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Are airline passengers getting ruder? Deal with it!
Recent mayhem in the skies has obviously raised the question of whether passengers are getting ruder, and the consensus seems to be that we are. The average passenger may cite fuller planes, less room in overhead compartments and an endless array of fees as reasons for the lack of courtesy, not to mention an increasingly tough gauntlet from the curb to the gate. And, the cabin crew will probably lament the inability to work effectively with passengers who have increasingly absurd demands and hostile behavior.What nobody seems to realize, however, is that this issue is not unique to the airlines.
Think about it: when times are tough for a company or sector, everyone becomes unhappy. Difficult market conditions leave employees stressed, as they worry about their jobs, don't get raises and, as the cliché goes, have to "do more with less." And, customers become increasingly demanding because every dollar they spend is more important, especially if you don't know whether you'll still have reliable income in the near future.
Does this sound like the airline industry? Of course. Passengers are looking at every expense carefully, whether they are traveling for leisure (personal expenditure) or business (where they have to answer to the finance department). They want more for less ... and become frustrated by the fact that service and amenities are actually declining as ancillary fees are on the rise. This is the sort of situation that will make passengers ruder, and indeed, it has.
Meanwhile, there is no shortage of stories about flight attendant meltdowns. Some of the people involved, of course, were probably wacky before economic conditions worsened, but it's safe to assume that the implications of the recession for the aviation business have contributed to the likelihood of the insane and the absurd breaking out among airline employees.
Now, let's think about business in general, outside the airline business. The same rules apply. Customers and clients become more difficult, more demanding, when times are tough. Having conducted business following the bursting of two bubbles (dotcom and structured finance), I've seen – and experienced – just how challenging it can be to keep your cool. But, the smarter folks in just about any business find a way to do so. Why? Because they realize that without their clients, they'd have no cash coming in. So, there's a lot of anger behind smiles, tongue-biting and carefully concealed strained patience.
What matters, though, is the commitment to service levels. Professionals realize that the rudeness of their customers or clients does not change their own obligations to deliver the necessary product or service. If they fall short, the revenue sources (rude or not) will dry up. And, it's better to have rude people paying you than none at all.
In the airline sector or anywhere else, there is no tacit or explicit obligation for customers to be polite, except for common courtesy, which is convention more than obligation. So, are passengers getting ruder? Of course. Does it matter? Not at all.
[photo by hoyasmeg via Flickr]
Meanwhile, there is no shortage of stories about flight attendant meltdowns. Some of the people involved, of course, were probably wacky before economic conditions worsened, but it's safe to assume that the implications of the recession for the aviation business have contributed to the likelihood of the insane and the absurd breaking out among airline employees.
Now, let's think about business in general, outside the airline business. The same rules apply. Customers and clients become more difficult, more demanding, when times are tough. Having conducted business following the bursting of two bubbles (dotcom and structured finance), I've seen – and experienced – just how challenging it can be to keep your cool. But, the smarter folks in just about any business find a way to do so. Why? Because they realize that without their clients, they'd have no cash coming in. So, there's a lot of anger behind smiles, tongue-biting and carefully concealed strained patience.
What matters, though, is the commitment to service levels. Professionals realize that the rudeness of their customers or clients does not change their own obligations to deliver the necessary product or service. If they fall short, the revenue sources (rude or not) will dry up. And, it's better to have rude people paying you than none at all.
In the airline sector or anywhere else, there is no tacit or explicit obligation for customers to be polite, except for common courtesy, which is convention more than obligation. So, are passengers getting ruder? Of course. Does it matter? Not at all.
[photo by hoyasmeg via Flickr]
Filed under: North America, United States, Airlines
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
David Sep 9th 2010 6:23AM
Flying, with its aggrevating with the insidious security check, is now less comfortable than travelling in a Greyhound Bus. If I have less than a 1,000 mile trip, I drive.
marie Sep 9th 2010 9:42AM
As an airline employee I try to be courteous to all but once I am yelled at then I no longer feel the need to help that person as I don't make the rules for then charges they are given...if you polled us you would see that we do not agree with the bag charges most of us begged our companies NOT to charge for the bags, we also do not agree with the charge for the extra leg room seats, we find this ludicrous...but again we only work there and have to do what the company says..also the CEO gets more bonus money than we get in pay...Those of us that are single have roommates so we can pay our rent and pay our bills...we are not paid well...and when we fly on our benefits we wait until there is a seat and if there is not a seat all day then we go home and try again the next day...so we are under our own kind of stress...be nice to us and we will break our back to help you out...be rude and you get what you that back.
Gerry Sep 9th 2010 10:33AM
Well David -- you don't like security checks -- let me know how you feel when your plane goes down due to a moronic terrorist.
Al Schrader Sep 9th 2010 3:16PM
Never get rude with the flight attendant. They grab a beer & slide down the inflated escape thingie. Gets really bad when they do it at 35,000 feet & everybody gets sucked right out. Lemme tell ya.
Brigham Sep 9th 2010 6:24AM
I THOUGHT THIS ARTICLE WAS GOING SOMEWHERE.
Christine Sep 9th 2010 6:28AM
I find the flight attendants and the people at the check in desk extremely rude. Lately when I fly I feel like I'm back in 1st grade (catholic school) They talk down to you and have ZERO personality. Never used to be like that.
trip Sep 9th 2010 6:38AM
Because you are!
PRESTON Sep 12th 2010 10:54PM
To Christine and the overwhelming majority of passenger who are polite:
While I'm sure you're a sweet, polite and patient person, those who are rude make working anywhere, especially in airliner a difficult chore. My suggestion for Les Miserables is to take the bus, train or car or get some "be-nice" training.
In the alternative, why don't the nice folks help out by stressing to those other folks who don't share your personal charms to straighten up, fly right or walk. Imagine a metal tube holding scores of uncooth humanity sharing anywhere from an hour to half a day in the metal tube; kind of like sharing the same with those who don't bathe I'd say; flight after flight and day after day.
I've learned that flight attendants are closely screened during pre-employment, receive intense traning during the academy and receive annual training so all may fly comfortably and most importantly, safely.
If passengers were screened similarly prior to flying, planes might be half empty and tickets would be more expensive.
Enjoy you next flight and lend a hand to the hard-working flight crews. Close to all of them are pleasant, helpful and good people.
christine Sep 9th 2010 6:40AM
I am always polite. I think customer service is a thing of the past.
Gia Sep 9th 2010 6:55AM
I think society in general is more rude.
big mama Sep 9th 2010 7:25AM
I work in a call center do teck support for a satilite t.v. provider and you are right people cuss at me scream ect. usally the major problem is that they did not pay thier bill , but it is getting increseingly harder to do my job i could get fired for rudeness and i need my job there are even people out there who's main goal is to get cheeper service and they don't care who loses thier job so they can save 5.00 is a sad and sorry state the world is in
cher Sep 9th 2010 7:28AM
I think the internet and reality has made us a rude society. Look at shows like the real housewives and jersey shore. The people are so rude and we see that and act that way. I was never brought up to be like them but our kids have and they are. The economy has made us all uptight and that adds fuel to the fire.
allen hockaday Sep 9th 2010 7:36AM
People in general are just getting ruder.
tony Sep 9th 2010 7:31AM
The reason airline staff are rude is because they ARE NOT AIRLINE STAFF....The airline industry has eliminated PERMANENT EMPLOYEES for what is called HANDELING AGENTS....These people work for a different airline every day ($8.50 pe hr ) and could care less about the picture they leave of the airline at the end of the day......The airlines deserve this reputation when they broke the unions and got rid of loyal senior staff....THE FLYING PUBLIC had better get used to it...Even complaining won't do a damn bit of good...The management just does not care...They provide a service that YOU need....
kya Sep 9th 2010 7:43AM
That's why I don't fly! I used to be so nice and sweet and people just step on you and talk you down! Well after all these years, I'm a bitoch and that's just what you get from me! If you talk down or even give me the wrong look, it's on like donkey kong! Screw turning the other cheek!
CJ Sep 9th 2010 7:46AM
Tom, comparing .com over-over-the-phone service to sealed-in-a-tube with your client service. Funny...and clueless. All the complaints passengers have...imagine the FA's haveing to put up with the same bull you do, but unable to compain about it, for 14 hours a day - spending 120+ nights a year in bed-bug infested hotels.
Can you say ticking time bomb? Better think twice before you get in a FA's face next time.
Ex employee Sep 9th 2010 8:01AM
I worked for 2 Airlines for 15 years. I agree that there has been a change in the industry and it's customer service. However, I agree that it is customer service overall. I was a manager for a major airlines and during my employment, I was spit at, had things thrown at me, was verbally abused as well as people attempting to cause physical harm. Customer bad behavior in the airline industry has been going on for a very long time it is just of late that it has escalated to over the top. Most of the time was because the customer was late, didn't have the proper documents to travel or upset because of a weather delay or mechanical. I agree these issues are frustrating but people really went to the extreme. I left because it just wasn't worth it anymore. I went to another employer and managed a group handling customers where the same behavior by the customers occurs. I believed that alot of companies across America are more concerned with the bottom line and not making sure that their employees have the tools to do their job more effectively. I believe that we have become a very demanding society because we feel that complaining we will get us what we want. I have been on both sides as the consumer and the service side and the days of warm and fuzzy are gone. It is an issue that I getting worse rather than better.
Bouquet Sep 9th 2010 8:06AM
I don't see that the rudeness levels of passengers has changed much over the last 20 years, but I have detected a much more overbearing and rude attitudes from crew members. That type of thing might lead to passengeers acting the same way.
flight attendent Sep 9th 2010 9:40AM
It was more pricey to fly in the 80's than it is now . I have been a flight attendent for 23 years people are mean.
Rob Sep 9th 2010 8:03AM
For the past 14 years I have flown approximatley 400,000 miles per year. Has the industry changed since 1996 when I began traveling that amount of miles? Most definitely! One thing is for certain though, from those in the ticket office, to those behind the counters, to the agents at the gate, and the crewmembers responsible for getting you to your destination, the demands on their jobs have changed as well -- much more pressure, sometimes deplorable working conditions, not to mention the stressors for regulatory compliance. Most of these people do, however, possess a professional work ethic. My advice is to be less demanding, perhaps more understanding, and to project a level of appreciation for them - it makes their jobs easier and the ride more pleasant for everybody.