Guest Pass (mis)behavior

[YVINTERN]

Atleast I'm one of the nicest SA7Ps...I've been in so many SOL situations this year and I have never lost my temper...I understood the risks when using a buddy pass and these friggin morons should as well...now if they experienced rude agents...they should walk to another gate or the special services desk and see if they could help...

I'm telling you traveling around as a SA7P is basically volunteering yourself to be treated as DIRT period...these morons need to understand that.

Shannon, thanks for bringing this up...it's time to crack down on the crackpots traveling around SA7P these days!

 

[FlightChic]

How about the rising number that don't even speak english.

I used to be a lodo for the old US Airways. We were boarding and there was a lady who came on in our uniform dress. She was a non rev. She didn't smile or speak when she came on either. She just had a sour look on her face. Anyway, she goes back to coach to the bulk head row after envoy and sits down. A few minutes later, a different lady (non rev) went up to the CSD speaking Spanish and was complaining like crazy. The CSD didn't understand so I stepped in and asked what the problem was. The lady was pretending to be a paying pax and said that she missed the flight to MAD the night before (you know, non-revs, full flight, traveling with group, not enough seats) and acted like it was US Airways' fault. Then she said she should be upgraded to envoy. I explained that I can't issue any upgrades and that she should speak with the agent. So, she steps off the plane for a second and I ask if she needed me to go up there to interpret and then she comes back on the plane and starts yelling "But it's not fair! I should be given an envoy seat because I didn't get on the other flight and we had to pay for a hotel and and spend the whole day in PHL and yadda..yadda...yadda..." I said "And if you don't shut up you're not going to be on this flight either." So she shut up and went back to her seat in coach. Well, I saw her go back and sit down next to that non rev lady in uniform and they were talking. It turns out that the lady who yelled at me was the lady in uniform's mother! Luckily I was working in envoy so I didn't have to deal with them the rest of the flight and later the CSD and I were laughing about it the whole way to MAD.

I only give buddy passes to my aunt who knows the drill. She's non-revved many times and knows what to do but I counseled her like crazy and I have gone over all the rules about what to do, what to wear, etc. She's not the type to cause a scene or get irate and she always looks nice. My parents travel some. I've given a pass or two to my brother but that is it. I tell my friends and family that it is better for them just to buy a real ticket and that I'm not trying to be mean but flights are always so full and it is very difficult to non rev and it just isn't worth. I'm used to it because I commute and I know you have to be flexible but others may not get it and I cannot in good conscience put them through it anyway.

As for the gate agents, I commend you all for your hard work because I don't think I would last a day dealing with everything you have to deal with. It's bad when paying pax give us problems but when you have to deal with irate non-revs who don't get it that's even worse.

 

[Ima B. Yotch]

I used to be a lodo for the old US Airways. We were boarding and there was a lady who came on in our uniform dress. She was a non rev. She didn't smile or speak when she came on either. She just had a sour look on her face. Anyway, she goes back to coach to the bulk head row after envoy and sits down. A few minutes later, a different lady (non rev) went up to the CSD speaking Spanish and was complaining like crazy. The CSD didn't understand so I stepped in and asked what the problem was. The lady was pretending to be a paying pax and said that she missed the flight to MAD the night before (you know, non-revs, full flight, traveling with group, not enough seats) and acted like it was US Airways' fault. Then she said she should be upgraded to envoy. I explained that I can't issue any upgrades and that she should speak with the agent. So, she steps off the plane for a second and I ask if she needed me to go up there to interpret and then she comes back on the plane and starts yelling "But it's not fair! I should be given an envoy seat because I didn't get on the other flight and we had to pay for a hotel and and spend the whole day in PHL and yadda..yadda...yadda..." I said "And if you don't shut up you're not going to be on this flight either." So she shut up and went back to her seat in coach. Well, I saw her go back and sit down next to that non rev lady in uniform and they were talking. It turns out that the lady who yelled at me was the lady in uniform's mother! Luckily I was working in envoy so I didn't have to deal with them the rest of the flight and later the CSD and I were laughing about it the whole way to MAD.

I only give buddy passes to my aunt who knows the drill. She's non-revved many times and knows what to do but I counseled her like crazy and I have gone over all the rules about what to do, what to wear, etc. She's not the type to cause a scene or get irate and she always looks nice. My parents travel some. I've given a pass or two to my brother but that is it. I tell my friends and family that it is better for them just to buy a real ticket and that I'm not trying to be mean but flights are always so full and it is very difficult to non rev and it just isn't worth. I'm used to it because I commute and I know you have to be flexible but others may not get it and I cannot in good conscience put them through it anyway.

As for the gate agents, I commend you all for your hard work because I don't think I would last a day dealing with everything you have to deal with. It's bad when paying pax give us problems but when you have to deal with irate non-revs who don't get it that's even worse.

I'll put those non revs in check. I'll print that bastard to paper so fast , trash it, and hand them an identical looking rcpt so fast they wont know what hit them. That'll put them in place. Ctrl W F9 or whatever is a smokescreen to make you think Tempe gives a $%&^ - -

you want something done, do it yourself...and do it with an eeeeevil grin

 

[N965VJ]

Guest pass was $88 round trip. Actual confirmed seat was $220. Easy choice!

Just make sure the tickets aren’t on US so your friends and family arrive on time with their baggage.

 

[YVINTERN]

I'll put those non revs in check. I'll print that bastard to paper so fast , trash it, and hand them an identical looking rcpt so fast they wont know what hit them. That'll put them in place. Ctrl W F9 or whatever is a smokescreen to make you think Tempe gives a $%&^ - -

you want something done, do it yourself...and do it with an eeeeevil grin

Atleast you don't work for US...cuz I could have sworn that was you in that BNA turn I had 2 months ago

 

[hpflygirl]

When I used to work gates we would sometimes get buddy passers who woud throw a fit when they didn't get on a flight. I would pull up the record and see who the employee was. It would show their ID number and with the letter designator in the front of the number you could tell what dept. they worked in. I would then send the employee a note letting them know of their friend's behavior. Each time I got a note or a phone call back thanking me for not turning them in to the company/pass bureau. They always said they would not let their friend use the passes again. Turning someone in to the company is something I would never want to do.
Now as a flight attendant we get the "attitude" every now and again on the a/c. If I know the person misbehaving is a non-rev I let them know...as discreetly as possible...that their behavior is unacceptable and they could cause the employee (or themselves is they are the employee) to lose their benefits because of it. Only once has this not worked.
And I agree...before you give out a buddy pass....please, please, please tell the person using it ALL the things that can happen when you non-rev AND tell them what you will do to them if you hear they caused a problem.

 

[night-ice]

Atleast you don't work for US...cuz I could have sworn that was you in that BNA turn I had 2 months ago
[/quote
Sounds like an experience I had in CLE a few months ago..

 

[flightattend21]

I agree that non-rev's should be told that it is what it is a cheap fare stand-by. However that gives no one the right to treat anyone like dirt. I was an agent I always treated non-rev very well. I would want my parents to be treated the same. as a f/a if there is room i bring the non-rev's if not i comp where i can. Recently in PHL I was told there were no seats - to make a long story short they (agent) put 2 buddy passes and 1 person (junior) to me and it went out with 1 empty seat. Yes I wrote to manager and inflight - this was the 3rd time it happened to me. I know a few other people who it happened to. Bottom line treat people the way you want others to treat you. If all else fails - write them up.

 

[happy01]

When I used to work gates we would sometimes get buddy passers who woud throw a fit when they didn't get on a flight. I would pull up the record and see who the employee was. It would show their ID number and with the letter designator in the front of the number you could tell what dept. they worked in. I would then send the employee a note letting them know of their friend's behavior. Each time I got a note or a phone call back thanking me for not turning them in to the company/pass bureau. They always said they would not let their friend use the passes again. Turning someone in to the company is something I would never want to do.
Now as a flight attendant we get the "attitude" every now and again on the a/c. If I know the person misbehaving is a non-rev I let them know...as discreetly as possible...that their behavior is unacceptable and they could cause the employee (or themselves is they are the employee) to lose their benefits because of it. Only once has this not worked.
And I agree...before you give out a buddy pass....please, please, please tell the person using it ALL the things that can happen when you non-rev AND tell them what you will do to them if you hear they caused a problem.

I always strongly recommend to the non-rev to check with the employee on how travel benefits work before I do. I have been threatened, screamed and cursed at, and guess what I have turned them into the pass bureau and It does work! In one instance it was a retirees wife who raised such a ruckus, that his travel benefits were taken away.

 

[night-ice]

I agree that non-rev's should be told that it is what it is a cheap fare stand-by. However that gives no one the right to treat anyone like dirt. I was an agent I always treated non-rev very well. I would want my parents to be treated the same. as a f/a if there is room i bring the non-rev's if not i comp where i can. Recently in PHL I was told there were no seats - to make a long story short they (agent) put 2 buddy passes and 1 person (junior) to me and it went out with 1 empty seat. Yes I wrote to manager and inflight - this was the 3rd time it happened to me. I know a few other people who it happened to. Bottom line treat people the way you want others to treat you. If all else fails - write them up.

hmm..what was the response / action taken for the agent who purposely skipped you?
I had a similar stiuation in CLT last year..one seat open and the agent's mother got on and of course it was the last flight of the night. I don't know how old the agent was but she looked very young to have more seniority than I- unless of course she held her age extremely well! Who does one report an agent's behavior to and how? CLE has a few rough female agents up there! :unsure:

 

[CynicalResAgent]

When I worked the help desk in RES I had on more than one occasion spoken to nonrevs traveling on buddy passes who demanded to be rebooked on another carrier when US had a wx delay or cancellation. We would report the people to the pass bureau and the employee could get their privelages suspended.

I also had more than a couple of calls from people who claimed they paid for a buddy pass more than the pass was worth and had no clue it was standby. A lot of them seemed to be upset and were usually traveling PHL to SJU. They'd also be very nice about it after they realised what was going on and then would recant paying that much for the ticket as they sounded like they knew they might be getting someone in trouble.... but these folks were usually very nice.


Personally, I grilled anyone traveling on a buddy pass on what to do and not do. My mom flew a lot and was a great nonrev, once I think she even brought the gate agents at LGA some doughnuts from this awesome bakery in NY. I just laughed cause she's always so nice to the people but she was always afraid she'd get me in trouble and loose that privelage, she'd always be very courteous to the flight attendants and one time she heard a man giving a gate agent grief about a delayed flight, this man left the gate counter and sat down and was still mouthing off to her like he was expecting her to agree with him and she said very nicely " I think they're doing the best they can under the circumstances, it's not really that persons fault. We'll get there, just a little later than planned."

 

[tadjr]

Who does one report an agent's behavior to and how? CLE has a few rough female agents up there! :unsure:

Get a printout of the standby list if you can. I had this happen in PHL many years ago and got a copy of the list and flight times involved and wrote to the manager of the station and explained what happened. Not sure if anything ever came of it (this was when the company was pushing for ot even if it meant leaving standbys behind) and shortly thereafter the company clarified the intention of getting it out on time didnt mean leaving people behind if they were on time and at the gate.

 

[flightattend21]

hmm..what was the response / action taken for the agent who purposely skipped you?
I had a similar stiuation in CLT last year..one seat open and the agent's mother got on and of course it was the last flight of the night. I don't know how old the agent was but she looked very young to have more seniority than I- unless of course she held her age extremely well! Who does one report an agent's behavior to and how? CLE has a few rough female agents up there! :unsure:

I wrote to the manager of PHL, inflight, union and travel bureau. I also had the manager in PHL print out the list of non-rev and i faxed that in to prove my point. When I saw the manager next day she told me they were all called in office and it is now being investigasted. I also complimented the agent and manager who did try to help me. It is not about ratting someone out, but about someone being treated like dirt. Even the supervisor said oh you wont get on "we have higher seniority than you" What 2 buddy passes are higher? the junior person was higher and of course the empty seat had higher seniority than me. LOL please write it up, that is the only way we can keep our seniority - it is the only thing that we have left.

 

[Hello Newman]

I can understand the occasional "oh CRAP!! I wore jeans!" I can forgive that.
I can understand the flip flops every now and again.

...what I can't understand for the life of me is how these crazy people traveling SA7P who act like they just came off the Jerry Springer set are always showing up and asking me for compensation , demanding upgrades, and wanting hotel vouchers - - and then not understanding when I am telling them there is no compensation for a guest pass when you don't get on .

No, you can't see my supervisor. No, you can't see her supervisor.

HELLO??!?! THERE is a REASON why you paid 64.75 for your round trip ticket from here to LAX!! Non revs get on LAST.

Who is even giving them these passes? Certainly it's not someone who values their flight benefits - - the only perk we practically have left....

I cannot tell you how many pissed off irate SA7P's I dealt with this week. . .

I RECENTLY HAD A FAMILY OF 5 SA7'S COME INTO MY BSO AND DEMAND I CALL PHX , CLT AND LAS TO FIND THEIR BAGGAGE , THEIR ATTITUDE GOT WORSE WHEN I TOLD THEM THEIR STUFF WOULD NOT BE DELIVERED. ONE OF EVEN SICKED HIS LAWYER ON ME WHEN HIS BAG WAS OUT FOR 3 DAYS IT WOULDN'T BOTHER ME A BIT IF COMPANION PASSES CEASED TO EXIST ENTIRELY

 

[hula-flyguy]

IT WOULDN'T BOTHER ME A BIT IF COMPANION PASSES CEASED TO EXIST ENTIRELY





A M E N!!!!!!