WeekendTraveler

Below are Admirals Club house rules, available at Admirals Club terms and conditions − Travel information − American Airlines (aa.com)

The ones that I have bolded below are commonly violated and AA staff does nothing, even when a dog is running around the Admirals Club, barking, and people are yelling on their cellphones, in speaker mode.

Today there was a lady at the LGA Admirals Club who was using her laptop to have a video call, with the sound on full blast. I had it and walked over to her and said, "Speaker use isn't allowed", and she looked at me, and I showed her the house rules on my phone and said, "Speaker use isn't allowed" and pointed to the text, and she turned the volume down. It wasn't difficult. I could have been nicer, and AA staff could surely be trained to tactfully get rulebreakers to stop (as staff at private clubs often does).

Then another passenger walked over to her and apparently recognized her from a TV show (I think Good Morning America).

If I can get a celebrity to be quiet, anyone can.

House rules

• During your visit to an Admirals Club lounge, American requires that your attire and conduct are consistent with a professional environment.
• American asks that you maintain a quiet environment within each Admirals Club lounge and to step outside with any crying or disruptive children or guests.
• As a courtesy to other guests, please wear headphones when using personal devices such as MP3 players, video games, or DVD players, and refrain from using the speaker feature on any personal device, including cellular telephones.
• Smoking cigarettes, pipes or cigars (including electronic products), chewing tobacco, and the use of smokeless tobacco are prohibited inside Admirals Club lounges.
• American reserves the right to refuse to serve alcoholic beverages to any guest who appears to be intoxicated or is otherwise unruly.
• Complimentary food, alcoholic beverages and periodicals provided by Admirals Club are for consumption and use inside the Admirals Club only and may not be removed.
• Airport luggage carts are not permitted inside Admirals Club lounges.
• Carry-on pets are welcome in Admirals Club lounges, provided they remain in their kennels. Service animals are also permitted. Read our policy for traveling with carry-on pets and service animals, which apply to Admirals Clubs visits and are incorporated herein.

• Carry-on pets
• Service animals

• Families with small children and nursing mothers may use family rooms in Admirals Club lounges, where available.
• Any conduct that is deemed by American to be inappropriate, undignified, disruptive, abusive or violent is prohibited, and American reserves the right to remove any member, visitor, or any other entrant for such conduct, or for failing to comply with membership terms and conditions.

Blumie

Yes, you’re right, you could have been nicer

VegasGambler

Next time I'm in an AC I'm lighting up a stogie. If the rules aren't enforced then I'm good.

WeekendTraveler

And that's why AA staff should address particularly loud guests (and others who blatantly violate house rules): they would be trained to avoid escalating a situation. In another private club where I'm a member, staff will very politely address people who violate rules, and it's not offensive. AA staff ought to do the same thing.

I would imagine that it would be a while before the staff did anything. If they ever did anything.

orbitmic

I have sympathy for the op. I hate the “noise invasion” from people’s conversations on speaker. It is inconsiderate and rude to impose it on people around who may be trying to focus on something else or just relax in relative silence.

MSPeconomist

Unfortunately staff tend to ignore stuff like this unless and until there are complaints, in which case they *might* try to do something.

js1993

These days, enforcing rules inevitably leads to accusations of racism or some other dreaded -ism, with the employee's employer typically throwing said employee under the bus without a second thought as soon as the offending party or some third-party do-gooder makes a stink on social media. I don't like obnoxious people, either, but I can't blame employees for avoiding confrontation.

bitterproffit

If you don't expect the well heeled traveler to know common courtesy, why do you expect the hourly waged lounge staff to enforce basic courtesy? Are you really expecting the table cleaning staff to also be the rule enforcers?

This type of behavior sucks, but I guarantee you the lounge staff isn't being paid enough or have the patience or authority to 'police' the guests who berate them enough already for just doing the job they are actually paid to do.

Antarius

Most of those rules are straightforward and fit perfectly within the realm of common sense. There is no public place anywhere (unless completely empty.. and even then) where running your speakers is acceptable.

The only one that's vague and therefore hard to enforce is below
Especially post COVID, a professional environment can pretty much mean anything.

Well said.

Unfortunately, unless you're so far out of line that it's obvious that action needs to be taken, service staff aren't paid enough to voluntarily wander into conflict.

WeekendTraveler

Yes, I would expect some hourly waged lounge staff to enforce clear violations of the rules--mainly asking people who are screaming on their cell phones on speaker (which is the most prevalent violation) to please use headphones.

In the private club where I'm a member (in town), hourly employees police rules and do so very politely and discreetly, in an inoffensive way, and I've been on the receiving end of polite reminders of the rules by a bartender and (I think) a security person (once, I had a drink in a part of the club that is apparently no-drinks, and another time, one of my guests had jeans on).

Admirals Clubs have plenty of very professional, upstanding staff members who surely have the tact and skills to do that. Maybe not every single staff member, but when the Admirals Club manager is walking around, s/he could certainly do that, as a could a bartender or plenty of other staff members.

Admirals Club staff members are not clueless peasants.

tennessetom

One rude person makes you recognize how considerate most people are. Think if everyone thought they could blare calls

Calls on speaker is a pet peeve of mine there was one I could hear the other day which was chock filled with MNPI, Material non public information, part of me wanted to call his firms ethics office to report him. I have no idea where common sense was, I guess he thought all those near him were too dumb to understand the call he had blaring but it really only takes one person that understands the call for there to be an issue. I think the club staff is just worn out

bitterproffit

Then you are asking too much.

Not in the bartender's job description

Neither are the guests. A bit of self control is assumed.

WeekendTraveler

In the private club where I'm a member, which has hourly, unionized staff, the hourly, unionized staff does politely enforce rules.

I'm not asking anything more than is done elsewhere.

And surely Admirals Club staff is irritated by cell phone screamers as much as some customers are. If I had to deal with the chaos of, for example, the Admirals Club in the B concourse in Charlotte all day long, I'd flip.

Where is the bartender's official job description that you refer to, which does not include enforcing house rules? Is it available online?

bitterproffit

You should ask them whether policing the rules is part of their job description. I am sure Admiral's Club staff are annoyed by lots of guest behavior.

WeekendTraveler

You stated that my request is not in the bartenders' job description. Where is that job description posted?

Edited to add: One house rule is that service can be refused to guests who appear intoxicated. I am 99% certain that enforcement of that house rule would be in the bartenders' job description.

If they can enforce that, they aren't capable of politely asking a cell phone screamer to please not use speaker mode?