Source: Raymond Boyd/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images / Getty

Mom Says Southwest Agent Mocked Her Daughter Abcde

The mother of a 5-year-old with a unique name is crying foul. Abcde Redford was with her mom pre-boarding a flight at a California airport when a disrespectful gate agent made fun of her name. Abcde’s mom says her daughter whose name is pronounced Ab-city, was not only made fun of but humiliated on social media after the agent posted her boarding pass.

“The gate agent started laughing, pointing at me and my daughter, talking to other employees. So I turned around and said, ‘Hey if I can hear you, my daughter can hear you, so I’d appreciate if you’d just stop,'” Traci Redford said according to ABC 6.

Redford says she filed a formal complaint and it took Southwest two weeks to respond.

Southwest has apologized and issued the following statement:

“We extend our sincere apology to the family. We take great pride in extending our Southwest Hospitality to all of our Customers, which includes living by the Golden Rule and treating every individual with respect, in person or online. The post is not indicative of the care, respect, and civility we expect from all of our Employees. We have followed up with the Employee involved, and while we do not disclose personnel actions publicly, we are using this as an opportunity to reinforce our policies and emphasize our expectations for all Employees.”

SMH, now Abcde is a “unique” name—hopefully, the mom gets some compensation. The gate agent was clearly out of line.