Stop Yelling at Gate and Ticket Agents
Taylor Rains January 06, 2020
Flying can be a testing time for travelers, especially during delays and cancellations. You are at the mercy of many factors, such as weather, mechanical issues, and Air Traffic Control, that can make anyone feel helpless. I have personally dealt with this plenty of times throughout the years, so I understand the frustration, but there is one thing that needs to stop when these things happen—passengers yelling at airport agents over things beyond their control.
What Are Airport Agents?
Airport agents are employees at the ticket desk, help desk and the gate who are responsible for checking passengers into their flight, handling baggage, answering questions, updating passengers on their flight status, and eventually boarding everyone onto the aircraft. They typically work for the airline, but can sometimes work for contractors, such as Swissport, that work on behalf of the carrier.
The thing to remember about airport agents is that they are not robots. They put up with a lot of angry customers, rude attitudes and harsh words due to irregular operations or airline policy that is not their fault, all the while still trying to maintain a smile and excellent customer service.
Why You Should Stop Making a Scene
First and foremost, be an adult. Nobody likes delays or cancellations, but screaming about it gets you no closer to your final destination and does nothing but add more stress to the situation. Irregular operations are not the agent’s fault, so giving them an attitude is not going to solve anything. Furthermore, those agents are much less likely to want to help you out with a cheap hotel or free food voucher for delays/cancellations in which the airline owes you nothing, such as weather.
Another thing I want to mention is baggage policies. Low-cost carriers typically have fees for pretty much everything except the seat from point A to point B, including carry-on and checked bags. Unfortunately, a lot of passengers fail to read the rules and end up with an unpaid roller bag at the gate. Gate agents are bound to airline policy, so when they tell you that the bag fee is $60 at the gate and you must pay, don’t start huffing and puffing about it. Sure, it can be an expensive surprise, but picking a fight with the agent will give them no reason to help you out. Take it up with the airline directly if you have a problem, or simply read the baggage policy before you buy your plane ticket.
What Agents Have to Say About It
Business Insider surveyed a number of airport agents to get inside information about the job that passengers should know. Below are some of the most important points:
- They can’t give you that upgrade. “Different airlines have different rules, but a change or upgrade can get you fired these days. And it’s not worth our jobs. The airline computer system tracks everything, and big brother can be watching us.”
- The job is more stressful than you think. “I’ve been assaulted twice during my decades of working with the airlines. The stress of this job can be compared to working in any emergency room. We are under a tremendous amount of pressure. Many agents have been physically attacked by customers, including myself.”
- They are doing a lot. “We are responsible for ticketing, handling baggage, boarding, deplaning, dispatching flights efficiently and safely. We handle complaints, cancellations, lost luggage, weather delays, and travelers’ problems—all while trying to make our passengers’ process easy, efficient, and less stressful for all.”
The Basic Realities of Flying
Be on time. Don’t show up late to the gate and then demand the gate agent open the door. There are reasons they close the door 10 minutes prior to departure, so getting mad at them for abiding by the policy because you failed to manage your time is unnecessary.
The world doesn’t revolve around you. You are not the only passenger getting inconvenienced, so be patient, wait in line, and try to keep the peace. Remember, you get more with honey than with vinegar.
Airport agents can say “no” to you. If the reason for irregular operations is due to weather, air traffic control, or other issues that are outside the airline’s control, the agents can tell you “no” to a hotel voucher, meal voucher, or other requests. An agent explained, “Travelers think we are being rude when we tell them, “no, you can’t do what you want to.” We tell them no because we are enforcing the rules that have been made by our company, not by us personally. The rules are there for a reason.”
Nonrevver attitude can get people fired. Nonrevving is a perk in the airline industry that can be extended to friends and family. It is great when things go right, but it can also ruin vacations when things go wrong. It is important to remember that nonrev means standby travel, so there will not always be a seat available. If a gate agent announces that the flight is full and you are not getting on, do not give them an ounce of attitude. Airlines make it very clear to their employees that if anyone traveling on benefits makes any sort of scene to agents, then that employee can be reprimanded, including losing flight benefits or even termination. I have seen it happen – so I cannot emphasize this enough; keep realistic expectations when flying standby.
Follow the rules. Don’t get mad when agents hold you accountable to airline policy. As stated above, they can lose their jobs for upgrading or waiving fees. Your comfort and convenience are not worth their livelihood.
Flying can bring out the worst in people, but at the end of the day, it is important to help each other out. I’m not saying every airport agent will be a bundle of sunshine because every company has their 2%, but hollering about your inconvenience only adds a barrier between the problem and the solution. If you want help, be patient and remain calm – the agents will thank you for that.
[Photo: Tyler Olson/Shutterstock]
Give me a break! gate agents work like nurses or for that matter anyone in an emergency room? No way. We have whole bunch of folks who gets poor salary but do have enormous power. That is the only reason to not lose your cool.
What a condescending article. Complete lack of taste. My wife and I always go above-and-beyond to respect airline employees, even when they (very obviously) "invent" company policy on the spot to our detriment and pocket to avoid doing their jobs. Yet we never "make a scene." But the type of attitude displayed by this article's author is just the thing to show the potential hidden vitriol on the other side of the contract of carriage against the passenger that much of the FT community always suspected was there in the minority. I'll take this as just an aggrieved and petulant (hopefully-) former airline employee, and not a representation of the majority of hard-working airline employees that actually give a damn about their passengers/customers.
I've always acted nice and courteous to agents,fas, etc. but a lot of times they seem to be curt or somehow they take it the wrong way. Other times when I approach an agent they look away or start trying to fake like they are doing something so this goes both ways.. You want to keep the respect that I'm giving you gotta give respect as well.
My question is usually “what are my options?” As far as the delay goes, we all know when the inbound finally hits the gate at 3:20 we aren’t departing at 3:30, but the agents shouldn’t take liberty to say 4:15 even though we know that is a lot more realistic. I lost it once with a counter agent at a small airport over a delayed inbound and at risk connection. It was just the fact that they wanted me to overnight and take a 5:00 am with two connections and I wanted to fly partway, then I we overnight and take one flight in the morning. Apparently they can’t help with hotel if I force a mid journey overnight. I I insisted, and end up getting in the same day at midnight because my plane was actually going on to where I needed to be, but it wasn’t bookable because of min connection time.
Yelling is not the way to get results. But I tell you what makes me mad at gate staff is delays and when they announce a new departure time that is not even remotely realistic. That's in the domain of gate staff.