emma69

As someone who has worked in the service industry for an extended period of time - I think this is a really dumb idea. Tipping people for doing their jobs is insulting IMO, unless it is the conventional norm (e.g. a waitress in some countries). I would feel incredibly awkward if someone tipped me for doing my job - a genuine 'thank you' goes a lot further than a latte.

As for changing the service based on a gratuity - that is bribery, and against most corporate rules in the West. You might put the employee in a difficult position (they may have to declare or refuse gifts) and certainly if it became the norm, they would have to declare such gifts on their tax returns (as servers have to in many places). A friend worked as a flight attendant on long haul first class routes, and the policy was they were not allowed to accept gifts of any description, unless it would mortally offend the customer if refused. Of course, people would still try to give them gifts, and some people would give them cash. They had to declare those items, fill in a form, explain that it would have caused offence had they refused the gift, and the supervisor had to deal with what happened to that gift. A heck of a lot of work for a $5 gift card (in my friends' case, she worked many Middle Eastern routes, and was very pretty, and the gifts she ended up with were normally worth a month's salary or more!)

If they start doing things like holding a plane longer than they should, that has knock on effects - imagine you were sitting at that gate, waiting for a family, delaying the flight, which means YOU then miss your onward connection. There are reasons for rules, many of which may not be evident to a low on the ladder gate agent.

dodgeflyer

one of the few perks of living on central London but given its state I wish they'd shut it!!! In dire need of some money put towards a refurb

LondonElite

My local Chase bank in Florida has a lovely teller.

IrishAyes

You know what is so incredible? How this story circulated its way around social media --- and the response was overwhelmingly positive.

You call it, "just doing their job." Okay, great. Ever read a copy of the Southwest magazine where it has letters written from passengers to the airline about ways in which its EMPLOYEES (not the airline, or the business, or its business model, but its PEOPLE on the frontline) have gone above and beyond to save a situation, a trip, a life even (of humans and pets) so that people can stay connected to what is meaningful in their lives.

You call it bribery. Free handouts. Trophies for participation. Opens up greed and a can of worms.

Who hurt you guys?!

Maybe try and remember, from time to time, that there are still good people in this world. And, in the airline industry, plenty of good people who are so passionate about the work that they do. And, how just like you have a tough day sometimes, maybe for them, it can be tough to smile a little more when they're overwhelmed.

I'm sorry that the suggestion of injecting some positive energy in the world resulted in all of you becoming intensely hostile. Clearly, most of you would rather choose the short-term sugar high of beating the idea down before even giving it a try. Holding onto resentment and bitterness is so much more exhausting than being open-minded.

Really so sorry to bother all of you with the repugnant concept of learning to think beyond yourselves.

Explorer789

I would suggest getting off your high horse. To me, there's a moral/ethical difference between giving direct cash equivalents instead of giving praise and submitting positive feedback mentioning the employee's good service. On the flip-side, this same feedback channel is used for submitting complaints. Airline feedback teams do read these and take them seriously, especially if coming from a F/J or high status pax.

There already exists airline programs (e.g. BA golden ticket) where pax can give to the employee, which they can redeem for something and will further reward them when it comes time for performance reviews and promotions. The correct suggestion for this thread should have been how can we get airlines to do more to incentivize good employee interactions and make it easier for pax to submit their positive experiences through their apps.

mmff

You asked for feedback, we gave it to you. It was a misguided idea at best and in my opinion you should not do it.

The social media approved? I rest my case.

ProleOnParole

You seem to be awash with positive energy indeed but the last thing the world needs are any injections of Starbucks vouchers.

Fortunately, there is no law (yet) that every idea has to be given a try, no matter how idiotic.

WorldLux

You say that but the pathetic evolution in US catering and service industry says otherwise. Everywhere you go it is expected nowadays to tipp and that even if the service was inexistent.

You pay someone and expect some sort of additional service/product and be privileged over other customers in return. That's bribery in my book. If you want to do that, go ahead.

I'm sticking to thanking airline staff directly.

Having new ideas doesn't mean that they are good. I gave you the many reasons why I think that this is a bad idea. I'm certainly not going to start bribing airline staff and create a culture of expecting bribes to get things to move forward.

ft101

Link please. I want to find out what sort of people find anything positive about this hare brained idea.


Alternatively, most people have an in-built quota of common sense which overcomes this airy fairy nonsense.

JY1024

Remember - "play the ball, not the player."

Everyone is free to contribute their own points of view and opinions. Disagreement is totally fine, but personal attacks will not be tolerated. Please help keep the thread on-topic, engaging, and constructive. Thanks for your help and cooperation!

/Moderator

365RoadWarrior

This seemed like such a good idea, I tried it with the TSA this morning...

IrishAyes

Again, you don't know the full story --- you'll hear from many frontline employees that such feedback never actually makes its way back to them. Not saying that's always the case, but sometimes its a bit more meaningful to give a person a tangible thing. Again, $5 for a gift card every so often is hardly a moral dilemma. Taking it to that extreme is high horse behavior, if anything.

And by segmenting the airline personnel in such a manner that the only ones who should have the feedback channel - FA's or reps that deal with F/J pax - what an ignorant suggestion. Do you realize that 95% of frontline airline employees do not interact with F & J pax? Processing hundreds of customers seated in Y on a daily basis --- it is a ton of work. Just more justification for the proposed idea.

SBR249

I think by a margin of 99:1 most posters here have given very good counter-arguments and even first/second hand experiences of being offered/offering gift. No one is forcing you to stop giving gift cards. By all means do it if it makes you happy. But you are unlikely to convince many people on here to start doing so it seems.

Remember, there are people from all over the world in the airline industry and on this board. Not everyone reacts to this like you or the airline staff you interact with the most would.

I think the majority has spoken and the conclusion is pretty clear. Leave and left be.

Explorer789

Again, that's why I said the real topic of discussion should be how can we get airlines to do more to incentivize good employee interactions and make sure feedback is properly accounted for. If employees really believe that feedback is not working, then airlines should fix that.

re: hundreds of customers per day...What about fast food workers? walmart cashiers? bank tellers? Maybe you make so much money and have nothing else to do with it. Point is that I and a lot of others don't have the luxury to just dole out tips/freebies every time someone else is polite and does something nice. I don't think it is fair for you to chastise us and question our morality for choosing what to do with our money, in the same way we would not tell you what to with yours. It should be human nature and decency to be nice anyway without monetary reward, but our culture just doesn't seem to emphasize that type of behavior enough in the same way that some other countries do (e.g. Japan).

In a good interaction, I go out of my way to be polite, smile back, compliment (e.g. specifically say "you did a great job"), and thank them. A lot of (underpaid) lower level workers just want to be acknowledged and feel appreciated, and that alone is enough to brighten their day. I sympathize that they may not have the best life circumstances or the best paying jobs, but they chose to accept that job out of the hundreds of other jobs they could have chosen. Do it well and correctly, or there are plenty of others capable candidates who will happily take their place.

Agreed.

LondonElite

You clearly don't understand the bigger picture, or the unintended consequences of what you are suggesting. It's a terrible idea, with terrible longer-term outcomes.