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As you know my family and I flew recently to San Francisco. I love to fly on my off time, not only because I enjoy travel but because I really appreciate getting the passenger’s view of things. I’ve been able to improve upon my customer service skills by being a passenger. And, I’m sure like you I’ve seen things I like and some things…not so much.
Well, on our recent trip I experienced the great and the not so great. Our flight to SF couldn’t have been better. Not only did we have two rows to ourselves, but it was more than that. Our inflight crew bent over backwards to make sure we were happy. They knew I was also a FA and they made us feel welcome and special. As you saw in a recent post they even brought Lucy a cookie from FC. It was a great flight!
The flight home was a completely different story. The flight was full and somehow the gate agent managed to seat the three of us together. Life was good. Then I started to notice the FAs. This crew was not friendly at all. They just didn’t appear happy to be there. The FA working the aisle was snapping at passengers and being loud about it. This surprised me because the airline I work for is known for their friendly inflight crews. My issue came up when the FAs came through with the second beverage cart and I asked one of the FA’s to fill my “to go” mug with hot water for my tea. Here’s where things went sour. The FA told me that she was not allowed to do that. Huh????? She agreed to get me a cup of hot water and I could pour it in myself. When she returned with my hot water she told me that the reason she couldn’t put the hot water directly into “my cup” was because I could accuse her of “putting something in it.” Huh????? How stupid does that sound? She could have put “something” in the Styrofoam cup! The Styrofoam cup I was trying to avoid using in the first place, being bad for the environment. Anyway, I will admit that asking for hot water is kind of a pain in the butt thing to do, however, I usually get my hot water from Starbucks but didn’t have time to do that this time and I can’t tell you how many hot waters I’ve gotten for people over the years. I deserved my hot water! I told her I was also a FA and was curious to know where this “rule” is written. She didn’t have much to say after that. Had it just been the hot water I probably wouldn’t even be writing this post but after seeing them interact with the passengers,(disengaged and rude) I can see where the FAs can make or break a customer’s perception of an airline. I have my off days but I truly try to smile at work and not act bothered when I have to go out of my way, is it too much to ask the same in return?
There’s my story. Now I would like to hear your story but only the good ones! I want to hear when a FA was great. I know I got to tell my bad tale but I don’t hear enough stories of superb customer service. And the purpose of me telling that story was to let you know how I improve upon my customer service skills, by watching and experiencing the good and the bad. So, like I said, dig deep and share your nice FA stories : )
(post pic courtesy of: “What makes the pie shop tick” Check out more of his work at flickr.com)
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Hi FP,
Just curios, in your airline, does the hotwater come from bottled water or from the aircraft’s ‘tap’ water. I read somewhere that the ‘tap’ water in the aircraft may not be the cleanest.
Granted it is hot, I doubt that the water was brought to a boiling point before being served.
Love your blog.
BeanTownDeltaFlyer…
It is always interesting to see the other side. As a passanger, the other side of flying is blog like yours that help me view things in more global way.
I have no bad or great FA stories because I try to be selfsufficient and not ask for anything. It is just the way I am. I have, however, some great experiences with gate agents that kept switching me between two delayed flights so I could get to my destination the fastest possible.
It’s always interesting to hear stories “from the other side” – great reading.
I’ll start with the good story. This happened at Christmas and our family flew from Atlanta to Houston on an MD-90 (should give the carrier away *LOL*). Because my mother who was visiting from the UK was a wheelchair passenger, we were given the front row of coach. It was nice to stretch 4 people out over 6 seats. The cabin crew went over and above on the service. They were absolutely fantastic and incredibly helpful! It made our 3 leg flight from West Palm Beach to Amarillo go quickly!
The bad – well – it happened on an A320 from West Palm Beach to JFK recently (again – should probably give the carrier away – and – yes – I did write a letter of complaint to them!). It was a 6am flight – early I know – but – the one FA was definately not awake. As passengers were boarding, she was very short and sharp in her comments, as she checked up and down the rows, again very short and deifnately sharp comments, and in between walking up and down the aisle, she stood at the front of the aircraft yawning without covering her mouth – not a pretty sight at all!
I think the rule to not pour hot water into your to-go cup is two fold. First there is the sanity problem, should you accidentally touch the hot water pot to the lip of the cup, you can contaminate all the other passengers with to go cup germs, not to mention you will get your hands dirty if you touch that to-go cup. Secondly there is the fairness issue, other passengers will ask, hey why does he get special treatment, I want two cups of hot water!
The rule also sounds similar to one with our airline- don’t heat other people’s foods. Maybe the FA simplified it to, don’t handle other people’s foods or beverages.
BTF: Yes, the hot water comes from the AC and normally I don’t drink it but I figure once in a while won’t kill me: )
Albert: Usually, I’m self sufficient too. Nice to hear you have great gate agent stories!
ML: Great first story and the second…I agree it’s all presentation!
Tschaff: Welcome: ) You have a good point and I thought my fellow FAs may disagree with me but I think for good customer service you have to use common sense and go on a case by case basis. It’s like not lifting bags…I don’t do it…but if a 90 year old woman with a 2lb. bag is in front of me, I’m going to lift her bag. You make a valid point for germs but realistically you touch a lot of peoples stuff and hands during a beverage service and she could have certainly put a napkin between her hand and my cup. As far as my cup and touching the spicket gos…not likely…any way, I pride myself on using my best judgement. I like people to walk away with a good experience. Also, if she wasn’t a rude person to begin with and delivered her explanation pleasantly, I would have accepted her answer. But, you’re right there are two sides to every story!
haha, i’m LOVING your blog!!! I can’t wait to get home and devote some more time to it. I’ll have to send you a link to my mom’s as well “globe trottin grandma.” the retired years;-) i’ll be back to put a story down for you. I don’t want to do it on my phone key pad!
flying home from oakland alone with my one year old. something i may never do again! however, the steward in the front of the cabin noticed i was carrying the pork loin and his carseat, as well as a purse. bless his heart b/c he grabbed my car seat, strapped it all in for me, put a lid on the pork loin’s juice (complete with a straw) for inflight, and then came back to help me off when we landed. oh, the friendly skies!
Flying on Qatar, Business Class, from Doha to Washington, D.C. [very, very long flight – like 15 or 16 hours?] the male flight attendant I had NEVER ever ONCE let my wine glass get empty and when he realized that the little plates of warm nuts he kept serving me had the almonds left over he started picking them out for me so that I just had pistachios and cashews. How wonderful is that for customer service?!! Upon landing I filled out a comment card saying how great my trip was… And, Qatar, for the most part lives up to the expectations I have. There has been an occasion or two, however, that required a single-spaced five page letter of complaint. I should send it to you and you could have a field day with it.
I cannot imagine that I am a good passenger to have. I know my DH is a pilot, and I also know for many, many years in the States when I was flying non-rev I wouldn’t have so much as asked for a drink of water. Now that I am not non-rev, and paying top dollar to fly – and never in economy [I’ve paid my dues, believe me!], I am NOT a passenger you want to have on your next flight. And I know that.
Sabra: Thanks for the great customer service story..that is above and beyond! I love it…and I could probably handle you;-) Although, I may not have the amenities on my airline that you are looking for…