Lou Pickney's Online Commentary
Nashville, Take Two
Tuesday
August 17, 2004
My planned trip to Nashville last weekend ended up being pre-empted by Hurricane Charley. So, barring another natural disaster, I plan to visit Nashville this weekend instead.
However, getting to that point proved easier said than done. Southwest Airlines canceled my flight on Friday due to the oncoming hurricane threat. That I can understand, no? So I called them up today wanting to book the exact same flights on the exact same days, just one week later. However, the guy on the customer service end gave me static because, as he explained it, I should've rebooked "as soon as the flight was canceled." Southwest was willing to credit me the purchase price of the flight, but they wanted another $80 or so to book the flight for this weekend. What?!?! In the path of a Category 4 hurricane, I'm supposed to rebook or face a fee? I think not. Especially when that wasn't explained to me when I called the airline on Friday morning.
I got rather stiff on the phone and explained that I found that to be ridiculous and that it was entirely unfair for Southwest to do that to me. The guy, who didn't seem like the sharpest knife in the drawer, put me on hold (presumably to talk with his supervisor). After a wait he came back on... and told me that he would be allowed to give me the flight for this weekend at the same price. So all's well that ends well. And I'm glad, since I love Southwest Airlines, and I didn't want to have a rant on here about them that ended with me angry. They canceled the flight, now they're putting me on another one. Simple enough.
Here's a story out of Pennsylvania that has me livid. A 44-year-old man told his doctor during a check-up for an irregular heartbeat that he drinks six beers a day. However, due to a Pennsylvania law from the 1960s, his doctor is "required to report any impairments" that could compromise a patient's ability to drive safely. The doctor told the state, which in turn is fighting to restrict the man's driving privleges. Here's the full story, which includes the latest information from today on a judge upholding the state's right to do that. I could understand blindness or seizures being cause for it, but telling your doctor that you drink beer in your own home (albeit excessively) is now cause for license suspension? That is ridiculous.
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