kwflyer

I have seen more and more recently ground staff not wearing their brevets (name tags) mainly at YYZ but also at YVR that I've noticed the most infractions. YUL seems to be in compliance, and outstations seem pretty good as well.

Does anyone know why this is or noticed it as well? Once when I was on a Lat fare, I was trying to get standby on a Lat fare and the priority check in agent at YYZ refused to do and was going to go do GOCA (which a non priority agent was willng to do after standing 30 mins in line) but wanted her name which she refused, and told me that AC agents no longer have to wear their name tag (brevet) and and don't have to give out their name.

I then asked her how would one be able identify who you are, and she replied ''that's exactly why we don't wear them anymore!'', so I then asked her for Agent ID which she reluctantly showed, as I later found out they have to have with them at all times in the airport and show on demand.

I know onboard FA's are required to wear their name tag and are very good at doing so, or giving their name of their colleagues in question if you ask.

But I would be interested in hearing everyone else's experiences. Getting/knowing someone's name or unique way of identifying them is critical for customer service/feedback integrity.

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And just for those asking, the kiosk didn't give me any standby options hence why I had to go see an agent. Which defeats the purpose of trying to get on an earlier flight with all the time sinks I had to put in. And would rather keep this thread on the Name tag/ID issue than go off topic. Thx.

cooleddie

This type of attitude makes my blood BOIL

And I'm surprised you got this from a priority check in agent?

You should send a note to AC.

zrh2yvr

Remember too that if they are the ones the print your boarding pass - their employee ID number will print on your boarding pass. It is the last 5 numbers of the Airline Use / A Usage Interne.

i.e. 0053 YVR070407

This is security number 0053 checking in at the YVR station with agent signon id 70407.

You can also tell if it is a contract checkin too as they will have different forms of agent signon. This would only help if they printed your boarding pass for you. (I think the agent ID is also on the bag tag somewhere as well if you look for it).

kwflyer

Oh I have. But they have replied they need to know which agent you are referring to (which is hard to do given no Brevet/name tag). So short of taking a detailed qualitative observation, I've know resorted to ask them for their agent ID which they have to produce and keep on them at all times when working (but doesn't show their name)

Theres a certain older MLL Dragon in YYZ with with blonde hair (usually tied up in a bun) with reading glasses, Bilingual, that doesn't like to wear her Brevet either (repeats the same mantra as the priority check in agents) and loves (and I do mean LOVES) to give Altitude members entitled to Arrival access grief about this privilege since she is dead set on the only arrivals lounge access you have is in YVR and she should know since she's been working longer than any of us flying

But again the issue is I feel AC agents feel more empowered not to follow the rules when they don't have their name tag as its that much harder (or at least gives plausible deniability) to be held accountable.

kwflyer

You are indeed correct, but that is only useful if you get to the BP/Bag tag scenario. Call centre agents also have to give you your name and the location they are at, however that becomes less useful if their first name (which is all they are required to give) is a common name, especially in a larger call centre (like YUL) that have hundreds of employees.

Some call centre agents will give you their employee ID/extension, but I did find out from a manager one time, that they are supposed to give out their agent sign on ID for RES III/ AC Aeronet (if asked for documentation purposes). Again I don't expect call centre agents to be wearing brevets, but they seem more willing to provide a unique identifier to ensure their own accountability which is severely lacking at airports. Especially when you don't have time to be waiting around for a supervisor.

It also sends the marketing message that we really don't care about customer service since our customer facing agents can do whatever they want, despite the proclamation from the AC reps that they are a customer centric organization

SparseFlyer

I used to not wear a name tag at work in different settings for various reasons (some, believe it or not, involved harassment).

I had no problem given my name when asked however.

But when it comes down to it, if you really NEED to make a complaint, there are many ways that you can track who did what where, and how to identify the employee.

Dorian

On 195 last week two FA's that were serving J wore no name tags.

Maybe take a photo of them? 😄

kwflyer

The real question is whether it is a regulation or not whether AC agents wear name tags.

AC Customer relations says yes (and wants their name), AC agents don't seem to think so (and have a perverse incentive of killing the feedback loop).

And wearing a name tag Is not just about making 'complaints'. I used it as en example to illustrate my point on how it leads to inconsistent brand standards when there's not an efficient way to ensure employee accountability.

kwflyer

Actually if its during service, and they're wearing the apron, their brevet can stay on their jacket IIRC

But again the issue is more with ground staff than flight crew.

Dorian

They had a take that said Flight Attendant where the name tag usually is...

24left

Regarding FAs, I've had a few chats with a few about wearing tags with their names, why some do, some don't, and why others just have one that says "Flight Attendant".

While there may be other reasons, the main one I've heard was harassment from pax, and this seems to have been a serious problem on more than one occasion. This is extremely unfortunate because these individuals really like their profession. I imagine it is not much fun to go to work wondering who the next idiot they encounter might be.

As for check-in agents, I've had only one poor experience and it was recent at a SE check-in line (large Dom airport). The agent seemed both unfamiliar with procedure and unprofessional in their reply. I asked for their name and they gave me a first name which I discovered minutes later was not their real name. I suggested to the senior staff person who I spoke with about this, that this specific check-in agent might require some additional training and perhaps might not be currently suited for that check-in line. I suggested we call it "an opportunity for improvement".

Being in a customer-facing/ frontline customer service profession is not the easiest thing, but it should never be an adversarial encounter for either staff or customers.

SparseFlyer

I know that, in my case, wearing your name tag is "mandatory", but I still didn't do it at times (even when I was in charge of enforcing it too).

But even when some of my employees didn't wear name tags, it had 0 effect of accountability. If a customer had any problem or concern, the employee related to the encounter/transaction could be identified in 30 seconds tops.

kwflyer

Depends on your employee size and scale of operation, number of departments, complexity of your value chain etc.

AC Customer relations disagrees (and won't take action unless you have a Name or Unique identifier ID), most retail marketers disagree with your statement that name tags are useless. Wearing name tags in a customer facing environment provides a 360 feedback loop (both positive/complaints), and provides intrinsic motivation for servant leadership and for employees to be on their A game.

You may say name tags have zero effect, but this has been well studied and is the reason why they still exist in customer facing environments. Walmart HQ Employees even wear them to remind themselves they are a customer driven organization and retail ready.

Not wearing a name tag creates the story you have something to hide/can't be trusted.

NoahVail

A number of years ago I was doing some work with an amusement park company in Orlando. One morning I was taken on a tour of the park including backstage. The ‘cast’ member who was with me had received permission to cover her name tag that morning, as I was deemed to be a guest and she would be considered busy serving that guest. Basically, from parking lot to workplace to parking lot, name tags are required ‘costume’ for all ‘cast’ members and I never noticed anyone out of ‘costume’, even backstage.

rankourabu

Are you saying AC is running a mickey mouse operation?