The cofounder of a hard-seltzer brand said a Delta employee 'robbed' him by charging a $200 baggage fee, but people online aren't on his side

21.07.2023 - 13:16 / insider.com / Brand / Delta

A cofounder of a hard-seltzer brand said a Delta Airlines employee "robbed" him after he was charged $200 for an overweight bag — but TikTok users aren't on his side.

Jeremy Kim, a cofounder of Nectar Hard Seltzer, said the Delta employee "was tripping about the weight" of his bag in a TikTok posted Thursday. The video has garnered more than 4.1 million views.

In the video, Kim was shown placing his bag on the weighing scale at a Delta check-in counter, where the employee asked whether he knew his bag was overweight. In another TikTok, Kim showed that his bag was filled with boxes of his brand's canned alcohol. Kim said in the video that he was scheduled to fly from Los Angeles to Houston.

The Delta employee told Kim about the airline's excess-baggage policy in the video. She said it cost $30 if the bag was up to 50 pounds over the limit and $100 if was 50 to 70 pounds overweight. She said Kim would have to pay $200 because his bag was 76 pounds overweight.

"Oh, it's 200?" Kim said, adding that we would pay the fee. Delta's website says bags that are overweight from 71 to 100 pounds on flights within the US, the US Virgin Islands, or Puerto Rico incur a $200 fee.

"She robbed me," Kim wrote in a caption displayed in the TikTok.

The employee was shown asking Kim to wrap his bag in tape and sign a form after she noticed his suitcase had a crack on the outside. She then told him that it "doesn't matter" whether there were only boxes inside his bag and that he still had to tape it up.

"I had to pay basically triple the cost to get it to Houston, but I couldn't leave any of the flavors in LA, so I had to pay it," Kim said at the end of the video.

The video — which Kim has since deleted — amassed almost 900 comments in the four days after he posted it. Several users on TikTok accused Kim of giving the employee a hard time when she was just doing her job.

"'Tripping' yeah I hate when workers take their job seriously and want to make sure it's done properly," one user wrote.

Another user commented: "honestly shes really not yelling at you. shes probably the sweetest lady. its just the way she talks."

Other users praised the employee for enforcing Delta's baggage protocol.

"She is very good at her job. Detailed, not giving an inch but still respectful and by the book," one user commented.

Another user wrote: "she was really nice and explained everything and helped protect the luggage with tape and everything lovely lady."

In a comment sent to Insider six days after he posted the initial video, Kim told Insider he "was being completely sarcastic" when he described the Delta employee as yelling at him.

"There was no malice towards her whatsoever. I was compliant to all her requests the entire time," Kim said. 

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