Originally Posted by
seanp7
If they don't want to answer the call button, the LEAST they could do is be semi-friendly when you walk up to the galley yourself. That seems to be a no brainer, and it's not difficult. I've definitely been snapped at for a very simple request, and the worst is when you ask them for something and they just don't say a word but fulfill it, reluctantly. We're paying $3000 to basically beg...
Absolutely shocks me when the FA's are non-existent throughout the flight and then begrudge a simple request. Did a TPAC round-trip last week in Polaris and most of the crew were good, but I had one bizarre interaction where I went to the galley to ask for a glass of wine mid-flight. It was a 14 hour flight, and was about half-way through the 10-hour gap between service.
The FA looked shocked that someone was asking for a glass of wine outside of designated meal times, rolled her eyes, glared at me for about 10 seconds as if I'd asked for something completely outrageous, sighed, and then finally said "uh, yeah, I guess I can try to find some." When chatting with my travel companion after the flight, they'd had a similarly bizarre interaction. Unfortunate, as the rest of the crew were friendly.
As far as service standards, UA should really be a bit more proactive about offering drinks during long flights, even if it's just a FA walking down the aisle with a tray of water glasses periodically or offering a beverage to passengers that are awake. AC isn't exactly a model airline, but at least their Onboard Service Managers seem to drive a bit more service consistency, and occasionally on overseas flights you'll get an FA walking through the aisle with a tray of water glasses and/or offering to get a drink.