Customer Service Observations in CLT

[Art at ISP]

So I tried to get out of CLT home to LGA this morning, knowing that it was iffy at best. Visited the club, got rebooked on a later flight (my original canceled), and went off to find a friend who usually works the B concourse.

On the way I passed my original departing gate, and observe a passenger berating the gate agent because the onward segment to LGA was canceled. He was screaming away, and she was trying to get him to calm down. Finally another customer and I stepped in and told the guy to quiet down, the cancellation was not the agent's fault, and that we were ALL in the same boat--she happened to be on the phone getting an update or instructions while the tirade was going on.

When it was clear that he wasn't going to listen, I politely asked him to stop, and offered to escort him to the Special Services Counter where he could get rebooked (which the agent was trying to tell him between outbursts). Finally, he shut up long enough for me to get him moving, I took him down to SS and left him there.

A little later, I witnessed another issue with a customer trying to bring a carryon aboard when it had been announced further carryons would have to be gate side. The lady was ranting, and the agent was just trying to get the bag checked and her to understand it was not getting on board with her...he then walked down the jetway while his partner continued to board, and noticed that she did NOT leave the bag at the turn of the jetway and was trying to carry it on and was now arguing with a flight attendant. I don't know the outcome of that, but did not see this lady leave the aircraft.

Having observed this behavior before in CLT and other cities, I just have to wonder what is it with people who seem to leave their common sense at the security checkpoint and insist on being rude to airline personnel? Don't people realize they will get more assistance by being calm and understanding when situations arise?

My hat is off to you guys and gals on the front line.....despite being stuck in CLT for an extra night, I really have little to complain about other than seat pitch

My BEST to you all.....

 

[jimntx]

As I have said on more than one occasion...in this Oprah-fied world of ours where unhappiness is treated as a disease that must be medicated, instead of part of the human condition and experience, people--particularly, in this country--have developed the attitude that "Whatever I WANT to do is my, bygod, Constitutional RIGHT to do."

You see it on the plane when we inform passengers that descent into our destination has begun, and for their safety they should remain seated for the remainder of the flight. At that point about half the cabin stands up and heads for the lavs. Even though, we (or the captain) had made a suggestion 15 or 20 minutes earlier that if one needed to go to the lav now would be a good time to do it because the seatbelt sign will be coming on for our descent.

Passengers only hear what they want to hear.

 

[gizmo_sc]

It is the same reguardless which airline are you flying. Passengers are just PLANE STUPID when they get to the airport. My PET PEEVE is a flight has been assigned to a gate. Boarding door is CLOSED and there is no AIRPLANE at the gate. Passengers come up to the gate agent and ask " ARE YOU BOARDING YET" come of folks get some COMMON SENSE. If there is NO place at the gate then there is NO BOARDING. The bag situation is just PLANE getting out of hand. Passengers come to the gate with BAGS that are HUGE. They have packed them until they are about to bust open from over stuffing. Knowing if they try to put them in the overhead bins it is going to be a problem. Some carriers still have sizer boxes and when you try to ask a passenger to put his carry on in the size box the first thing they say is " IT FIT ON THE LAST PLANE" I had a lady well at this point I will call her a lady who the last passenger to board. I did a courtesy announcement by NAME asking her to board. She did not respond. After making this announcement again she responded " OH I did not hear you make the boarding announcement. Then she went on to announce that I need to come get her BAG. Earlier I had observed this lady moving thru the terminal dragging a big red duffle bag over stuffed not zipped. Sure enuff it was the same lady. When I advised her she had to try to put the carry on bag in the sizer box she stated she could not check her bag because she was an ATTORNEY and she needed things in the bag. AKA papers and laptop, I quickly advised her to remove the laptop since it is not covered in checked baggage. She announced to the entire AC that she was an ATTORNEY and that if her bag was damaged she would file a law suit. I won't call her a lady anymore she was just a _UCKING RETARD.

 

[nycbusdriver]

You see it on the plane when we inform passengers that descent into our destination has begun, and for their safety they should remain seated for the remainder of the flight. At that point about half the cabin stands up and heads for the lavs. Even though, we (or the captain) had made a suggestion 15 or 20 minutes earlier that if one needed to go to the lav now would be a good time to do it because the seatbelt sign will be coming on for our descent.

Passengers only hear what they want to hear.

That's an easy one to answer.

If the pilot suggests the use of the lavatory, folks don't get up thinking that "oh, now there's going to be a line for the bathroom." Once the seat belt sign comes on and the announcement is made to stay seated, everybody thinks "now there won't be a line."

Human nature. Everybody thinks they know how to game the system, but they fail to realize that everybody else thinks they can game the system in the exact same way.

 

[Art at ISP]

A few years ago, I was on a PHL-LAX flight, row 2 and the lady in the bulkhead refused to put her purse up in the overhead for takeoff. She got into it with the flight attendant, and the CS manager who came on board. They finally had to call the police who came on board and walked this lady off the airplane-I believe she was arrested...and should have been.

I gave my contact information to management in case the lady tried to accuse US employees of malfeasance - I would have backed up their stories willingly.

Nothing surprises me any more......

I guess I will see it again tomorrow as I try to get home from CLT....I will say it was good to visit with some old friends this morning....

My BEST to you all...

 

[jetman3133]

Well....let's make it simple, CHECK the bag and comply with the rules.....or DRIVE!! Refund the ticket, and have a safe trip! I have no patience for this anymore. All the front line employees deserve a free margarita after work!! On second thought...I'll have one!!

Laugh a little...and everyone have a safe day!! Thanks for listening!
Jetman out.....

 

[SS255]

Having observed this behavior before in CLT and other cities, I just have to wonder what is it with people who seem to leave their common sense at the security checkpoint and insist on being rude to airline personnel? Don't people realize they will get more assistance by being calm and understanding when situations arise?

Two words: People Suckage. Common sense is not the only thing which gets left at the security checkpoint. Common courtesy gets left there, as well.

It makes me really glad that my job does not entail having to deal with "the general public." I would not be so even-tempered if I had to deal with what you frontliners have to deal with day in and day out.

 

[Art at ISP]

Well....let's make it simple, CHECK the bag and comply with the rules.....or DRIVE!! Refund the ticket, and have a safe trip! I have no patience for this anymore. All the front line employees deserve a free margarita after work!! On second thought...I'll have one!!

Laugh a little...and everyone have a safe day!! Thanks for listening!
Jetman out.....

And if anyone's in CLT tonight, I'm buyin' (up to a point that is)....LOL

You all deserve it, especially those folks I was with today.....

 

[wench1]

Plain Stupid, The World they think , only revolves around them.

Ive been in this field since 1978..

I've learned alot, grew up rather quickly, and rarely rarely when Im a customer, do I give the same ration of ####..when Im out...

Its different behind the counter.

1- Just one day the travelling public needs to work behind our COUNTER< and not on a GOOD day..

Until they walk in our shoes- Shut the hell up..Take Amtrack, or Greyhound, oh wait we carry Bus passengers!

 

[Art at ISP]

Wench1,

Agreed 100%.....

 

[wench1]

Wench1,

Agreed 100%.....

Thank You Art...

 

[SparrowHawk]

Plain Stupid, The World they think , only revolves around them.

Ive been in this field since 1978..

I've learned alot, grew up rather quickly, and rarely rarely when Im a customer, do I give the same ration of ####..when Im out...

Its different behind the counter.

1- Just one day the travelling public needs to work behind our COUNTER< and not on a GOOD day..

Until they walk in our shoes- Shut the hell up..Take Amtrack, or Greyhound, oh wait we carry Bus passengers!

Being a people watcher I totally agree. Having befriended an agent with ties to the union I happen to know the pay scale and I also observed the level of "Agg" a customer can dish out. Someone else (NYbusdriver?) mentioned human nature and another common sense. Sadly I see precious little common sense in airports anymore and it's not just a TSA issue either.

However, it's not that people are stupid. A better word would be "Uneducated" when it comes to the idiosyncrasies of air travel post 9/11. Look at the process, you check in, get dinged for fees. Which likely pissed you off, then off the the Gestapo Checkpoint for a little grope and some security theater, followed by some overpriced piece of airport crap and what you get is a recipe for a cranky customer. Then throw in cancels, weather and the like and to me it's no wonder that some people just melt down. Doesn't make it right but it does explain it. This is also why most agents prefer to work with elites as most times elites know the system.

Funny thing is I like to be next in line behind the lunatic that just left in a huff, especially if I'm looking to bend a rule. A nice warm smile from me and something cutesy to say like "WOW who starched his undies" will usually win over a distraught agent in a heartbeat. It's a tough job and frankly I couldn't do it because somebody would get a beat down right at the counter. Hell, maybe that's why I'm nice or maybe I'm just trying to get to heaven who knows.

I did have a similar incident to Art's years back, with a "Gentleman" berating an agent. I was walking by as Art was, however there is a little more of me. I'm NFL linebacker sized and I Yelled at the guy "HEY, SHOW THE LADY SOME RESPECT! HOW WOULD YOU LIKE IT IF I TALKED TO YOUR DAUGHTER THAT WAY". I must say it was an amazing thing to watch as he took a step toward me, thought for a second as I put my stuff down and didn't move. He turned went back to the agent, apologized to the agent and I left.

One time I came into the Club right after one of Jeffrey Gitomer's legendary rants, that was a sight to behold. To this very day I'd like to give him an attitude adjustment for making those great ladies cry. I have a little plaque that says "It's nice to be important, but it's important to be nice" People need to remember that.

Thanks to all the agents out there who go out of their way to treat customers correctly. I for one appreciate it.

 

[nycbusdriver]

I did have a similar incident to Art's years back, with a "Gentleman" berating an agent. I was walking by as Art was, however there is a little more of me. I'm NFL linebacker sized and I Yelled at the guy "HEY, SHOW THE LADY SOME RESPECT! HOW WOULD YOU LIKE IT IF I TALKED TO YOUR DAUGHTER THAT WAY". I must say it was an amazing thing to watch as he took a step toward me, thought for a second as I put my stuff down and didn't move. He turned went back to the agent, apologized to the agent and I left.

Bravo!

 

[SS255]

Its different behind the counter.

1- Just one day the travelling public needs to work behind our COUNTER< and not on a GOOD day..

Until they walk in our shoes- Shut the hell up..Take Amtrack, or Greyhound, oh wait we carry Bus passengers!

I agree. Delta actually hosted a weekend for frequent flyers in October, and one of the activities was being a gate agent for a day. One of my friends did this, and she said it was HARD!

I would love to try my hand at being a gate agent for a day. Everybody tells me I have the patience of a saint, but I think my personality would undergo a complete transformation (and not for the better) if I had to deal with rude airline customers.

 

[Art at ISP]

Well some of it is just ignorance, and some of it is just unexplainable. I saw a couple of more incidents in CLT this morning, which just made me shake my head-at least I was able to get the club lady to share a laugh with me...and by the way GREAT job to everyone in CLT today--just got home, and had a really pleasant chat with an FA who has a lot in common with my wife.

Walked into the C/D club around 8AM, there was a line to the door. Three ladies were working very hard to help everyone, and they had devised a system for checking people in who didn't need any help. I needed something checked so I stayed on line. A guy walked in, said he needs to use the restroom, the lady asked for his club credentials, he ignored her and tried to walk in anyway...she said agaib I just need to see your card, he repeats angrily "I need to use the restroom" and walks away. The three ladies shake their heads collectively, and shared a laugh with me when i got to the front, but I must say overall, again, people can just be rude....I will add they did a magnificent job of taking care of people this morning--and people were stressed out due to the weather issues yesterday.

Prior to boarding, I overheard a conversation between two young men, who both spoke perfect English. One tried to board with zone 1, and the agent refused him boarding, saying he didn't have a boarding pass, he was standby. He pretended to not understand English, and it took her about 30 seconds to get him to understand she wasn't letting him on, and he had to see the agent at the podium.....I was going to say something, but kept my mouth shut, just thanked her for doing a great job as I boarded....although the guy in front of me as we walked down the jetway just looked at me, shrugged and said, "gate lice".......

One nice note from yesterday, while talking to my friend at a LAS gate, an older lady came up looking for her husband, who had gone to the mens room about 10 minutes prior and had not returned. She said he had "memory issues". While my friend made a call to central paging to have the gentleman paged, I asked for a description and went looking for him. I saw an older man walking down the hall looking a little befuddled, asked if he was so and so, he said yes and I walked him back to his wife.....and off they went to "invest" in Las Vegas....

My BEST to you all...