I’ll be honest, the first time I saw mention of Ann Coulter’s tweets about a recent seat mixup on a Delta flight, I didn’t even realize it was *the* Ann Coulter. Complaints about seat assignments are very common. Complaints on Twitter about whatever the airline did this time are very common. Many people face frustrating travel situations, and I’m sure that Ann Coulter is no different.
If you thought it was about $30, @Delta, why didn’t you give this woman $30 and let me stay in my PRE-BOOKED, ASSIGNED seat? pic.twitter.com/sR1g8tuRWX
— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) July 17, 2017
The specifics of Ms. Coulter’s situation are extreme. Most people don’t claim the time spent picking a good seat to be worth $10,000 of their time. Most people don’t have the audience that she does to air her grievances.
But the general story arc — Do You Know Who I Am?! — is something I understand and I think happens to a lot of people more than it should. That’s where it takes some effort to calm down and remember it’s not the end of the world.
I’ll admit to having a few situations of my own that I’m not proud of. I booked such and such and I want exactly what I booked and I don’t care what it takes etc. But travel is one of those things that’s so logistically complex I think it’s a miracle it works as well as it does. Point in fact: Ms. Coulter was able to get to her destination and still sat in the exit row. She just got a window seat instead of an aisle seat. The horror!
I also think I’ve grown more understanding about life in general as I’ve gotten older and life events take their toll. I do what I can to set up the best possible situation, and then I let nature take it’s course. There are too many other things to worry about to stress on each little detail. Most airlines even say up front that seat assignments are requests only and cannot be guaranteed.
If you do find yourself slipping into the sort of anal-retentive Twitter rant that befell Ann Coulter, here’s what I recommend:
Your time is worth $10,000 for a few minutes of research? Heck, lets round up and call it an hour. You would probably be better off booking first class or even joining a private jet membership.
Don’t take pictures of other people and shame them publicly. That’s just wrong. It’s wrong on an airplane, and it’s wrong everywhere else. Even if you’re just sharing pictures with friends in private it’s wrong. Write down a few notes and wait a day before drafting a more coherent complaint letter to the airline.
Finally, after you say your piece, drop it. Ann Coulter is still tweeting about this and defending her actions. Take a page from Sansa when she said to Little Finger last night on Game of Thrones: “No need to seize the last word. I’ll assume it was something clever.”
Today’s consumer quiz: Why is @delta worse than @united? A: United drags customers off the plane, but soon Delta will have to drag them ON.
— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) July 17, 2017
As I tell people who email me with their travel horror stories and ask for advice, stick to the facts. Be reasonable. Take emotion out of it. And realize you may not accomplish more than venting. Sometimes I have to go through two pages of ranting and I’m still not sure what this person is complaining to me about. But Ms. Coulter was just being a bully, plain and simple. I appreciate Delta’s customer care team taking her to task and publicly reprimanding her actions, including issuing a press release with their take on the situation.
