superangrypenguin

You've been on FT since 2011, so I think it's safe to say that it's not a troll account or anything.

AC is by no means perfect, and even those of us on this board who fly AC all the time, have complained. I know I sure have.

I did read your post going...."what, really?" but I'll accept the legitimacy of the post and give you the benefit of the doubt because I've never had AC staff on board be that rude to me.

So, having said that, I would say that AC would know who you are given your name, let alone seat # and flight, and they can easily find out who was working that day. Go write into AC, or email [email protected] and see if he can help. If you know the name of the AC IFS director, you can email him too.

Whether good or bad, the AC IFS director has written back to me and not only has made sure the right crew member received my compliments and gotten recognition but has also gotten back to me with respect to constructive feedback and or genuine complaint.

Best of luck!

Absolutely agree.

EDIT: Time to break out the popcorn...

yulred

OP is complaining about rude staff. You're arguing that it's not legitimate because of the 'veracity' of the complaint, insofar as OP claimed that he did not see anyone complain. That doesn't change the manner in which the FA pursued those complaints (or lack thereof), unless you're arguing that he's lying and that the FA actually only asked him one politely and left with a smile.

SFO777

I see that the "passenger is to blame" AC apologists are out en masse today.

24left

Agree. Sadly (less about the apologists, more abut the tone of some of the replies)

drvannostren

Nope, and that's the problem. Flight attendants will say that, then you'll get on the ground and the agents will tell you the FAs were wrong.

I don't have much experience outside Houston, if I go BOG-IAH-DEN-YVR I have to pick up my bag. If I go BOG-IAH-YVR I don't.

From fly2houston

"For those passengers continuing on a domestic flight from Houston, there are recheck counters that will help speed them and their baggage on to their final destination."

So when I'm going BOG-IAH-YVR (which I hate, that IAH-YVR flight is simply too long for comfort imo) I get off the plane, go through customs, head down the escalator whiz through, arrive at the end of the hallway where they take your customs form, then I go past the re-check desk, up the escalator THROUGH security again then to the gate. It's very fast IF you know in advance. But yea if I'm doing BOG-IAH-DEN/SFO/LAX-YVR then I have to grab my bag and drop it at the big scanning machines in the re-check room.

Lol, I know it sounds like that, but I'm not sure how defending your own experiences counts as being an apologist. IF I had been treated this way, I would've been pissed. But I also wouldn't have been in this situation, nor have I ever experienced anything like it, AC, UA, CM, AV et al. Now...if she came up and was like "yo MF shut your damn window"...I would've given her just as much attitude back, so if he's right and she opened with attitude, I'd be mad. But again, my resolution would just be close the window, turn on the light and move on. She should 100% open with "sir, I realize it might not technically be night anymore, but passengers generally like to sleep through most of this flight, would you mind keeping your window shade closed for a few more hours until we start the breakfast service" or something like that. Then as far as I'm concerned if he still insisted that no he wouldn't, it's all on him imo.

My other thing is, having worked face to face with the public in multiple jobs, "the customer is always right" has to be just about the stupidest saying ever. I don't know how many times I've proved people wrong right to their face and not received so much as an apology, so yea it gets a bit tiresome when customers get like this. I'm not saying you need to sit there, shut up, take whatever they give you for 12 hours. If you want a drink, as for a drink, if you want more peanuts, ask, if you want to keep the window open, just calmly explain "well actually I'm claustrophobic, so having the window open really calms me down as it causes the illusion of open space, so I'd really rather keep it open". If THAT's how this had gone down, I'd say write Ben a scathing email.

jsfrSE

Precisely.

There's no need whatsoever to have personal and harsh comments made by other SE...

From my point of view, it surely doesn't reflect well on those of us who have been SE for years, nor does it improve the image of Air Canada with such statements.

yulred

In any event, this notion that legitimate complaints can change things is somewhat undermined by the reality that every complainant is subjected to claims of being a liar. What's up with that?

AC knows the flight number. They can cross check and set the record straight.

24left

(Bolding mine.)

Exactly. How hard is that?

If the FA had used a different tone or approach, this might not have been an issue that landed here on AC FT. And BTW, not long ago, in another thread, there were a few posts about cranky and rude attitude and service in both J and Y cabins on long-haul AC flights.

pilotboy1985YYC

Perhaps I'm just a push over, but if an FA asks me to do something, I do it. It doesn't matter my preference.
If I had my window 1/3 open and the FA asked me to close it, I'd comply. I wouldn't argue with her, and make her repeat herself 6 times, and then still decide not to comply. If you would of done what she said, turned on your reading light, and got back to work, there would of been no further problems.

ffsim

We all know that light from an open window shade can be annoying to other pax. However, if OP opened it after the 'sleep portion' of the flight, then pax who wanted to continue to sleep have only themselves to blame for not using eye shades. Being accommodating is one thing, but take some responsibility for your own wishes... don't depend on strangers keeping window shades closed if you know you're going to want to sleep while others are likely to be awake!

In any case, there's no excusing the alleged rudeness from the FA. "Don't start" is unacceptable language when talking with customers, period.

The airport experience is unfortunate for sure, especially in terms of how much time OP lost. But I've found that airport-based staff seem to be the most miserable bunch in the travel industry. Based on my (admittedly limited) observations of airport staff around the world, chances are you're in for a lousy experience when you need to interact with them.

All in all, a pretty terrible way to start your trip. I hope your stay in YUL was more enjoyable.

go_around

Looks like I've opened a can of worms here. Thanks to those with fair comments - including those that don't agree with my position.

To clarify a few points made:

Maybe the ones you fly on. Certainly on none of the 33 other airlines I've flown on.

So none of this raises any service issues as far as you're concerned? I pity your experiences of flying! Have you considered a job at AC, by the way?

I've never had this situation before either, so it's not a case of being treated consistently poorly. And you're absolutely right on the last one - at the door of the aircraft I said hello to the two flight attendants there and, guess what? They ignored me and just kept talking among themselves.

Didn't you read the part where I said there were no signs in the staircase we had to use in the transfer area because the escalators were inoperative? And no, customs didn't ask if I had bags. I book a window seat because I get a psychological sense of space if I can see the outside world. Though I'm not sure I need to justify that here.

Not sure it's really my mistake that someone forgot to put signs about bags at the transit staircase though, and AC didn't announce it on board. This may well be standard procedure in North America, but I've never seen it in any of the 37 countries I've flown to. If it's not the international norm, and it doesn't seem to be, it should be made crystal clear to passengers.

There would have been, as I'd either end up in the unruly passenger or medical emergency category.

go_around

P.S. In the interests of balance, I have to say that I found the Y seat on AC 777 and 767 to be the most comfortable long haul seat I've used - by a long way. Which is hardly a small detail!

cooleddie

But the FA doesn't have to be rude about it

The flight attendant(s) could have:
1. Made a polite announcement to everyone to ask people to close their window shutters at the beginning of the flight
2. Be more nice to politely explain that they've asked everyone to close their window shutters when she addressed the OP

I'm with the OP on this one. AC flight attendants needs to stop cheapening the AC brand with their impoliteness, rudeness, and sense of self entitlement. I would also not accept being treated like a child. "Don't Start" is nothing that a flight attendant that is aiming for the highest level of customer service should ever say.

maradori

A bit on a tangent, but isn't it against the law to disobey crewmember instructions?

If you had an FA on a true power trip, this story could have taken a really bad turn upon arrival at YYZ.

ffsim

Surely not all crew members instructions must be followed. I can't imagine a passenger getting in trouble for disobeying an FA saying "take your pants off"