Brian
Feb 14, 00, 2:44 pm
United made a big mistake that could have ruined my day, but one particular flight attendant turned a bad day into a good one.
I was booked in C via an upgrade for the 12:15pm JFK-LAX. When I arrived at the RCC, they couldn't give me a seat, which meant they were overbooked, and were either going to put me in F or in Y, it seemed to me, unless they had some no shows. It distressed me that they would overbook a cabin like this, but since it was Sunday and I had no urgent plans, I was gracious. (Not that I am ever not so http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif )
Well, sure enough, 10 minutes before boarding arrives, and they want to put me in one of the flight attendant seats at the back of the C cabin. Economy seats, 2 of them side by side, and probably a C meal. No upgrade certs needed, which almost made me laugh out loud. Alternative? Wait 4 hours and go out in C on the next flight. I decided to take the FA seat.
Well, as I arrive, an Australian Soccer player does, too, and he is next to me. He is very unhappy, and conveys that sentiment to everyone around him relatively boisterously. And he is using "my" armrest! LOL. I quietly took the head purser aside and asked if she could find me a better arrangement. She tries to get me one of the two other FA seats in the row behind the one I was in, but they are FA safety seats, and somehow appearantly one of them is safer than the one I am in. My interpretation was that the FAs want to have at least 2 seats together so they can chat when not working. I hear the FAs in the seats behind me muttering to themselves at how the purser had wanted to change one of "their" seats, and weren't concerened about their safety. Being the zenlike Brian today, I just smiled to myself and busied myself telling my seatmate funny flying stories. Meanwhile, the purser goes off to make other plans....
She returns just as we are pushing back, says that there is a row at the back of economy that she has blocked off for me after takeoff and when the belts light goes off. She then comes by with the first class menu, and asks what I would like for lunch!
Well! She literally brought me every course of the first class meal in the back row of the airplane, from a delicious smoked salmon appetizer (thick pieces, not thin sliced) through a lovely seared tuna, all the way to a Chocolate souffle. She brought a bottle of wine and an opener to the back (from the first class wines), and I shared with the people around me a bit. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif She came back at the end of the flight with another bottle wrapped and with a flower in it for me to take home.
Not a lot of a moral to this story, except that it pays to find the reasonable people working a flight, treat them reasonably and with respect, and they will do the same for you. Had she not been there, I would have been stewing in my juices by the end of 6 hours, but as it was, I was relatively untroubled. Everyone makes mistakes... great employees do their best to mitigate them, and that she did.
None of this will keep me from sending a polite letter of compliant to UA, because I expect better of them.
I was booked in C via an upgrade for the 12:15pm JFK-LAX. When I arrived at the RCC, they couldn't give me a seat, which meant they were overbooked, and were either going to put me in F or in Y, it seemed to me, unless they had some no shows. It distressed me that they would overbook a cabin like this, but since it was Sunday and I had no urgent plans, I was gracious. (Not that I am ever not so http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif )
Well, sure enough, 10 minutes before boarding arrives, and they want to put me in one of the flight attendant seats at the back of the C cabin. Economy seats, 2 of them side by side, and probably a C meal. No upgrade certs needed, which almost made me laugh out loud. Alternative? Wait 4 hours and go out in C on the next flight. I decided to take the FA seat.
Well, as I arrive, an Australian Soccer player does, too, and he is next to me. He is very unhappy, and conveys that sentiment to everyone around him relatively boisterously. And he is using "my" armrest! LOL. I quietly took the head purser aside and asked if she could find me a better arrangement. She tries to get me one of the two other FA seats in the row behind the one I was in, but they are FA safety seats, and somehow appearantly one of them is safer than the one I am in. My interpretation was that the FAs want to have at least 2 seats together so they can chat when not working. I hear the FAs in the seats behind me muttering to themselves at how the purser had wanted to change one of "their" seats, and weren't concerened about their safety. Being the zenlike Brian today, I just smiled to myself and busied myself telling my seatmate funny flying stories. Meanwhile, the purser goes off to make other plans....
She returns just as we are pushing back, says that there is a row at the back of economy that she has blocked off for me after takeoff and when the belts light goes off. She then comes by with the first class menu, and asks what I would like for lunch!
Well! She literally brought me every course of the first class meal in the back row of the airplane, from a delicious smoked salmon appetizer (thick pieces, not thin sliced) through a lovely seared tuna, all the way to a Chocolate souffle. She brought a bottle of wine and an opener to the back (from the first class wines), and I shared with the people around me a bit. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif She came back at the end of the flight with another bottle wrapped and with a flower in it for me to take home.
Not a lot of a moral to this story, except that it pays to find the reasonable people working a flight, treat them reasonably and with respect, and they will do the same for you. Had she not been there, I would have been stewing in my juices by the end of 6 hours, but as it was, I was relatively untroubled. Everyone makes mistakes... great employees do their best to mitigate them, and that she did.
None of this will keep me from sending a polite letter of compliant to UA, because I expect better of them.