This is not hacker news.
So maybe the 'bar' should be set based on the comments: get rid of the stories that trigger lots of griping and keep everything that generates good comments.
Long version: I don't specifically come to HN to read about why Google stopped doing something with H-2xx in Chrome. I don't specifically come to HN to read about Clojure 1.2. I don't specifically come to HN to read about a fantastic human interest story based on excellent customer service and human decency. What I do come to HN for is the over all quality of the content whether it's technical in nature or not.
It is an extremely narrow view to hope that articles submitted to HN are only technical or related to whatever narrow "belongs on HN" viewpoint you hold. I enjoy reading about Clojure but I also enjoy reading about a tiny little thing going right for humanity because one person (and by extension a huge company) did what was right and I think the community at large does as well.
Since we can't downmod, it just means 87 people in the community were really moved and upvoted.
I don't think HN should be strictly tech either (though I do absolutely think "how I built/sold X" is much better than "here's my opinion on Y"), but I don't see how this story is HN material.
Sure but certainly that's one of the risks you accept as a community member here.
The guidelines here say "Anything that would gratify one's intellectual curiosity". Maybe it's a stretch but I have intellectual curiosity about how businesses treat their customers. Seeing a large, successful corporation like Southwest treat a customer with dignity and humanity satisfies my curiosity in the same way. Granted, this is a very specific case but I think the concept is generalized to the bigger picture. It just happens to be wrapped up in a reasonably heartwarming anecdote.
It's easy to get points with emotional hot-button stories here, just like anywhere else. It's not a sign of 'worthiness'.
If don't think that customer service stories belong here you don't really get all aspects of starting a company.
Everyone here should aspire to have their employees go above and beyond like this
"As my husband walked down the Jetway with the pilot, he said, “I can’t thank you enough for this.”
The pilot responded with, “They can’t go anywhere without me and I wasn’t going anywhere without you. Now relax. We’ll get you there. And again, I’m so sorry.”