Congratulations, you’re an idiot.

I am sitting on an airplane, returning from a four day trip to Internet Retailer in San Jose. The show was fantastic. There were companies ranging in size from retail start-ups to Fortune 500, all there to share their knowledge of the space and interact on a common interest. I really enjoy these shows. They are a great opportunity to see what’s going on in segments of the market that I don’t typically spend much time in. Because of the general nature of Internet Retailer, attendees are exposed to a variety of vendors and solutions, ranging from e-com providers, to analytics, to marketing solutions and more. It is a hodge-podge of internet applications and solutions…and I thoroughly enjoyed being there…and it didn’t hurt to be in Silicon Valley either. But that’s not really the point of this blog.

I, as I would assume most people on this plane are; am feeling quite tired. With a 7:00 AM departure, and airport congestion these days, it means for a four something in the morning wake up call to be at the airport two hours in advance. Throw into the mix a three hour time difference, an over crowded airplane, and people’s general stressful disposition when it comes to air travel…its no wonder federal authorities aren’t waiting at the gate more often on flight arrivals.

When the guy next to me sat down, I could instantly feel his stress. Everything seemed to be a problem. It started with his inability to find an overhead storage bin that would accommodate his oversized carry on, then it was about the seatbelt being tangled, and finally, he thought he was a getting a window seat (my seat), but it turned out to that he was sitting on the aisle – and was extremely unhappy about it…and was extremely vocal about it too. I personally, don’t do vocal at 7:00 AM.

Sitting two rows ahead of us was a woman with two children. One was just a baby, maybe a few months old at best; the other was a toddler (I would guess 3 years old). Both were adorable. After taking off, the 3 year old boy started to cry, and the crying intensified as we climbed. You could tell by the sound of the cry (I could tell by the sound of the cry – being a father myself of two young kids I know the different cries) that he was in pain. This was not a nagging cry. I could also tell that the guy next to me was not a parent. It was obvious that he was not appreciative of the boys loud crying. He started to get shifty in his seat. The more the crying continued, the shiftier he got…sighing loudly and huffing and puffing. Eventually, he started to complain out loud. Comments like “I need this at this hour of the morning?” and “Of all the places I have to sit”…. The woman two rows ahead could clearly hear him complaining and was trying desperately to soothe her child. She kept looking around and apologizing to the surrounding passengers. She was clearly uncomfortable with it as well. The more this went on, the worse I felt for her and the more I wanted to silence the angry man next to me trying to insight the mob. Eventually, he said “Would someone please shut that kid up”. I suppose it was at that point that the protective motherly instinct kicked in, and the mother left her son screaming in his seat and got up and walked over to the angry man and said “Listen, you idiot, my son is crying because he’s in pain. He is suffering from an ear infection and is just a little boy. I normally wouldn’t choose to fly on my own (she was holding back tears) with a baby and a three year old little boy with an ear infection, but my mother has recently died and I am on my way to her funeral so could you kindly shut up and deal with it because I am doing the best I can here!”

I wanted to applaud. I think the whole plane did.
These examples seem to follow me around – or maybe I am just more aware of the pitfalls of simply watching someone’s behavior and making assumptions, as a result of being in the attitudinal analytics space…but once again I saw anecdotally how just watching is not enough to understand the context of someone’s behavior.

All the angry man could do was sit there with this dumbfounded look on his face. He turned to me and said “I feel like an idiot”.

I responded with a simple “Congratulations”. Eventually the little boy cried himself to sleep.

Comments