Professional attire

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

The United situation is a tough one. First, I will say that the gate agent was just doing her job and following her training....totally recognize that.....however....as an employer, I would expect my employee to use some common sense and think about the impact of her actions. Which is going to be more damaging for the employer? Two teenage girls "getting away with" breaking an archaic and outdated dress code policy? Or a public fight with a fellow employee that could potentially cause a scene and snowball into a PR mess?

To me, this is a classic case of people following the letter of the law, not the spirit of the law. Having a dress code for employees using the pass system is perfectly fine. The purpose of that is to make sure that a United employee does not negatively impact the brand while using a company benefit. Two teenage daughters of an employee wearing an article of clothing that 95% of american teenage girls wear on a near daily basis, is not going to negatively impact the brand. The gate agent should have let them through.

[drewm88]

I'm not talking about the United thing.  Give me a break.

Who's the "broad in question?" There was only situation being discussed here in the last 5 months.

[mu-rara]

Eng, I'm particularly pleased that my delightful wife got in a dig to you types from across campus on 16th & WI.   

My intuition says muEng acquired his sense of humor while getting his MBA.   Sorry I'm so late to the parade on this one.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Who's the "broad in question?" There was only situation being discussed here in the last 5 months.

The OP.

Didn't realize this was hoopalooped.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

The OP.

Didn't realize this was hoopalooped.

It really wasn't funny no matter who you were talking about.

[MerrittsMustache]

The United situation is a tough one. First, I will say that the gate agent was just doing her job and following her training....totally recognize that.....however....as an employer, I would expect my employee to use some common sense and think about the impact of her actions. Which is going to be more damaging for the employer? Two teenage girls "getting away with" breaking an archaic and outdated dress code policy? Or a public fight with a fellow employee that could potentially cause a scene and snowball into a PR mess?

To me, this is a classic case of people following the letter of the law, not the spirit of the law. Having a dress code for employees using the pass system is perfectly fine. The purpose of that is to make sure that a United employee does not negatively impact the brand while using a company benefit. Two teenage daughters of an employee wearing an article of clothing that 95% of american teenage girls wear on a near daily basis, is not going to negatively impact the brand. The gate agent should have let them through.

No offense, but I can't imagine that any gate agent in this situation would have had even an inkling that this non-issue would become a PR nightmare after being completely blown out of proportion by social media. The girls have absolutely no reason to be upset with United. They were breaking the dress code. They were called on it. End of story.

[warriorchick]

No offense, but I can't imagine that any gate agent in this situation would have had even an inkling that this non-issue would become a PR nightmare after being completely blown out of proportion by social media. The girls have absolutely no reason to be upset with United. They were breaking the dress code. They were called on it. End of story.

Sometimes it's best just to go with the letter of the law, even if it stupid, just to prove that the rule is consistently applied.  What would happen if the next person was wearing those leggings that were basically glorified pantyhose, and she was denied?  Oh, and what if she were also a member of a protected minority group?

[Badgerhater]

This is why we can't have nice things.

Deals often have hoops through which to jump.  Live with it.

Unfortunately, the response will be for United to tighten up on who gets a pass flight.

[Benny B]

Sometimes it's best just to go with the letter of the law, even if it stupid, just to prove that the rule is consistently applied.  What would happen if the next person was wearing those leggings that were basically glorified pantyhose, and she was denied?  Oh, and what if she were also a member of a protected minority group?

I have to agree with this.  And for Christ's sake, the airport isn't the place to push the envelope... whether it's parking along the curb because the lot is full, trying to check luggage at the 45th minute before takeoff (i.e. the actual cut-off time), burying your 4 oz. bottle of hair spray in your carry-on, smooshing a carry-on that doesn't fit in the bag sizer, trying to board with a backpack, a roll-aboard, a guitar and two shopping bags, arguing with the gate agent because you don't want to pay the standby fee, telling the pretty flight attendant that she's "the bomb and keep the drinks coming", or trying to skirt (no pun intended) the employee dress code, don't throw up your arms in disgust when someone tells you that you won't be travelling on your scheduled flight.

I know that I'm not representative of the general public (which is likely a net positive for society), my kids and I are boarding a flight to Minneapolis in 3 hours, and each one of them is dressed like they're going to church... not because of some dress code rules (which don't apply to us any way) but because flight crews, gate agents and other passengers are a lot more helpful and accommodating when young children aren't dressed like they're on their way to a playground.

[GGGG]

No offense, but I can't imagine that any gate agent in this situation would have had even an inkling that this non-issue would become a PR nightmare after being completely blown out of proportion by social media. The girls have absolutely no reason to be upset with United. They were breaking the dress code. They were called on it. End of story.

And to be honest have we heard any complaints by the employee or his family? 

[drewm88]

The OP.

Didn't realize this was hoopalooped.

Fair enough. My bad.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

No offense, but I can't imagine that any gate agent in this situation would have had even an inkling that this non-issue would become a PR nightmare after being completely blown out of proportion by social media. The girls have absolutely no reason to be upset with United. They were breaking the dress code. They were called on it. End of story.

I think it is common sense that two teenage girls would get upset about having to change  out of something that 95% of American teenage girls wear on a daily basis.  The rule is there to keep someone from wearing assless chaps on a united pass. Not to keep teenage girls from wearing appropriate comfortable clothing on their flight. I don't think the gate agent should be punished or anything,  but if I was the supervisor I would tell them that they should have let them through. Especially when they started to get upset. Even if this hadn't snowballed like it did,  a public fight is worse for business than two teenagers wearing appropriate leggings that are technically against dress code.

[mu03eng]

The United situation is a tough one. First, I will say that the gate agent was just doing her job and following her training....totally recognize that.....however....as an employer, I would expect my employee to use some common sense and think about the impact of her actions. Which is going to be more damaging for the employer? Two teenage girls "getting away with" breaking an archaic and outdated dress code policy? Or a public fight with a fellow employee that could potentially cause a scene and snowball into a PR mess?

To me, this is a classic case of people following the letter of the law, not the spirit of the law. Having a dress code for employees using the pass system is perfectly fine. The purpose of that is to make sure that a United employee does not negatively impact the brand while using a company benefit. Two teenage daughters of an employee wearing an article of clothing that 95% of american teenage girls wear on a near daily basis, is not going to negatively impact the brand. The gate agent should have let them through.

Here is the flaw in this line of thinking.....we've legislated and/or sued common sense application out of existence. As Chick says, it is far better for the individual employee to follow the letter and let the giant corporation deal with the $hitstorm than to apply common sense and have someone come after them for biased treatment (whether that was the intent or not).

If I'm an employee, I execute the rules as I've been trained and let the chips fall where they may.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Sometimes it's best just to go with the letter of the law, even if it stupid, just to prove that the rule is consistently applied.  What would happen if the next person was wearing those leggings that were basically glorified pantyhose, and she was denied?  Oh, and what if she were also a member of a protected minority group?

I think common sense should play a role.  But I can't disagree with mueng, we have litigated common sense out of everything it seems. Which brings us to the question,  is having a dress code really worth it?

[MerrittsMustache]

I think it is common sense that two teenage girls would get upset about having to change  out of something that 95% of American teenage girls wear on a daily basis.  The rule is there to keep someone from wearing assless chaps on a united pass. Not to keep teenage girls from wearing appropriate comfortable clothing on their flight. I don't think the gate agent should be punished or anything,  but if I was the supervisor I would tell them that they should have let them through. Especially when they started to get upset. Even if this hadn't snowballed like it did,  a public fight is worse for business than two teenagers wearing appropriate leggings that are technically against dress code.

The rule is there because passengers on a United pass are representatives of United Airlines and, therefore, should be dressed appropriately and professionally. It doesn't matter if you like the rule or not. It's the rule. As Chick alluded to, what if the next person flying on a pass did show up in assless chaps but was not allowed on the flight? Both were in violation of the dress code but only one was called on it.

Also, as Sultan reminded us, the girls did not get upset. According to United's spokesman, "the girls were completely understanding" and "no one was upset at the gate." The whole situation would have been absolutely nothing if not for the uninformed bystander tweeting the events, leading the media and celebrities to blindly follow her ignorant rage.

I think common sense should play a role.  But I can't disagree with mueng, we have litigated common sense out of everything it seems. Which brings us to the question,  is having a dress code really worth it?

Common sense played a role in the United employee enforcing the rules. However, common sense was no where to be found when a woman started angrily tweeting about the event without actually understanding what was happening.

[warriorchick]

I think common sense should play a role.  But I can't disagree with mueng, we have litigated common sense out of everything it seems. Which brings us to the question,  is having a dress code really worth it?

Speaking as someone who had to draft a dress code for a company who previously did not have one, you would be amazed at what people think is appropriate to wear if they are not specifically told otherwise.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

The rule is there because passengers on a United pass are representatives of United Airlines and, therefore, should be dressed appropriately and professionally. It doesn't matter if you like the rule or not. It's the rule. As Chick alluded to, what if the next person flying on a pass did show up in assless chaps but was not allowed on the flight? Both were in violation of the dress code but only one was called on it.

Also, as Sultan reminded us, the girls did not get upset. According to United's spokesman, "the girls were completely understanding" and "no one was upset at the gate." The whole situation would have been absolutely nothing if not for the uninformed bystander tweeting the events, leading the media and celebrities to blindly follow her ignorant rage.


Common sense played a role in the United employee enforcing the rules. However, common sense was no where to be found when a woman started angrily tweeting about the event without actually understanding what was happening.

I don't like the woman tweeting about either, unless she did it with the family's blessing which I doubt was the case. She made their situation public with their permission which is not appropriate. But I also don't believe that the girls were completely understanding either. Their dad is a United employee, at they point they have to say they side with United even if they were initially upset.

I personally think the risk of someone getting upset about having to change out of clothing that technically violates the dress code but does not harm the reputation or image of United in any way is much much greater than the risk of letting the girls through, having one of the next few people in line be a united pass customer who is also wearing something that would damage the reputation of United and getting mad that they are turned away but the two teenage girls who are wearing clothes that 95% of american girls their age wear got through.

Again, I don't think the gate agent should be disciplined or anything like that. But if was supervising her, I would tell her that the rule is there in case of egregious violations that actually carry a risk of damaging the reputation of the company. And if that isn't why United has the rule....then they have bigger issues.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Speaking as someone who had to draft a dress code for a company who previously did not have one, you would be amazed at what people think is appropriate to wear if they are not specifically told otherwise.

As someone who interacts with college students in a formal setting on a frequent basis, I can tell you that I would not be amazed. TAMU is filled with some of the best and brightest students in the nation but some of them can't figure out that a hearing to determine whether or not they should be expelled is a time to dress up a little.

I meant common sense for the gate agent. Teenage daughters of an employee travelling in leggings is not something that is going to damage the reputation of United.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

Like Chick alluded to, the issue revolves around the risk of being sued.

If one employee allows a couple 10 year old white girls to go through but another employee denies similarly dressed 10 year old black/Hispanic/Arabic girls from flying you have discrimination and a lawsuit. Consistent application is key.

So yes, common sense has been sued away.  Financial butts have to be covered.  The PR hit in this case is rather minor. A discrimination lawsuit would be far worse from both a PR and financial sense.

[MerrittsMustache]

Again, I don't think the gate agent should be disciplined or anything like that. But if was supervising her, I would tell her that the rule is there in case of egregious violations that actually carry a risk of damaging the reputation of the company. And if that isn't why United has the rule....then they have bigger issues.

The gate agent's job is to enforce the rules, not to decide if and when to enforce the rules or to determine what's an egregious violation of the rules and what's just a minor violation. The dress code is written in very specific terms in order to take away that discretion and to make things as easy as possible for both the gate agents and the United pass passengers.

[MU B2002]

The gate agent's job is to enforce the rules, not to decide if and when to enforce the rules or to determine what's an egregious violation of the rules and what's just a minor violation. The dress code is written in very specific terms in order to take away that discretion and to make things as easy as possible for both the gate agents and the United pass passengers.

ding ding ding

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

The gate agent's job is to enforce the rules, not to decide if and when to enforce the rules or to determine what's an egregious violation of the rules and what's just a minor violation. The dress code is written in very specific terms in order to take away that discretion and to make things as easy as possible for both the gate agents and the United pass passengers.

That's fine. That's why the gate agent shouldn't be disciplined in any way. She was just doing her job. But I expect more from my employees. I expect them to use critical thinking skills, common sense,  and to prioritize customer service.

[MerrittsMustache]

That's fine. That's why the gate agent shouldn't be disciplined in any way. She was just doing her job. But I expect more from my employees. I expect them to use critical thinking skills, common sense,  and to prioritize customer service.

Do you also expect your employees to ignore very specific guidelines that pertain to their jobs?

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Do you also expect your employees to ignore very specific guidelines that pertain to their jobs?

On low level things like the dress code for a coworker's daughter, I expect them to know why the guidelines are there and enforce them based on that. For example, to request a training from my office, you need to submit a request 10 business days in advance. That guideline is there to give us the ability to turn down a last minute request if it is not convenient for our schedule. But I would expect my staff to schedule a training that was requested with only 9 business days notice if it is convenient for our schedule.

At the end of the day, this is a silly discussion. None of us were there or have all the facts. Even if we did have all the facts, some of us would have let the girls pass, others would have made the girls change. We all would have done what we thought was right.

[rocket surgeon]

I'm not talking about the United thing.  Give me a break.

see how that works?  i feel your pain  (teal)