Kevin Smith is not the opportunist you have all alleged. Check out his YouTube videos about this issue. He addresses all of your criticisms.
Southwest: I have always been a big fan and love your sound business and operational philosophies. It's always refreshing to have a silly attendant announce our arrival in whimsical song and so forth.
I am, however, very disappointed in your mismanagement of this issue. One or more of your flight attendants made a very poor decision in regards to kicking Mr. Smith off the plane that day. In fact, if it had been presented as "Oops, we made an overbooking mistake, you'll have to wait for the next standby." I suspect this would have not been as big of an issue. It was the attendant's choice to target him and clearly provide the excuse that it was a problem because of his weight. That takes it out of the realm of a tough customer service choice and firmly into the realm of discrimination.
If, in fact, his weight was truly a problem, then he would have had the same action happen previously with yours and other airlines. This would have been a trend, not the isolated and poorly handled event that it became. Those attendants should be reprimanded for discrimination, in my opinion.
By the way, I am a fit and healthy person who works in the medical field, and who feels that obesity is a huge problem in our country. I don't see how that justifies the treatment of Mr. Smith, or any obese person, in any way.
Southwest--> Be the company you committed to. Make it right by admitting your flight attendants made poor decisions, apologize to Mr. Smith with sincerity, and meet his request to clearly and publicly admit that it was not the result of his weight. That will cost you a lot less in the long run, by winning some customers back who have always had faith in you.
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