, fill us with His love and help us to
think more of others as He always does.
Scatter
seeds of kindness everywhere you go;
be
kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of
battle. When
you bring out the best in others, it brings out the best in you.
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Tim
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