Last Monday at 3:00 pm EDT, an airplane fell out of the sky. Channel 13, a local news network brought on Michael Howard, an Acme engineer, and Sandra Till, a former gate agent from the Pittsburgh International Airport, to comment. The transcript is as follows:
Anchor: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for tuning in to this special news bulletin. Of course, you know the tragic crash that occurred last Monday resulting in the deaths of 150 passengers aboard Acme Flight 837. Here at Channel 13, we’re offering you continued coverage of the event.
Joining us for this part of the hour we have Sandra Till, the leader of a group pushing for reform in plane construction at Acme Airlines. We also have with an engineer for Acme, Michael Howard. Thank you both for joining us.
Sandra: Thank you for having us.
Michael: It’s good to be here.
Anchor: So, Sandra, you care very deeply about the need for well-engineered airplanes and have dedicated your life to fighting for that cause.
Sandra: Yes Bill, I’ve been outspoken about this issue for a long time. I believe that the way some of Acme’s airplanes are engineered is fundamentally flawed. I believe engineers have cut corners and designed certain aspects of their machines poorly to make up for those cut corners. These flaws are directly responsible for the crash that occurred this past week.
Anchor: Michael, what is your response to that?
Michael: I understand where she’s coming from, but I resent the implication that I’m directly responsible for those deaths. Obviously, it’s a tragedy.
Sandra: No one said you’re directly responsible.
Michael: That’s what it sounds like every time this issue is brought up. I don’t want people to die. No one wants people to die. Nothing can be done to stop it from happening. Sometimes planes fall out of the sky.
Sandra: I think you’re wrong. Are you sure nothing can be done to stop it?
Michael: Of course, I’m sure.
Sandra: Look, I’ve worked for Acme Airlines and I’ve been in the airline industry for quite a while. I’ve seen firsthand what Acme does differently. The company puts its profit margin ahead of safe air travel, among other things. It’s not entirely your fault this particular plane fell out of the sky, but you contribute to planes falling out of the sky when you support Acme.
Michael: But if there really were a problem with the way Acme engineers its planes, shouldn’t planes fall out of the sky more often? Last year it only happened nine times. Do you know how many flights there are every day? That’s barely even a percentage.
Sandra: But isn’t one plane falling out of the sky too many?
Michael: Yeah, obviously, but some manufacturers have a worse track record than us! In 2016, we were ranked fifth based on numbers of planes falling out of the sky.
Sandra: We’re not talking about those companies right now. We’re talking about your company. The mechanical failures on these planes are completely preventable. Why doesn’t Acme take responsibility?
Michael: Because it’s not our fault. Sometimes there’s just a few bad apples. And besides, outside of planes falling out of the sky, Acme is an incredible airline.
Sandra: Well, that’s an overstatement. Planes falling out of the sky isn’t the only problem at Acme.
Anchor: What do you mean?
Sandra: Well, Acme is a so-called “budget” airline. In order to cut costs, it skimps in other areas. They don’t train their flight attendants or do background checks, so they can be rude. They don’t serve food, so people are often hungry on the flight. And they don’t have a staff large enough to manage all of their flights, so flights are often late and waiting hours on the tarmac.
Michael: Now you’re changing the subject. We’re here to talk about planes falling out of the sky.
Sandra: Well, that’s why I’m on the news right now. But I spend most of my time addressing smaller issues that happen a lot more often. The attitude at Acme of taking advantage of your customers is a disease that has many symptoms. Planes falling out of the sky is just the most newsworthy of those symptoms.
Also, you were the one who said Acme is a great airline. I’m telling you that’s not true.
Michael: I think you’re just being petty.
Sandra: This is exactly my point. This is the culture at Acme. When customers bring complaints, they’re ignored as being “petty.” All of these problems are rooted in Acme’s preference for money over people. It’s a systemic problem that employees are incentivized to support, but it’s dangerous because eventually a plane falls out of the sky.
Michael: Are you saying we don’t care about our customers?
Sandra: In a sense, yes. At least you don’t after they give you their money.
Michael: That’s ridiculous. Customer service has been a priority at our company’s mission statement since it was founded. We even added that “customer” includes everybody, even black people!
Sandra: (sighs) That’s great. We really appreciate that. We would appreciate it more if your CEO was as dedicated to “customer service” as your mission statement claims to be.
Michael: Still, if people wanted better service, they could fly in first class.
Sandra: Those ticket prices are insanely expensive. And even if they were affordable, the attitude of the flight attendants are hostile towards someone who moves from coach to first class.
Michael: I just don’t see how this has anything to do with planes falling out of the sky.
Anchor: I’m sorry, Sandra, but I have to agree. I don’t see what this has to do with planes falling out of the sky.
Sandra: You don’t, but Acme customers do. They see how what lengths you go to to save money. Like you said, your planes don’t all fall out of the sky. But when they do, all of your customers know why. They see how you treat them while they’re on board. They know you don’t really care about them. They know if they were on that plane that fell out of the sky, you wouldn’t care about them either.
That’s why every time a plane falls out of the sky there are protests in the streets. They’re not just mad about the plane falling from the sky. They’re mad they fly on an airline that allows the kind of mistreatment they’ve experienced. They’re mad that the mistreatment escalated to a complete disregard for human life.
If you feel like people are holding you responsible, it’s probably because they are. When you think about it, you can’t be mad at the plane. A poorly designed plane is going to fall out of the sky and kill people eventually.
People are mad at you because, whether actively or passively, you’re the guy who allowed that plane to fly in the first place.
This is a beautiful piece of writing, Patrick!