Absolutely Unsanitary Fc Experience Last Night

[Light Years]

Maybe it's a public computer... those keyboards are filthy!

 

[US1YFARE]

Uh, wrong again...as far as the customer is concerned it's about price mostly, or has that little fact just passed you by after getting a 21% paycut.

As far as airline personnel...thank goodness with whom I fly with it's about security 90% of the time. The threat is a clear and present danger...it hasn't gone away, and if you think it has you are deluding yourself.

As far as 'spacewaitress' is concerned...too bad you fail to see the humor in it. It's an irony.

[post="194698"][/post]​

I find it very ironic that anyone would put you on the frontline with customers.

 

[Light Years]

Yeah, those terrible human F/As that have self-respect and are looking out for the security of the plane... maybe the airlines should just hire geishas, they can wave thier fan at security threats while massaging people's feet and giggling.

Or, maybe they could get robots, like the kiosks... they would never have to eat or sleep. To maintain the "sexy" factor people still want, you could pull on thier breast and a Diet Coke would drop out of thier belly. For food, you could just swipe your credit card.

Get those safety professionals off the planes, stat! People may more for thier weekly groceries nowadays than they do for airline tickets, but they never complain about the "frontline" employees ringing you out on aisle five (who make more money and have better benefits than most of the F/As I know).

Now isn't THAT ironic...

 

[gso2pit]

gso,
Have you ever had dinner at a Very nice, say 5 or 6 star resturant? Well I have worked at a couple and you would be Devastated to know what happens behind close doors!! So the next time you are haveing a nice romantic dinner with your sweet heart and the waiter/waitress brings out your nice piece of salmon done just like you want it, just hope it did not fall on the floor by mistake and just picked up and put back on your plate, without even being wiped off, from the chef whom just came back from taking a wizz and forgot to wash his/her hands!! Bon Appetito!!

[post="194588"][/post]​

I have worked at a few, and let me say that anyone caught doing that would have BEEN FIRED ON THE SPOT! And if I ever meet you on my flight, i'm going to come up to you on the jumpseat and while you are eating your cheap $3.50 burger from Boogerking in CLT, i'm going to spit right in your lap and then, wipe some all over your face. Would you like that?? I see it to be no different than what this f/a did. Anyone who thinks i'm a whiner over this shouldn't be in customer svc. This is about common decency, not about how the quality of food in f/c or if there is glassware. Get a life.

 

[gso2pit]

Keep your opinion humble friend.

90, or 98 % of this job is about security and safety, the rest is fluff.

I guess you don't realize that since none of your planes have been used as missles.

An FA Mikey, I don't know what they're telling you at AA, but if someone was staring like that on my airplane, they would be confronted and questioned. And if we were on the ground and I had any misgivings about the creep, the ground security people would be involved, not to mention the captain would be in the loop on the ground or in the air. Agressive, hostile, suspicious persons are a real source of concern and treated accordingly on United's airplanes these days.

[post="194597"][/post]​

so who do you consider agressive, hostile, and suspicious? how do you label a freak onboard?

 

[US1YFARE]

Yeah, those terrible human F/As that have self-respect and are looking out for the security of the plane... maybe the airlines should just hire geishas, they can wave thier fan at security threats while massaging people's feet and giggling.

Get those safety professionals off the planes, stat! People may more for thier weekly groceries nowadays than they do for airline tickets, but they never complain about the "frontline" employees on aisle five.

[post="194704"][/post]​

security is important, but so is customer service. I didn't say that the F/A's had to *$#) the customer or that you have to give us lobster dinners, or that we need our drinks in glassware (i don't)--I just think that they have to offer good customer service and not treat the customers like they are lucky to be flying on the plane with them.

Treating customers with respect is not a sign of no self-respect--it is just the opposite. If you have pride in your work, it shows through to your customers.

And not all FA's do this, but plenty do--how are they looking out for the security of the plane when they are eating potato chips reading a magazine in one of the jump seats. How are they looking out for the security of the plane when they are giggling in the galley on a 3 hour flight? How are they looking out for the security of the plane when they ignore the customers as they deplane because they are continuing their conversation in the galley?

There must be a balance, but you have to recognize that customer service is still important. If you don't, no employer is going to keep you.

 

[spacewaitress]

I have worked at a few, and let me say that anyone caught doing that would have BEEN FIRED ON THE SPOT! And if I ever meet you on my flight, i'm going to come up to you on the jumpseat and while you are eating your cheap $3.50 burger from Boogerking in CLT, i'm going to spit right in your lap and then, wipe some all over your face. Would you like that?? I see it to be no different than what this f/a did. Anyone who thinks i'm a whiner over this shouldn't be in customer svc. This is about common decency, not about how the quality of food in f/c or if there is glassware. Get a life.

[post="194706"][/post]​

I guess we all have our windmills to do battle with.

 

[Light Years]

i'm going to spit right in your lap and then, wipe some all over your face. Would you like that?? .

[post="194706"][/post]​

Hmm, guess who would be going on the flight and who wouldn't? A spitter would definately be considered a safety hazard and the aircraft would be diverted and you would get off. I had my hair pulled once and Miss Thang didn't make it to her destination, I'll tell you that much.

In all honesty, the food in F/C is just as cheap as that Burger King burger, and the BK food is made in a much cleaner oven and not touched by as many human hands. I'm not trying to start an argument though.

Customer service is absolutely important, but not AS important anymore according to the general public. It's all about price, right? If Airtran is cheaper, you'll do that, right? I was great at customer service, I recieved many compliments and letters at US, and always treated customers as valued clients (not fawning over them though, there has to be a respect level maintained). But they can't afford me now. I can't find, or can't afford to relocate again for a F/A job that will pay me enough. I loved my job immensly, as you can probably gather, and was very good at it. But I need to eat and have safe and comfortable accomodations, like I grew up with, and I would not be able to afford it. Isn't that an example of getting what you paid for?

No one expects great service at the supermarket or 7-11. It's just convienience. That's what the airlines will come to. Good customer service is not glassware or fancy amenities, it's people. It can't be taught, but it can be learned. There's doing a job, and doing a job with a bit of magic... you can out a price on "doing the job"- it's been done. The magic you can't put a price on directly, but you can sure underprice it away.

Have you heard anything back from the company? I've never really heard what they do in a situation like this.

 

[Fly]

so who do you consider agressive, hostile, and suspicious? how do you label a freak onboard?

[post="194709"][/post]​

well,....ummmm.... Anyone who spends so much time staring at us IS a freak. Yep you need a life, (or do you just need to get..........eh, somethin' else?)

Get over it. I don't believe it happened anyway. You seem intent on saving your $59 ride by complaining and hoping for a free ticket. Life's too short man.

 

[spacewaitress]

so who do you consider agressive, hostile, and suspicious? how do you label a freak onboard?

[post="194709"][/post]​

I don't label people freaks onboard. Aggressive, hostile, suspicious...2 outta 3 any dunce should know.

Suspicious? Unfortunately it's not an exact science. What you can do is rely on experience and do some checking to either affirm it or discount it. The important thing is that ALL concerns are taken seriously by your crew, flight attendants and pilots. Thankfully most of the time things are routine, but nothing is taken for granted and no sincere concern balked at.

 

[US1YFARE]

Customer service is absoloutely important, but not AS important anymore according to the general public. It's all about price, right? If Airtran is cheaper, you'll do that, right?

[post="194712"][/post]​

So, since I purchase lots of full fare tickets, I should get better customer service than the schmoe who paid much less--let me tell you, it doesn't work that way--maybe if I am in FC I get treated differently, but when I am in the back of the bus--it doesn't matter if my ticket was free, they paid me to fly, or i purchased a full y fare ticket--that's the reality.

And to an extent price is important, but loyal customers will pay a slight premium to fly their carrier of choice. If US had rationalized fares years ago in PHL, they wouldn't be in this mess. Heck, I'm so stupid because I've been gouged for 20 years and still will never fly Airtran or WN. I have flown UAL only a handful of times this year because I had no choice and another carrier because it was a last minute ticket and every seat that US had was sold and I needed 5 paid seats. So, no, it isn't always about cost. And, the customer you are not being so nice to may be one of the people who is one of those customers.

There is no doubt that you were a great FA. Most US F/A's are. However, if some people think that the customers will be taught a lesson with poor customer service, they are only fooling themselves.

 

[spacewaitress]

if some people think that the customers will be taught a lesson with poor customer service, they are only fooling themselves.

[post="194725"][/post]​

Did someone say that?

 

[Light Years]

I don't think anyone is trying to teach a lesson, it would likely be lost any way. There may be some who are "not being so nice"- there always have been- but most are likely just not giving that extra effort.

If I were still there, and had been ridiculed and blamed by my own company, and the public for the demise of the airline I loved so much and sacrificed so much for, I can't say I would give that extra effort. I would "do my job" and certainly not be "not nice" to any one, but the smile wouldn't be as genuine, and the service wouldn't have as much thought or warmth put into it.

Alot of customer service is voluntary. Whether it's running across the PIT airport on your only 15 minute break to try and get a passenger his wallet that they left on your plane, or making that tray look as if it came from a five star restaurant as opposed to in bulk off of a truck, or walking a couple to thier gate rather than pointing, those things are done out of geniune affection for your company and it's customers. There's alot of self-pride needed to really care about your line of work. Take that away, and it's pretty basic.

A couple of years ago there was a snowstorm in PHL. Everything was a mess, the whole system was messed up. I came into the PHL crewroom the next morning to find a friend of mine sleeping on a couch. I assumed she was just stuck there. In reality, the crew had gotten stuck there and was on thier way to thier hotel when she found an elderly lady crying by baggage claim. She was very frail, shouldn't have been even traveling alone. Her flight had cancelled, she was stuck in PHL, and all of the hotels were full. Not that the company would have provided one anyway, seeing as it was weather.

What did my friend do? She sent the woman to the hotel on the van and gave her her room. She slept in the crewroom and met up with the crew the next day. She called the woman's son to let him know where she was, who screamed at her and told her her airline "sucked" and they should have driven her to her destination (Florida). She never mentioned that it was her room.

She got her furlough notice two weeks later. The company needed her $20,000 yearly salary to restructure itself, and get more regional jets to be staffed not by her or I, but by the likes of Mesa.

Now, I'm not saying everyone would or should do things like that, but it's worth noting that you likely would not see the same type of caring when offering 1982 wages to 30 year employees.

 

[US1YFARE]

Did someone say that?

[post="194732"][/post]​

there have been other posts relating to that in other topics.

I agree with LY. How can you go the distance when your company has total disregard for you and your family. And, I know that there are some customers that should be banned from flying, but there are some FA's who are almost as rude.

My only point here is that customer service will always be important. We all understand that FA's are there for safety, but you have other purposes as well. You may not get certain benefits with low fares (glassware, upgrades, seat assignments, massages, meals, slippers, green limes), but you are still entitled to be treated like your business is appreciated. Unhappy employees = unhappy customers, but unhappy customers won't come back--it seems that unhappy employees come back day after day after day after day.

 

[Light Years]

Some unhappy people will leave, and maybe they will be replaced by happy people who really want to do it and think they can "tough" the hard work and insulting pay and benefits. But they'll either become the unhappy ones or they will quickly leave.

The F/A career has gone from a respectable one that people still wanted to do a few years ago to a misearable one that people now make fun of, because that's what the airlines do. It used to be very competitive, but now they can't find good candidates to fill these jobs at LCCs and regionals. It's now the equivalent of a fast food job, except a little less money starting out.

It breaks my heart, I loved being a flight attendant.