N965VJ
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Sorry about that! I’ve seen so many people troll teh interwebz for funny airline stories that I’m jaded. Shannon rocks!
Yeah, there’s something about Yorkies and PBI.
As the Radar Turns
- Thread starter InternationalShannon
- Start date
InternationalShannon
Veteran
This was one someone shared with me, and gave me permission to write into a story 🙂
Posted it for the ramp guy who sent a message to me via another employee to please post another. 🙂
***
Baggage service is one of the most thankless jobs in the airline industry. Even though I didn’t personally lose any bags, people want to yell and scream and belittle me as if I had. I don’t take it personally, but it is definitely exhausting. It’s always worth it when the passenger finally has their belongings back…and their just desserts.
Of course, being assigned in the baggage claim area has its moments. I love to watch the soldier who just arrived from overseas. In a cloud of welcome home balloons and children’s cries of glees they embrace The wife wipes tears from her eyes as the parents stand by and hold each other, remembering young love and ecstatic that their son is home.
It was a late night and flights were coming in late because of weather. There was a storm moving its way across the Central United States and into the east. People were crowded like sardines in the baggage area because it was too cold outside to wait for their rides.
We only had three baggage carousels in our luggage area, which is usually fine. Tonight, we had 12 landings minutes apart and bags coming up the belt in droves. Of course, where there are droves of bags, there are droves of people.
When the bags would almost all be claimed and the room would clear up slightly, there would be a few minutes of peace. Then entire new crowd of planes would be on the ground and the sea of identical bags would once again rise with the tempers of the passengers looking for them.
One man, Mr. Tyler, had come inbound from New York with his girlfriend, Moira. The NYC flight had come in during one of the rush periods, and since those bags were some of the last unloaded, I braced myself for some attitude. If there is one thing I have learned about people from New York it’s that they do not like to wait.
About fifteen minutes after they arrived in the boarding area, he and his girlfriend approached my counter. Moira was polite and reserved, but Mr. Tyler was very agitated. He said that he’d been waiting for thirty minutes and wanted to know where his bag was.
After explaining in vain that many flights had come in simultaneously and that it might take longer than usual, Mr. Tyler scoffed and turned on his heel to go back to the carousel. Moira looked at me apologetically and followed him.
“He hasn’t had a cigarette in 8 hours†she said over her shoulder.
I understood completely.
Thirty minutes had passed, and Mr. Tyler still hadn’t been able to identify his bag so he came back to me to file a claim. He described his bag as a black, 22 inch roller bag. Of course, because that is what 90% of the traveling public uses, I needed more information.
I asked him what was in the bag and he told me he had some clothes, his cigarettes, and his watch. I filed a claim for him and told him we’d continue to look for it. He and Moira left , he in a huff and Moira trailing behind when he spun back around and told me that he’d remembered more things that were in the bag.
I reopened the claim and began to add things as he listed them. Among them were a brand-new Rolex watch, some scuba gear,a laptop, a digital camera, a diamond necklace and an engagement ring.
Moira’s eyes popped at hearing that there was an engagement ring in the bag. Suddenly, Mr. Tyler began tearing up and telling me a woeful tale of how he was going to propose to Moira and now that the airline had lost the 2 carat diamond, we were going to have to replace a new one.
Moira looked as confused as I was. How could he “forget†such expensive items and who would ever check something so valuable anyway? Believe it or not, it happens all the time.
I asked him if he had receipts and he informed me rudely that, no, he did not. This did not make Mr. Tyler happy. Moira looked mortified and sat in one of the chairs with her arms folded. Mr. Tyler demanded compensation, which I was not able to give him because we would need a few days to locate the bag, we needed to verify its contents and then compensate, if necessary.
He asked me if there were any places that sold cigarettes nearby. There wasn’t any near the perimeter of the airport since smoking is banned from airport property.
This sent him into a rage. Mr. Tyler began yelling about how useless our airline was and called us thieves and liars. He started pulling bags off he belt that were overflowing, and then, he climbed the incline and stood on the flat area at the top of the carousel. He shouted that he was going to ask Moira to marry him but that we had lost his bag and now he couldn’t.
Some passengers watched, others just grabbed their bags and hurried off. Frustrated at the lack of attention he was getting, he began to grab bags and throw them, one by one off the belt, causing the noise level in the claim area to skyrocket and inciting panic.
“LIARS!†he yelled as he kicked one bag off the belt
“THEIVES!†he yelled as he hurled another off to the side
Moira was frantically trying to get his attention when the summoned police officers arrived. He continued with the theatrics, yelling that the airline was going to pay for the whole wedding. The cops took him outside, and Moira came inside the baggage claim office. I couldn’t tell if she wanted to apologize or wanted me to, so we stood there in silence for a few minutes.
The phone broke the silence, and I answered it. It was gate C14, the gate where the New York City plane had arrived. A passenger had left his carryon onboard the aircraft and an agent was bringing it down.
Moira stepped to the side while the line of angry passengers grew. All of them were people who owned bags that Mr. Tyler had kicked, thrown, or caused damage to during his tirade. One man’s checked bag contained wine from Italy that had broken when Mr. Tyler kicked it. Another woman’s wheel was busted off her bag, it had resulted as Mr. Tyler had hurled it over.
As I continued to take damage claims, thankful that there were no injuries, my coworker from gate C14 wheeled in a black 22inch roller with the name tag “ John Tyler†attached to it. I summoned Moira up. She went from humiliated to pasty as she recognized the bag and the handwriting on the tag as hers.
She reached into her pocket for the key to the lock, and opened the bag. Nothing had been moved since he’d packed it that morning. His toothbrush and aftershave kit were sitting undisturbed on top, just the way he always packed it. She verified the contents of the bag as belonging to him, but was unable to locate any engagement ring, laptop , scuba gear or expensive watch.
The flight attendant had found the bag in the overhead compartment, and turned it over to the gate agent who forwarded the bag to us. Mr. Tyler and his girlfriend had not been able to get seats together on the full flight, and the bag was in the overhead of the seat Mr. Tyler was sitting in.
Moira told me she’d had the key in her pocket ever since he’d locked it back in New York. He had lied about the ring, and about everything else in the bag.
We immediately canceled the bag claim we’d made and watched as Moira wheeled the bag over to her ex-boyfriend, still in police custody, drop it on his foot, exchange words, and leave him with the cops.
She then bought a one-way ticket back to New York and we didn’t hear from either passenger again.
Just another crazy day in the airport!
Posted it for the ramp guy who sent a message to me via another employee to please post another. 🙂
***
Baggage service is one of the most thankless jobs in the airline industry. Even though I didn’t personally lose any bags, people want to yell and scream and belittle me as if I had. I don’t take it personally, but it is definitely exhausting. It’s always worth it when the passenger finally has their belongings back…and their just desserts.
Of course, being assigned in the baggage claim area has its moments. I love to watch the soldier who just arrived from overseas. In a cloud of welcome home balloons and children’s cries of glees they embrace The wife wipes tears from her eyes as the parents stand by and hold each other, remembering young love and ecstatic that their son is home.
It was a late night and flights were coming in late because of weather. There was a storm moving its way across the Central United States and into the east. People were crowded like sardines in the baggage area because it was too cold outside to wait for their rides.
We only had three baggage carousels in our luggage area, which is usually fine. Tonight, we had 12 landings minutes apart and bags coming up the belt in droves. Of course, where there are droves of bags, there are droves of people.
When the bags would almost all be claimed and the room would clear up slightly, there would be a few minutes of peace. Then entire new crowd of planes would be on the ground and the sea of identical bags would once again rise with the tempers of the passengers looking for them.
One man, Mr. Tyler, had come inbound from New York with his girlfriend, Moira. The NYC flight had come in during one of the rush periods, and since those bags were some of the last unloaded, I braced myself for some attitude. If there is one thing I have learned about people from New York it’s that they do not like to wait.
About fifteen minutes after they arrived in the boarding area, he and his girlfriend approached my counter. Moira was polite and reserved, but Mr. Tyler was very agitated. He said that he’d been waiting for thirty minutes and wanted to know where his bag was.
After explaining in vain that many flights had come in simultaneously and that it might take longer than usual, Mr. Tyler scoffed and turned on his heel to go back to the carousel. Moira looked at me apologetically and followed him.
“He hasn’t had a cigarette in 8 hours†she said over her shoulder.
I understood completely.
Thirty minutes had passed, and Mr. Tyler still hadn’t been able to identify his bag so he came back to me to file a claim. He described his bag as a black, 22 inch roller bag. Of course, because that is what 90% of the traveling public uses, I needed more information.
I asked him what was in the bag and he told me he had some clothes, his cigarettes, and his watch. I filed a claim for him and told him we’d continue to look for it. He and Moira left , he in a huff and Moira trailing behind when he spun back around and told me that he’d remembered more things that were in the bag.
I reopened the claim and began to add things as he listed them. Among them were a brand-new Rolex watch, some scuba gear,a laptop, a digital camera, a diamond necklace and an engagement ring.
Moira’s eyes popped at hearing that there was an engagement ring in the bag. Suddenly, Mr. Tyler began tearing up and telling me a woeful tale of how he was going to propose to Moira and now that the airline had lost the 2 carat diamond, we were going to have to replace a new one.
Moira looked as confused as I was. How could he “forget†such expensive items and who would ever check something so valuable anyway? Believe it or not, it happens all the time.
I asked him if he had receipts and he informed me rudely that, no, he did not. This did not make Mr. Tyler happy. Moira looked mortified and sat in one of the chairs with her arms folded. Mr. Tyler demanded compensation, which I was not able to give him because we would need a few days to locate the bag, we needed to verify its contents and then compensate, if necessary.
He asked me if there were any places that sold cigarettes nearby. There wasn’t any near the perimeter of the airport since smoking is banned from airport property.
This sent him into a rage. Mr. Tyler began yelling about how useless our airline was and called us thieves and liars. He started pulling bags off he belt that were overflowing, and then, he climbed the incline and stood on the flat area at the top of the carousel. He shouted that he was going to ask Moira to marry him but that we had lost his bag and now he couldn’t.
Some passengers watched, others just grabbed their bags and hurried off. Frustrated at the lack of attention he was getting, he began to grab bags and throw them, one by one off the belt, causing the noise level in the claim area to skyrocket and inciting panic.
“LIARS!†he yelled as he kicked one bag off the belt
“THEIVES!†he yelled as he hurled another off to the side
Moira was frantically trying to get his attention when the summoned police officers arrived. He continued with the theatrics, yelling that the airline was going to pay for the whole wedding. The cops took him outside, and Moira came inside the baggage claim office. I couldn’t tell if she wanted to apologize or wanted me to, so we stood there in silence for a few minutes.
The phone broke the silence, and I answered it. It was gate C14, the gate where the New York City plane had arrived. A passenger had left his carryon onboard the aircraft and an agent was bringing it down.
Moira stepped to the side while the line of angry passengers grew. All of them were people who owned bags that Mr. Tyler had kicked, thrown, or caused damage to during his tirade. One man’s checked bag contained wine from Italy that had broken when Mr. Tyler kicked it. Another woman’s wheel was busted off her bag, it had resulted as Mr. Tyler had hurled it over.
As I continued to take damage claims, thankful that there were no injuries, my coworker from gate C14 wheeled in a black 22inch roller with the name tag “ John Tyler†attached to it. I summoned Moira up. She went from humiliated to pasty as she recognized the bag and the handwriting on the tag as hers.
She reached into her pocket for the key to the lock, and opened the bag. Nothing had been moved since he’d packed it that morning. His toothbrush and aftershave kit were sitting undisturbed on top, just the way he always packed it. She verified the contents of the bag as belonging to him, but was unable to locate any engagement ring, laptop , scuba gear or expensive watch.
The flight attendant had found the bag in the overhead compartment, and turned it over to the gate agent who forwarded the bag to us. Mr. Tyler and his girlfriend had not been able to get seats together on the full flight, and the bag was in the overhead of the seat Mr. Tyler was sitting in.
Moira told me she’d had the key in her pocket ever since he’d locked it back in New York. He had lied about the ring, and about everything else in the bag.
We immediately canceled the bag claim we’d made and watched as Moira wheeled the bag over to her ex-boyfriend, still in police custody, drop it on his foot, exchange words, and leave him with the cops.
She then bought a one-way ticket back to New York and we didn’t hear from either passenger again.
Just another crazy day in the airport!
YVINTERN
Veteran
Sounds like a typical night at PBI when the thunderstorms roll in.
InternationalShannon
Veteran
feel free to add other horror stories, or am i the only one getting into these situations? it must be because I dont have arms.
it's not easy being a lawn gnome.
it's not easy being a lawn gnome.
I dont work for this airline either but this board is so much fun to read that I wish I did! At one time I worked for a REAL airline and was to privy to many customers request for aisle seats. Strangers feel the need to advise of ALL their bladder issues and the medical reasons for their need. Others will tell you they are going to pickup their runaway or need only a one way tkt because they dont know when their child or spouse will be finished with rehab. How about finding the flight with the shortest layover so their anorexic child can only exercise for so long before boarding for their destination. By the way, my companies employees really wanted to trvl with the customer who wanted to know if their prison ID was valid for TSA. Hmm. Sometimes it was a co worker who wanted to know if their spouse was trvling because they thought they were using their flight bennies to cheat on them. Some of my favorites were for booking last minute gov officials and making sure they didnt sit together-they couldnt get along! How about the customer who was a slow typer and apologized for being a pecker! Although, I dont have Shannons's way with words, I think you can the gist that my old job had quite an interesting appeal! Mama
InternationalShannon
Veteran
hahahahahahaahahahahahahhaahahahahah i could totally take those, fluff them up and make then fantastic , it doesnt have to be real, it's a fictional airline after all - - - typing slow / pecker? hahahah ahahahahahahaha i like the prison id one too. lol!!!
did you ever get any calls where people would ask what you were wearing hahaha i got those when i worked at aol.
crazies!
Now that I think about it there were those who advised they needed to trvl because they were meeting someone they had just met on the web or drunken young ladies booking flights from LAS to LAX with the men they had just met even thought they were from fla. New Years was a blast booking F tkts for many and taking cc for those that would never remember they called until they received their bills. We used to advise those that purchased tkts for future use for a boyfriend/girlfriend, now ex, to consider it a parting gift. This was after having to hear the "you would never believe what he/she did to me" story. There was always those that didnt want to pay reissue fees and the excuses were numerous. I missed my flight because my dog was too depressed to go to the kennel or I have a medical situation and need to trvl later, all the while hearing the "ching ching" of the slot machine(leaving LAS.) Speaking of Las, you mean your company doesnt give loans to its customers while in LAS? Nope. Memory lane, ...I guess I should be grateful I still have them! Mama
InternationalShannon
Veteran
hahha reservations is a whole can of worms i barely ever even thought of !! i love it!
signals
Veteran
Especially when they are scattered all over because of a racing tug, left on the ramp while the plane goes bye-bye, are banged against the baggage belt to the point of damage, and I could go on...
Has anyone worked the PHL/PBI or even worse the JFK/PBI flights? Im only 36, if I ever turn as nasty and entitled as the average 70 year old PBI passenger, please shoot me. My favorites are...
"Excuse me, EXCUSE ME... DING DING... I'll take a tomato juice, ONE ice cube".
I was going thru security once, and there was this nasty lady who flipped out on me because I "cut" in front of her (supposedly). So, since I was at PBI, I also had the "entitlement" to be nasty, so I put on quite the show. I clapped my hands, and said, "everyone, please, please, step aside for the princess, she must be allowed to move to the front of the line"...
It must be the heat.
"Excuse me, EXCUSE ME... DING DING... I'll take a tomato juice, ONE ice cube".
I was going thru security once, and there was this nasty lady who flipped out on me because I "cut" in front of her (supposedly). So, since I was at PBI, I also had the "entitlement" to be nasty, so I put on quite the show. I clapped my hands, and said, "everyone, please, please, step aside for the princess, she must be allowed to move to the front of the line"...
It must be the heat.
InternationalShannon
Veteran
haha thanks ill go dig in the vault and see what we can come up with... 😉
lildutchgrl
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PHL-PBI: I have flown many of these flights throughout the years. It amazes me how many people come on saying, "oh, dear, I need some water to take my medication."
Then when you serve the drinks they want a coffee, a water and a tomato juice with just one ice cube. What is up with the one ice cube thing anyway?
Before we are even done with the service, bells are ringing.
Ding, Ding: Oh dear, I need some more water for my medication. In the meantime the dog up in first class has pooped in it's carrier and the lady refuses to take it in the lav to clean up the smell that is now migrating throughout the cabin.
On top of that, there are the children that seem to be in training to be the future medication takers of west palm. "my son will have an apple juice and a water, but please add some water to the juice because he doesn't drink it full strength. My daughter will have a cranapple mixed with gingerale with a lime wedge. We call that a shirly temple, honey. I would like a diet coke and a water. Can we have the cans?"
Don't even get me into selling the 5 snackboxes that they give you for that flight. I could have auctioned them off to the highest bidder and made a few bucks. Then you get the typical, "I can't believe you are making us starve on this flight because you don't have enough snacks."
And they wonder why we stopped just selling them all together when they give us 5 boxes for 144 people.
I will never have to endure that again! Thank goodness for that.
Then when you serve the drinks they want a coffee, a water and a tomato juice with just one ice cube. What is up with the one ice cube thing anyway?
Before we are even done with the service, bells are ringing.
Ding, Ding: Oh dear, I need some more water for my medication. In the meantime the dog up in first class has pooped in it's carrier and the lady refuses to take it in the lav to clean up the smell that is now migrating throughout the cabin.
On top of that, there are the children that seem to be in training to be the future medication takers of west palm. "my son will have an apple juice and a water, but please add some water to the juice because he doesn't drink it full strength. My daughter will have a cranapple mixed with gingerale with a lime wedge. We call that a shirly temple, honey. I would like a diet coke and a water. Can we have the cans?"
Don't even get me into selling the 5 snackboxes that they give you for that flight. I could have auctioned them off to the highest bidder and made a few bucks. Then you get the typical, "I can't believe you are making us starve on this flight because you don't have enough snacks."
And they wonder why we stopped just selling them all together when they give us 5 boxes for 144 people.
I will never have to endure that again! Thank goodness for that.
The "one ice cube" is so they "get more". Next time they ask for a tomato juice with one ice cube, fill the cup half way 🙂 I CANT wait to take this flight when the SODA is $2 - it will be hilarious!!! If Sherry Shamblin wants to see service in action, I hope she works one of the PBI flights 🙂
