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Galley Gossip: Flight attendant fights with a passenger, escapes down the emergency slide and then drives home {Gadling}
Aug 11th 2010 4:27PM Heather, that's hilarious. I can promise you that my response was not inappropriate, spam, linked to a porn site or any of the other offenses you listed. This conversation is pointless and your attitude affirms my initial opinion. Good luck with all that.
Bye
Buh-bye.
Bye now.
Byyyye.
Goodbye.
Buh-bye.
(Starting to sound familiar?)
Galley Gossip: Flight attendant fights with a passenger, escapes down the emergency slide and then drives home {Gadling}
Aug 11th 2010 1:40PM Greg - kudos to you for doing a great job! You said it ALL when you said "I set the mood for their flights". That statement alone tells me that you are probably a delight to fly with. I'm an easy passenger - I bring one small carry on that fits perfectly beneath a seat, I don't make special requests, I don't expect the cabin crew to wait on me or solve my problems. What I *DO* expect in exchange for the price of my ticket is an occasional friendly greeting and maybe even some eye contact as they snatch the cash I'm handing over for snacks, beverages, headphones, or whatever. Geez, most of the time I sleep or read. On a flight not so long ago the gentleman sitting next to me tipped over his drink which ended up in my lap. Accidents happen - no big deal. The f/a was two rows away with the drink cart and the gentleman asked very nicely if he could get some extra napkins so that I could at least mop off my seat. The f/a bit his head off, told him she didn't have any to spare, and when she was finished with beverage service that she'd see what she could find. Needless to say I didn't bother her again, I made do with what I could find in the lavatory and sat on a damp seat to my destination. Even if she didn't have a few napkins to spare, her attitude could have made a huge difference in the situation. Wish I could clone employees like you,Greg - traveling would be a pleasure!
Galley Gossip: Flight attendant fights with a passenger, escapes down the emergency slide and then drives home {Gadling}
Aug 11th 2010 12:40AM Heather, I think if you'll read my post again, that's exactly what I said - that I haven't walked in the shoes of today's f/a and that crew used to have more tools at their disposal to make customers happy. But thanks for reinforcing my point with your snarky post. Doesn't matter if it was twenty years ago or two weeks ago, standards for customer service are the same and it's a shame that people will look for any excuse (full flights, shorter layovers) to justify not delivering quality service. It's their job.
**noticed that you deleted my first response** Apparently this blog only accepts comments that agree with you?
Galley Gossip: Flight attendant fights with a passenger, escapes down the emergency slide and then drives home {Gadling}
Aug 10th 2010 1:08PM I was a flight attendant for Northwest "back in the day". Customers were more polite, but so were crew members. I'm 47 now and have seen a huge shift in the industry since my days as a 20-something pushing the beverage cart. I left to raise my family - good choice. My husband and I are fortunate enough to travel as often as we like, and it's a RARE day when we encounter a flight attendant with a pleasant expression on his/her face - let alone any offer of courtesy or customer service. When we fly internationally we usually encounter top notch crews and the service reflects that - but moving coast to coast within the U.S. it's every man for himself. Imagine the customer who was probably met with delayed and overbooked flights (all too common), surly personnel from counter to gate to aircraft. Can't blame the airline for the body cavity check you receive at screening, but it certainly adds to the overall experience. You're finally on board where the airlines have cut every possible comfort and convenience but not the fares.....and THEN some f/a with an attitude (sorry, but a normal person doesn't flip out, grab beer, and pop the slide) starts DEMANDING an apology from you, the paying customer who has been treated like a nuisance from the beginning of the trip? I'm thinking that f/a may have had it coming. That said, there's never any excuse for a customer cursing or shoving a crew member - but maybe, just maybe, JetBlue's Steven Slater was getting back some of what he'd been sending out. I've experienced plenty of flight attendants who seem to forget that the people in the seats are paying their salaries. I can't say that I've truly walked in their shoes. When I flew things were much different, we had more to offer our customers and more options for making them happy. But I have found that no matter what the situation, courtesy and friendliness tend to diffuse it. And to the flight attendants who will scream that no one understands how difficult their jobs are, that they are unappreciated,etc.....get in line behind teachers, nurses, etc. If it's that bad, pop the chute and pursue another line of work. It ain't brain surgery.
