Sheryl Lee Ralph advocates for kindness at airports

By Fast Company Staff

When Emmy Award-winning actress Sheryl Lee Ralph arrived at the Delta check-in desk four minutes after her flight’s 45-minute cut-off for luggage drop-off, the desk agent wouldn’t make an exception for the Abbott Elementary star’s checked bags. So Ralph, who says she has flown more than three million miles on Delta, and who has built a public platform around the importance of being kind, posted a video to her 271,000 followers on Twitter.

“I went to the airline, you know the one I’m a three million miler on, to check my bags, and I was four minutes late,” she says, standing in front of a Delta sign. “The woman said, ‘There is absolutely nothing we can do for you.’ I was like, ‘It’s only four minutes, I’ve checked into flights later than this.’ ‘Oh, absolutely not.’

“And I was saying, in these days and times, just be kinder, just be nicer, because you just never, ever know,” Ralph continues. “Anyway, I just bought my ticket on American Airlines and will be flying now.”

 

The tweet, which, at the time of publishing this story, has more than 28,000 likes and 2,568 retweets, garnered hundreds of replies—some supportive, many critical. Sympathetic messages largely leaned on a customer-is-always-right point of view and highlighted Ralph’s frequent flier status.

Sheryl Lee Ralph advocates for kindness at airports | DeviceDaily.com

Critical comments pointed out that airlines and airports have rules and systems for a reason—and star power and airline loyalty aren’t enough to bend the rules.

Sheryl Lee Ralph advocates for kindness at airports | DeviceDaily.com

Ralph followed up a day after posting the video and further explained that she primarily took issue with the desk agent’s “unkind” attitude, and that the agent never asked to see her status.

 

Fast Company reached out to Delta Air Lines, which this morning is facing the imminent possibility of a pilot strike if agreements on a new employment contract are not reached.

“With people at the heart of all we do, Delta prides itself on a culture of kindness and respect for all,” a company spokesperson said via email. “We thank Mrs. Ralph for calling this to our attention and we’ve reached out to hear her story, as well as express our apologies for any experience that may have fallen short of our standards.”

When traveling domestically in the United States, Delta Air Lines enforces a 30-minute bag check cutoff at many airports, with 45-minute drop deadlines at 30 locations, including major hubs such as Los Angeles (LAX), Las Vegas’s Harry Reid (LAS), and Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta (ATL). At other hubs, such as New York’s JFK, Delta passengers must check bags at least one hour before their scheduled flight time.

Fast Company

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