HalconBCN

"Looters" must surely be a tiny minority of lounge guests? I think it's reasonable for a guest to take away a hot beverage (in KLM's lounge they provide takeaway coffee cups), but loading supplies of food into tupperware or a backpack crosses the line; that's stealing. And shoplifting happens in every retail business.

Common sense has to apply. For the lounge management, that means training staff to look out for potential looting so it can be immediately nipped in the bud. For the guests, not taking any plated food from the lounge, only a takeaway coffee to have en route to the boarding gate.

irishguy28

As if "business" people don't talk on their phones, and "mill about", too!

If anything, it's the business bores bellowing into their phones that make the lounges unpleasant imo .

AJCNL

The worst lounge experience I've ever had was at Newcastle departing on KLM. They use a general lounge that passengers on leisure flights pay to use, so the game is to drink at least as much as the value of your entrance fee, if not more. It was packed. I entered and made three circuits before I found a seat to sit on. All around tables were piled up with empty cans. There was no self-service alcohol, you had to go and queue at a bar to get a drink. Thoroughly unpleasant experience.

Klems

I find people to be generally less and less civilized, whether it is in an airline lounge or in any other place that requires some kind of etiquette or behavior (have you been to a movie theater lately?).

As far as lounges go, I agree that it can be tiring to have kids running around and people being generally clueless about their environment. However, I find that the worst behaviors usually come from the business, suit & tie crowd who is FAR more guilty of loud phone calls/meetings on speaker etc - and don't you dare complaining about it because you know, they are extremely important business people on extremely important business meetings.

I once sat next to a guy - who was wearing a pretty expensive suit, by the way, since some people seem to correlate that with good behavior - who put his phone on speaker while he was ON HOLD with EDF (the French electricity company)! After about 10 minutes another guy in the lounge lost it and went to yell at him, thank god (I wish I was a more confrontational person sometimes).
I do agree that lounge personnel should be better trained to deal with those situations.

irishguy28

A guy that worked in the open-plan office where I had my first job after graduation (and no - it wasn't me!) would listen to his voicemails on speaker phone every morning upon arriving at his desk. He was an admin so there were always lots of messages by the time he arrived, always late.

Some wag left a very salacious message on his answering machine one evening (and no - it wasn't me!) and he never again listened to voicemails on speakerphone again after that.

San Gottardo

Indeed, very annoying to have "business" folks shout into their phones, or using loudspeakers, etc. Not the majority, but still - soooo annoying. And they don't only do it when they are seated in their armchair, they do it when walking into the lounge. Most lounges offer some secluded work corner (interesting fact: AF lounges at CDG do not), which are designed for that kind of activity.

However, what I usually find that the business type do not do is loot the buffet in the lounges and stuff their hand luggage with it, the original title of this thread. It doesn't make them better humans, it's just another type of bad behaviour.

irishguy28

I've often seen in the Schengen Crown Lounge in Amsterdam that a "business" guy will leave his own group when making/receiving a call - to save them the noise of his conversation, or to get away from their noise - while he instead paces over to a quiet corner of the lounge, and annoy a completely different set of people there instead.

These guys are also never in a rush to end the call.

johan rebel

It's not only that they shout into their phones, but what they shout.

In one of the AMS Crown Lounges I once listened to a guy offer somebody a job, and then hire him. Next he called his HR department and went through the entire employment contract with them, point by point, including all the perks. The new hire could pick any car he wanted, as long the list price did not exceed € 94,000.-- etc. etc.

That's just one example, I can think of plenty more.

Johan

Concerto

Goldorak

Goldorak

LAX/HKG

Solevita

Did they mention about stopping them or do they just happily observe the goings on?

johan rebel

Given that human nature is what it is, I'll believe anything, and then some.

Johan

Goldorak