KABC: El Paso woman accuses Southwest Airline employee of mocking child’s name

Veronica Miracle of KABC in Los Angeles reports that a Southwest Airlines gate agent is being accused of mocking a girl’s name on social media. The 5 year old girl’s name is Abcde Redford and the name is pronounced “ab-city”.

The girl’s mother, Traci Redford, said the gate agent at John Wayne airport in Orange County, CA made fun of her daughter’s name and posted a picture of Abcde’s boarding pass on social media. The two were just about to board a flight back home to El Paso.

“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.

Redford says that Southwest has not responded to her, even two weeks after writing a formal complaint. Southwest airlines gave KABC this 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.”