I was at DTW on Wednesday, May 20, sitting near the wheelchair dispatch desk/waiting near the main Delta ticket counter when I heard a kind and patient person talking with an elderly lady near me who was also in the wheelchair area.  The person talking was David Needham, who I believe is a Prospect employee.  What I pieced together from their conversation and a follow up cell phone conversation the passenger had with a family member after David had left is as follows:

 The elderly lady was traveling alone, had been dropped off at Metro for a flight on Delta, had her check book in her purse, does not own an ATM or debit card, had “forgotten to put her credit card in her purse” and discovered that oversight after the person who dropped her off was long gone.  She was advised by Delta that she needed to pay a $25 charge to check her luggage. Delta would not accept a check and told her “credit or debit card or go get cash from an ATM”.  Think of this happening to your mother, grandmother or even great grandmother. 

 At what point in that process David Needham became involved, I do not know, but I do know that he carefully listened to the lady, made a judgement call and took what I consider to be heroic action.  David, and this part of the conversation took place when the lady was in her wheelchair next to mine, offered to put the $25 charge on his personal credit card and offered to take a personal check from the stranded passenger.  I learned the full spelling of David’s name when he patiently went over it several times so the lady could make out a check to him. 

 Talk about extraordinary action, going the extra mile, knocking the cover off the ball or however you choose to describe David’s action, I describe it as heroic and an action that deserves recognition by the owner of your Company and others. 

 I grew up in the Detroit area , am delighted to see Detroit on the upswing, am now retired but have flown well over 1 million miles during my previous career. David’s compassionate response to the plight of an elderly and alone passenger is one of the best I have seen.

-Bob L., Las Vegas, NV