American Airlines Crew Nervous About Narcs
Jackie Reddy December 14, 2018
Consistency of experience is so important to American Airlines reports the Chicago Business Journal that it recently placed service analysts on-board some planes. However, senior members of flight crew are concerned that it is the company’s way of monitoring their behavior while working their jobs.
Consistency of service is important to American Airlines (AA). So important, the Chicago Business Journal reports, that the carrier has reportedly placed staff members described as service analysts on some of its recent flights.
Explaining the motives behind this move, the outlet reports that, “The world’s largest carrier appears to be concerned that frequent customers may be experiencing very different levels of service from flight to flight depending on the experience of the crew on board — something that could affect customers’ decisions about whether to keep flying American.”
However, many long-serving members of AA cabin crew appear to be upset by the sudden appearance of these analysts. According to the outlet, many are concerned that this is the airline’s way of monitoring their actions while on the job. The carrier, however, has intimated that these analysts are present to ensure that AA’s new joiners are following the procedures set out in its service manual.
Unnamed sources indicate that the airline has recently simplified training for its new recruits with the idea that they would receive hands-on training from more senior colleagues. This, however, hasn’t quite gone to plan and some flights have been staffed by newer members of crew, a point that could be impacting on the overall level of service.
According to a memo seen by the outlet – despite not being a member of crew – one analyst on a recent AA flight even went so far as to assist with various cabin procedures. This behavior is reportedly frowned up by the carrier.
A spokesperson for AA offered their comments on the situation to the outlet, saying, “All of our new hire flight attendants receive on-board service training when they begin. Additionally, we’ve put them through two rounds of company-wide customer service training we initiated last year — Elevate the Everyday Experience. Safety is our top priority, but after that, nothing is more important to us than improving the customer experience.”
[Photo: Shutterstock]
Who makes sure the monitors know the correct procedures as what is correct often depends on context of the situation? Who is so arrogant to think that so many people can be trained correctly? And who validates what the correct procedures are? Sorry, over too many hills.
In general. Employees do what you INspect, not what you EXpect.
For many of us our work is monitored daily and specifics are referenced in performance reviews. So why is "monitoring their actions while on the job" such a big deal? If you are doing your job is there really cause for concern or is it paranoia?
“The world’s largest carrier appears to be concerned that frequent customers may be experiencing very different levels of service from flight to flight depending on the experience of the crew on board — something that could affect customers’ decisions about whether to keep flying American." So, finally, after 35+ years of this being true, the light bulb comes on. Except that "depending on the experience of the crew" is not they're assuming. In my experience, generally speaking, the AA flight attendants with the LEAST experience have always been the friendliest and hardest-working ones, while the more experienced ones were crabby (to put it nicely), lazy and had attitude problems. This "roll the dice as to what kind of crew you're going to get" situation is the reason that people are willing to pay $20,000+ for a First Class ticket on quality carriers like Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines while AA's premium cabins are full of upgraded passengers. On a daytime ROME-DFW trip in Business Class earlier this year, at one point an empty wine glass sat on my tray table for 3+ hours without being picked up and without me being offered a refill, all the while flight attendants were regularly passing right by.
"are concerned that it is the company’s way of monitoring their behavior while working their jobs." Oh, heaven forbid your employers watch you work!