Originally Posted by
flight62
I started flying in 1987. I was unemployed, 23, and needed a job.
<snip>
24. Both need a 12 Step Program.
25. Both need a hug.
So I will continue to be the best Flight Attendant I can be and treat you with kindness, respect and most importantly, the way I would like to be treated.
My hope for the new American is that all employees will be put thru a refresher course on how to treat customers in a post 9/11 world. It never has been done and I feel important. It may not help many. Some will ride the union protection train and be rude and hateful till they die but many will digest and apply what they learn.
I grew up in this industry. I was 24 when I started...a baby. Insecure, immature, and all over the place. Today, I am 53, grown up, wiser, more compassionate, and less likely to take things personally.
I grew up with US Airways. Love her or hate her, she impacted my life and provided opportunities I never would had experienced had I not ventured into this industry, For this I am thankful and I say to US Airways....Goodbye, ole friend.
Thanks for sharing!
I can promise you, and your colleagues, on any airline, in my seventh decade of flying, I will personalize you, greet you and treat you with respect unless that respect is lost through actions of yours - at which point I will disengage. No need to get upset for me, I just don't have any interest and too many experiences for that.
Seriously, thank you for sharing that - it feels like it's straight from the heart. It sounds like you've grown resilience, perspective, tolerance, understanding, not taking things personally when one of us boards with the hidden emotional baggage we carry, and I wish you continued success in a career that too many undervalue or disparage. (Maybe the airlines should show a video extract of your annual requalification training?)
I agree with a lot of what you've shared. Change is, yep, it just is. It's up to each and every one of us as to what we squeeze out of that change. I've flown HP, US, AA (since the 1940s) and we're all in for some change to this new, hybrid AA that emerges October 17. We Vietnam veterans were not welcomed home when we returned (often, derided and insulted); we have a ritual of welcoming each other home when we meet a fellow "Viet vet".
Cabin crew or passengers on the new AA, let's not fail to welcome each other aboard.