THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT HUMILIATED A QUIET MILLIONAIRE, NEVER REALIZING HE OWNED THE AIRLINE
Chapter 15
Theme:
Font Size:
24px
Over the following weeks, the independent review uncovered problems far beyond the incident aboard Flight 718.The complaint system had rewarded speed over accuracy.Some supervisors had discouraged employees from escalating cases.Certain training materials emphasized control and efficiency without adequately explaining how to distinguish genuine safety concerns from personal assumptions.In several departments, employees who consistently reported operational problems received lower performance scores because their reports made the department appear less efficient.The company had not deliberately designed a system to mistreat passengers.But it had failed to notice that its incentives were producing exactly that result.Daniel attended meeting after meeting.He listened to managers explain why the metrics had seemed reasonable.He listened to employees describe the consequences.He listened to legal advisers warn about the risks of public disclosure.He listened to financial officers calculate the cost of implementing changes.Then he asked the same question.“What happens to the people who were harmed while we were measuring the wrong things?”Nobody could answer with a spreadsheet.So the company began making changes.Complaint resolution speed was removed as a standalone performance target.Cases involving discrimination, intimidation, or unsupported accusations were assigned to independent reviewers.Employees received access to confidential reporting channels.Managers were evaluated on the accuracy of their investigations, the quality of their responses, and the extent to which they addressed recurring problems.Training was revised to emphasize that authority required evidence and that professional conduct included the willingness to acknowledge mistakes.The airline also established a passenger assistance fund to cover reasonable costs incurred when the company failed to provide the service it had promised.The reforms were expensive.They required additional staff, new software, independent oversight, and a complete reassessment of several departmental budgets.Some executives argued that the changes went too far.Others insisted that the company had finally begun addressing problems that had been ignored for years.Daniel knew the reforms would not solve everything.No policy could guarantee that every employee would behave fairly.No training program could eliminate prejudice.No reporting system could make every manager courageous.But the company could make it harder to conceal mistakes.It could reward employees who identified problems.It could protect people who spoke honestly.And it could stop pretending that a low complaint count automatically meant customers were being treated well.Those were practical changes.They were also moral choices.
Six weeks after Flight 718, Eleanor received an email inviting her to a meeting with Daniel Bennett.The subject line read: