A mum was left furious after she heard an airline employee making fun of her daughter’s name as they boarded a flight.
Traci Redford, from Texas, was boarding a flight home from California with her daughter, ABCDE (pronouded Ab-si-dee), when she heard a Southwest Airlines employee laughing at the unconventional name.
'The gate agent started mocking my child's name, laughing, pointing at me and my daughter — and I'm talking to other employees, so I turned around and just said, “Hey, I can hear you, so if I can hear you, my daughter can too — I'd appreciate if you'd just stop,' Traci told American news site ABC7.
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However, social media user have criticised the angry mum, suggesting that she should have expected her five-year-old daughter to be teased about her unusual name.
‘You are mad someone is making fun of your girls name and you named her “Abcde”? What did you... think... was... gonna... happen...’, wrote one.
Another commented: ‘The Southwest employee was rude but seriously, how do you not expect this to happen when you name your kid Abcde and pronounce it ab-city? I mean, think of the effect on a child when you pick a name. Ugh.’
While some claimed that Traci was being attention-seeking for giving her daughter the out-of-the-ordinary name: ‘If you name your child “Abcde” and assign a fake pronunciation to it, don’t pretend you’re offended when you get the attention we all know you were seeking when you did it.’
Of course, there are plenty of people who choose to opt for slightly more unusual names. Next's year's top baby names are set to be even quirkier than some of the different monikers that we've seen a rise in this year, including Roman, Harley and Jenson.
Southwest Airlines apologised to the family in a statement to Business Insider, saying: ‘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.
‘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.’
