I’ll start out with a ‘not all’, but far too many for my liking. The reason I would come up with such a claim is clearly down to my own understanding and expectation of a Flight Attendant’s role within the travel experience. It seems to me that they have a difference of opinion from the mass marketing and advertising campaigns of the airlines that convinced you to choose them.
Air Travel, to me, is a service industry. They sell tickets based upon the service and experience, they should live up to it. And it should be consistent with the cabin that you are seated in, not the price you paid for the ticket, so whether it is an award trip or a full priced ticket, the service should match the experience, sadly, with US based airlines it rarely seems to.
I’m going to go into the taboo right here, and you will see what I mean. There have been many times that with certain airlines in particular a flight attendant will seek to hide poor service behind a position of authority, and will seek to provide the very minimum level of effort required to get you to your destination safely. What actually frustrates and angers me is that it is my belief that many of these are either tired from overwork, or lazy from over entitlement (depending on your perspective) and that they seek to lean on the awful events of 9/11 to cover their deficiencies.
I know, I am not allowed to talk about 9/11, that is the point, when they provide inferior service they absolutely pull this 9/11 card and intimidate the passenger through guilt, fear and shame to accept inferior service, and it really is not acceptable. Even if they don’t use the name, they allude to it, and you cannot challenge them for this as they will immediately brand you a threat.
As a passenger, I see Safety is a part of the role of a flight attendant, but after the myriad of security screenings and checks on the way in, it is in no way the primary role. They are there to be an extra pair of hands in the event of a real emergency, but frankly, given the level of service, priority and attention that I have received in their care in regular travel, with no ’emergency’ I really don’t know that they would give much of a hoot about me in the event of a real emergency either.
There is a saying, you fight how you train. And if you consider the corollary they are displaying traits that show me that caring about me is far less of a priority than this ‘safety from terror’ card that is being pulled. So they are allowed to go through an entire flight experience giving lower service because they are focusing their ‘energy’ on safety, I really don’t think so, I think that these people are burnt out and leaning heavily on a topic that is too taboo to challenge in order to coast through their job, and can a person like that actually perform in a real emergency?
I pulled up a job description from AA.com (actually written by US Airways) for this, to see how they internally prioritize Safety over Service, perhaps I was wrong all these years:
JOB TITLE: Flight Attendant
All candidates must be willing to be based from any of our 4 base locations that include Charlotte, Washington DC, Philadelphia and Phoenix.
POSITION PURPOSE:
To provide leadership, direction, and assistance for safety and comfort to passengers on board our aircraft, while working independently and as part of a team.PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
– Provide exemplary customer service to all aspects of the cabin
– Actively seek to ensure the safety and comfort of customers
– Ensure compliance with Federal Aviation Administration regulations
– Assist passengers and fellow crew members during emergency situations
– Provide special assistance to passengers, including stowing luggage in overhead compartments, emergency medical aid, and wheelchair assistance
– Prepare/serve meals and beverages; sell onboard liquor, duty-free items, and other items
– Write detailed reports pertaining to flight incidents
– Interact with a wide variety of people from a broad range of culturesTYPICAL PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORKING CONDITIONS:
– Position requires some physical exertion such as pulling, pushing, reaching, bending, standing, walking, and light lifting of passenger bags and catering needs
– Airport operations in all types of weather
– Long periods of standing and talking
– Airport ramp operations are noisy and can be hazardous without due caution
– Extensive travel; must be able to spend consecutive nights away from home
– Alternative work schedules, including evenings, weekends and holidaysQualifications
– 2+ years proven experience in hands on, client facing, customer service delivery. Prior flight attendant and/or airline experience is not required or necessary.
– Competent in handling difficult situations, problem solving and complaint resolution
– Able to read and speak English fluently; second language is preferred
– Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
– Proficient with Microsoft Office software
– Must present a professional image, may not have visible tattoos, facial, multiple or upper ear piercing or extreme hair color or style
– Height and weight must be proportionate such that it does not exceed specific aircraft dimensions (example: jumpseat, harness without modification, cabin aisle and emergency exits)
– Ability to push or pull moveable carts, which weigh as much as 200 lbs
– Ability to lift objects weighing up to 35 lbs., such as galley stowage bins and carry-on baggageREQUIREMENTS:
– High school diploma or GED equivalent
– Must be at least 21 years of age
– Must be in possession of a valid United States or foreign passport with applicable VISAs.
– Must have the ability to travel freely in and out of the United States, to and from all cities served by US Airways without restriction
– Travel documents must remain valid throughout all phases of trainingDue to the high volume of applicants, we are unable to respond to each applicant individually regarding the status of their application. Please feel free log into your application to check the status online.
-Provide exemplary customer service to all aspects of the cabin
– Actively seek to ensure the safety and comfort of customers
– Ensure compliance with Federal Aviation Administration regulations
– Assist passengers and fellow crew members during emergency situations
– 2+ years proven experience in hands on, client facing, customer service delivery. Prior flight attendant and/or airline experience is not required or necessary.
– Competent in handling difficult situations, problem solving and complaint resolution
– Able to read and speak English fluently; second language is preferred
– Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
– Proficient with Microsoft Office software
– Must present a professional image, may not have visible tattoos, facial, multiple or upper ear piercing or extreme hair color or style
– Height and weight must be proportionate such that it does not exceed specific aircraft dimensions (example: jumpseat, harness without modification, cabin aisle and emergency exits)
– Ability to push or pull moveable carts, which weigh as much as 200 lbs
– Ability to lift objects weighing up to 35 lbs., such as galley stowage bins and carry-on baggage
Marketing Expectations
I am no aircraft expert, but it seems to me these days you pretty much get to pick from an Airbus or Boeing, the interiors are built per the spec of the carrier, and all I see talked about in any marketing of a new plane are things like: Comfort, of the new seats, Service, and experience. Airlines tend to break the products into what is called Hard and Soft Product. With such narrow choices within the duopoly, comfort, service, and experience are the distinctions that airlines sell themselves on.
The Hard Product is the plane itself and the seating. When was the last time you saw a new plane advert that claimed their seat was the most robust in the event of a crash landing? I can’t think of any, instead it is a focus on Lieflat seats up front, and more legroom in the back of the bus. Comfort, experience relaxation. Nothing on safety, it is assumed.
The Soft Product includes the food and beverage, the range of entertainment (though the screens and whatnot would fall into the Hard product category) again, when do you see safety? Do they market their food as being cooked in a facility that is really hard to break into for your service, or is it supposed to look nice and pleasant?
When was the last time you saw a flight attendant in an advert being grumpy, and not making the ride more comfortable and enjoyable? The entire point of all marketing in this business is to create that feeling of relaxed pleasure, so when I board my AA flight and get a grumpy old battleaxe claiming their job is not to serve, but to get me there safely where did they come from? Did they miss the TV advert?
This isn’t something that AA is unique for doing, it is just that I fly them a lot so most of my experience of this is with them. I continue to fly AA because they get me from A-B and I don’t pay for my tickets, but I don’t think it is fair that the airline market on the experience and joy of travel, and the service delivery people don’t hold up their end of the deal, I also think it is a real crappy cop out to make people feel too uncomfortable to complain by leaning on the fear and sadness of real emergency events, and I hope that they will do better.
I know, I travel for free, I’m grateful that I can do that, truly I am, but how I paid for my tickets shouldn’t excuse poor service and the guy seated next to me, did he pay good money? What is the reason for him receiving poor service? I think it is time for this to stop. If you aren’t able to provide good service you shouldn’t be in this role, and you should never lean upon peoples fears to cover your lack of desire, or lack of ability to deliver to expectation.
I’ll keep this brief.
I think you’re having an argument with no one, or with some anonymous dude on the internet. No one actually believes that FAs should give poor or no service, except where safety dictates.
The original post in question, which I went back and read (unfortunately; it was boring) was obtuse in complaining about crew rest, a situation about which the author could only speculate. The author also attributed service failures to a language barrier, which suggests that the author’s expectations exceeded the level of service typical of most Chinese airlines. Those two errors are not horrible; they’re just obtuse.
Sometimes I am inspired to voice a thought by something I see elsewhere, and in truth I was sparked into writing this one by seeing a comment on Buzz, but it isn’t a new thought to me, I have felt this for a long time when it comes to my flight experience and I see it too much. I haven’t actually read the post in question from OMAT, I don’t read his blog and had a quick glance today but didn’t feel the urge sift through it all to find what was being discussed.
Rather than arguing with no one, I would rather look at this as a chance to name a taboo, call it for what it is so we can move past the block it creates in our ability to complain, and create improvement. Once we are comfortable tackling poor service we can start to change it.
Matt, I am guessing your hostility comes from that you tried to get a job as a f/a but could not, and ended up on a ship gig for 3 years. I just got off the Princess Sapphire (we try to do 1 a year) and I am well aware of the working conditions of foreign cruise ship workers on contract.That is why the comment was made above. It ruins the cruise experience for me somewhat, knowing how hard these people work and how they are treated. I tip them like Burt Reynolds and try never to bother them. When I see people who never worked for a living treat them like servants or complain about trivial sht it pisses me off, sometime I intervene (if my wife is not around).(BTW I also give sht to people who abuse handicap parking, a Portland epidemic) I am also aware that WHITE workers on these ships seem to have it easier, why is that? Or is it my misconception (all you have to do is look who is at the ship crew pool each day). I got your blog, but cancelled when you called the cruise ship passengers “the newlywed, the overfed and the nearly dead”? I resemble those remarks, Sir! I am not defending f/a’s in my stories, they should be fired for what I wrote about. I busted my ass covering those who fcked off on the job for 27 years. My comments are written to ENTERTAIN and get Buzz’s smiley face and hopefully the hit count higher. That’s what TBB is about. And yes if you are traveling for free by hacking the system, BE HUMBLE AND GRATEFUL. DON’T BE A DICK WHO WRITES ABOUT TRIVIAL SHIT AND JEOPARDIZES EMPLOYEES LIVELY HOOD. Airline pax write complaint letters everyday (for the record I never got one) hoping to get miles, an upgrade or free flight. When people who have never worked for a living are critical of those who do I will be there to “put my neck out” as you say………….Free Tip, Have you thought about putting pictures of girls in swimsuits on your blog or of a zero g Kate Upton? Ciao.
Hey Ramsey,
Thanks for swinging by, I appreciate your perspective here. Frankly, I’ve long been irked by F/A who aren’t doing their job, and it bothers me a lot to see when they hide behind security and other excuses, I’m glad you acknowledge that there are slackers there too.
Nothing wrong with increasing Buzz’s hit count, and there is nothing wrong with a good healthy disagreement about things, actually that achieves the hit count goal since everyone likes a little drama.
Regarding the cruise ship staff, I wouldn’t be so quick to make it a race call, though in fairness some nationalities do tend to gravitate towards certain jobs, so there is a lot of truth behind what you say, but there are also a lot of ‘WHITE’ people who also bust a gut in the kitchens, cabin stewards, cleaning etc.
Matt I feel badly for those working on the ship that do not enjoy the same privileges of other crew members. It appears that there is a class system on the surface and would love to know how it works. Again nobody appreciates those hard work contract works on the ship more than me, i would even make my own bed and leave the no service sign up because of my guilt…. I actually like this site and it’s member blogs.
Let’s call a truce, I got all uppity because I thought you were slagging off those folk, but clearly its not the case, I enjoy your comments, but yesterday just rubbed me the wrong way, sorry for dealing with that aggressively in my reply on buzz.
Here is a little something I wrote on Cruise Ship mafia: https://saverocity.com/travel/a-rough-guide-to-cruise-ship-hierarchy-and-cruise-ship-mafia/
Do you really see that much THAT MUCH BAD service, when you travel, I usually see F/A’s working there ass off. 12 hours days 3-5 flights a day, 8 hour layovers where they get 5 hours sleep. MATT, You seem to have issues. Which airlines rejected you as a F/A?
correction> their not there
I see good and bad service everywhere, I worked in the service industry and know the difference between people who care, and are trying and people who have switched off. I never applied for a F/A job, but it does look like it would be a lot of fun for a while, though after some time I can see me turning into the battleaxe..
“working their ass off”? Really? I’ve never, EVER, seen a F/A “work hard”.
You need to see what “hard work” really means – go get a job in the construction/forestry/mining/energy industries. And construction/forestry/mining/energy are vastly more dangerous.
I agree with Matt – way too many F/As are lazy, doing the absolute minimum, knowing their job is safe due to Union rules and just “putting in time”. And the “terror” card is a very convenient catch-all to excuse all sorts of rude/lazy/incompetent behavior.
This probably varies quite a bit depending on carrier, corporate culture, the degree to which wages and benefits have been slashed, etc. I haven’t been on AA since fall and it wasn’t great, but it wasn’t the worst, either. Somehow WN seems to always pull off a decent experience while UA always leaves me underwhelmed… AS is usually good, but my last flight involved less attentive service than I would have liked. I have become accustomed to the foreign carrier experiences where the crews are standing at the door, smiling, welcoming people aboard, and looking for ways to help so it is a little annoying to board to find inflight crewmembers eating and chatting with each other as opposed to greeting guests, offering beverages to the F cabin, offering to stow jackets, etc. I have had limited experience on B6 (only flew once last summer) but the crew seemed more friendly and willing to help than the typical major mainline experience in the US.
I agree, the foreign carriers do service a lot better, I just feel that the attendants have less of an ‘attitude’ on those rather than US carriers.
And you know why this happens, right? Might be that people who are scared to lose their jobs tend to work harder, and those who know they can hide behind the union do not. I don’t advocate apparently horrific working conditions that are common within some Asian and Middle Eastern airlines, but there is a considerable degree of correlation between working conditions and the level of service.
I have a rule to always write a commendation letter or email for exceptionally good or friendly service when I receive it from an airline or a hotel. While I have lost count of commendation letters for hotel employees, I’ve only had two chances to write anything good about domestic airline employees in the last 3 years. Sad…
Yep it’s a shame, not sure how things will improve, unless there is a wave of new employees
Yeah… I think it has to do with complacency and a sense of entitlement. I was just at an upscale restaurant where my girlfriend said the server reminded her of the FA when she flew NW between the US and Korea… And although I never flew NW on any long haul flights, I can see where she was coming from. Instead of any sort of greeting, an expressionless “Do you know what you want?” Then you should have seen the disdain when I asked if I could add my rewards number without the card. “Well, if you want your points then you better write down your name and phone number.” Suffice it to say, I don’t think I’ll be trying to earn many points at this particular restaurant in the future.
Safety is the primary mission of the in-flight crew, that’s why the bulk of in-flight training is geared toward it. With that said service is equally important. I do apologize for the times where service is not given that level of priority and I would suggest in the future go to the comments section on your air carriers website and complain. The more details the better, I promise you these complaints are read and the more specific the better. That is the only way that bad seeds can be removed by people voicing their complaints in forums that matter. Thanks again. Apologies for any previous bad experiences.