But the recovered labels still troubled him. Lenora had taken items belonging to more than two passengers. The inventory showed eleven trays, and a missing promotional item had not been accounted for. Zire had noticed three passenger menu cards among the contents of her handbag, and the crew had checked only some of them.
"What about the woman whose fruit plate was in the bag?" he asked. "And the other card?"
Roland nodded. "We'll arrange compensation for anyone affected."
"How do we know how many people were affected?"
"The catering team can reconcile that after departure."
"But after departure, the trays will be moved, wrappers thrown away, and people might forget what they were promised. If the record says their food was delivered, how will you know the difference?"
Merrick considered this. The immediate evidence had already shown that the electronic list could not be treated as accurate without checking the actual handoff. A cabin-wide comparison might delay departure a little longer, but it would protect both passengers and crew from uncertainty later. There were only ten paid premium orders, a number small enough to verify in a few minutes if the process stayed organized.
"I have a suggestion," Zire said. "Don't tell people what the tablet says first. Just ask what they ordered and whether they got it. Then compare their answers."
Roland raised an eyebrow. "Why not tell them the listed status?"
"Because if you say the computer says delivered, some people might think they've forgotten. If you ask what happened, they can answer without being influenced by the screen."
Merrick gave him a thoughtful look. It was an excellent method for a basic service reconciliation, and there was nothing confrontational about it. The challenge was not that it would be difficult. The challenge was that the airline had been treating the tablet as the record of reality, while the child was asking them to let reality correct the tablet.
"We'll do it," Merrick said.
Roland looked at his watch once, then agreed. He asked Sela to stand beside him with a clean paper checklist, and the cabin quieted when Merrick explained that he needed to confirm a small number of premium orders before departure. He did not name Bria, Lenora, or Zire. He asked only for truthful answers about what each person had paid for and received.
Seat 1A confirmed the salmon meal listed in his record. Seat 1C, an older woman named Marjorie Bell, said she had ordered a fresh fruit plate because she preferred a light meal before a long flight. Nothing had been delivered. Sela marked the discrepancy while Merrick checked the tablet: SERVED AND ACCEPTED, 9:10.
Marjorie looked genuinely puzzled. "I was going to ask after takeoff. I thought perhaps the fruit was coming with the regular service."
"Thank you for saying so," Merrick replied. "We'll correct it and arrange replacement food."