My friend, celebrity chef Robert Hesse of Hell's Kitchen fame and with whom I'm writing a cookbook, texted me on Monday very upset over the fact that he was removed from a Southwest flight after being deemed a "safety risk."
Did Robert yell "bomb" on the airplane or something to that effect? No. He was removed by the captian and forced to purchase a second seat because he was apparently "too fat" to fit in just one.
Anyone who knows Robert or has seen him on TV knows he's overweight -- he weighs about 400 lbs. -- and he's the first to tell you he's fat. However, whether he's comfortable with his weight or not, it's obviously not fun to be singled out in public over it, called "fat," and humiliated in front of everyone.
Robert's beef isn't with the fact that he was forced to buy an extra seat, though he maintains he could snap the lap belt and move the arm rests up and down without obstructing adjacent passengers (the inability to do so ostensibly posing a potential risk either to himself or nearby travelers); it's with Southwest employees who supposedly behaved rudely by calling him fat and making him a public example for everyone to see.
I don't know whether Robert's personality played a role in the escalation of an already-sensitive situation -- to be sure, he was no stranger to confrontation during his stint on Hell's Kitchen -- but no doubt Southwest expects its personnel to maintain a professional demeanor regardless.
Whatever the case, my concern lies with Robert's reaction to this episode, as he has intimated that he's going to add his name to a lawsuit filed against Southwest by director Kevin Smith, who earlier this year was removed from a flight for the same reason. Now, I haven't been able to confirm an actual lawsuit by Smith -- only that he's hinted in that direction. But even if a suit has been filed, I think this would be a very bad move by Robert.
For starters, Southwest is entitled to enact any customer policies it likes. And, yes, that means it even reserves the right to humiliate passengers, whether intentionally or not. Indeed, if people don't like the way a company does business, they likewise reserve the right to refuse its services and find one they do like. This is Property Rights 101.
Furthermore, instead of filing a lawsuit against Southwest, I would rather see Robert rise above this unfortunate treatment by either refusing to patronize the company or by contacting management privately. If it's an apology or monetary compensation he's looking for, this can often be procured much more quickly when you get the director of customer service on the phone rather than going through the rigmarole of a lawsuit, where the lawyers are usually the only ones who profit in the end.
Finally, Robert has something most people do not: celebrity status. He has thousands of fans he can connect with via Facebook and Twitter to tell his story. If it's vengeance he seeks, I'm pretty sure he could organize a boycott of Southwest. What I'd rather see, though, is for Robert to keep his dignity intact by using this experience to his advantage. Once he cools down a bit, he may realize that while some airlines' policies for "customers of size" may be a touch insensitive, perhaps they're nevertheless necessary. And while this is no defense of Southwest's apparent behavior toward my friend, I believe Robert stands to gain far more personal and financial benefit by merely telling his story than by trying to sue.
As I mentioned, Robert and I are writing a cookbook. This one happens to be aimed at helping guys impress women through the art of cooking, but publishers always want to know about your next book even as they're moving forward with your current one. Why not publish a subsequent cookbook on healthy cooking and eating, using this Southwest experience as a motivator? Instead of complaining about being made fun of, turn the tables on the airline by proving they'll never be able to mistreat you again -- and, oh by the way, by making millions teaching readers how to cook to shed pounds as they lose weight right along with you? Promotional tours, cooking shows, how-to videos, a magazine column ... the possibilities are endless.
Because, Robert, as you well know ... you can set your own seating policies when you have your own jet.