Another Example of Terrible Customer Service
 

I've been reading this site for quite a while and finally have something i feel compelled to post. I always say the US airlines are just the winged equivalent of a Greyhound bus. Unfortunately, I think that may actually be insulting to Greyhound Bus Lines.

So today, March 8, my wife and I are flying from St. Marteen to NWK on CO874. About an hour prior to landing, the lady sitting next to my wife (in the window seat) becomes ill (fortunately, she used the air sickness bag and did not make any sort of mess). My wife asks if she would like to get up and use the washroom. The lady says she is afraid if she gets up she will get sick again and prefers to stay in her seat. My wife rings the flight attendant call button. Nobody comes. Then she rings it a second, third and fourth time. Finally, after several minutes, a flight attendant comes. My wife tell the flight attendant that the lady has become ill. The flight attendant says she cannot handle vomit and immediately turns around and goes to the front of the plane. No inquiry if the lady was ok or needed anything. Now -- nobody was asking her to handle the air sickness bag. However, it would have been nice if the flight attendant asked if the ill lady needed anything - perhaps a wash cloth or a glass of water. Nothing. Not a thing - just a quick return to the first class cabin. My wife then goes up to first class and talks to the other flight attendant and brings back a wash cloth, a glass of water and a plastic bag in which to dispose of the air sickness bag. The other flight attendant then informs my wife that while she is being helpful, she needs to leave the first class cabin because it is an international flight and nobody other than first class passengers are allowed in that cabin.

I was, quite simply appalled and outraged. A little sympathy and a little concern should have been the least these flight attendants offered. If they were not to offer that, at least cooperate with my wife who was simply trying to help a woman feeling ill.

By way of contrast, a few years ago, I was flying from Tokyo to BKK on Thai Airways. I was feeling a little sick (after catching some sort of stomach flu) and asked the flight attendant if, instead of a full meal if he had just a bowl of rice. He gave me one the crew meals (which was some sort of rice wrapped in seaweed) and said it would be good on my stomach. He was right, it was exactly what my stomach needed.

There are countless stories of foreign airlines (especially those in Asia) with great customer service and US airlines treating passengers with no respect. This, unfortunately, is just one of many.

so, i'm sorry to hear. in february i actually had food poisoning and had to fly a EWR trans-atlantic flight. it sounds crass, but i was "exiting out both ends of the plane" so to speak and this was on a 772, so believe me when i say i know the feeling.

but at the risk of asking the obvious... shouldn't this be in the US air forum?

The OP was on CO874 to NWK(for which I assumed the OP meant EWR)

oh whoops, i misread "I always say the US airlines are just..." and made a little jump there...

...hah i actually just got off a CO flight to CLE and had a few gin and tonics in F. that probably didn't help.

the OP's story does kinda suck though. bummer to hear.

LOL

I'm suspicious of all these long creative writing posts lately about CO flights lately to SXM.

A couple points. Passengers from Y should not be in the forward cabin. Both for security reasons and to maintain the integrity of the cabin. Why didn't your wife go to the galley in the rear to obtain water and supplies? The FA was acting appropriately to ask her to return behind the curtain.

Second, it's not clear to me that you told the FA what was required. Is the FA supposed to be psychic -- it the passenger wanted needed water, washcloth etc., it should have been requested. True the FA should have been more proactive, but that still doesn't give someone the right to barge into F.

What??

It is not a non-related passenger's duty to take care of an ill passenger, it is clearly one of the FA's duties. If an FA cannot handle vomit, well then they should probably not be an FA because that is part of their job. It was horrible customer service. Big deal about violating the integrity of the F or C cabin--I see it happening all the time internationally and nobody freaks-out. An FA will usually politely inform a passenger to return to their cabin and not make a big deal about it. I have seen pax move up from coach to use the lavs on many occasions for emergency reasons when everything aft was in use. So what would you have someone do in that situation, puke or defecate on the floor?
There are always reasonable exceptions to rules.

On a recent flight from SFO to PHL, a pax in Y got very ill, so much so that an announcement was made requesting that any physician identify themselves. Well, there was a doctor seated in the first row of F who immediately went back to assist the FAs. The doctor was gone for quite a long time and finally came back to F with the sick woman and had her lay down for a while on the floor of the FC galley so the he could observe her. I was kind of freaked-out by this because I was paranoid about an infectious disease and we were to be served a meal, which I later declined. After about 20 minutes the doctor escorted the woman back to her seat and the flight continued without further incident. I later heard the FAs discussing the huge amount of vomit that they had had to clean up. They talked about it like it was no big deal, just an unpleasant but necessary task. They were very professional.

:rolleyes:

Wow.

:rolleyes:

Holy cr*p (pardon the pun). I would have gone to first, also. First actually has wash clothes (well, kinda...if hand towels count). And, particularly if it was in the front portion of coach, I would have gone to first for supplies.

Regardless, what a brutal quoted reply.

What??

It is frequently covered in the announcements that passengers should use the lavatory in their ticketed cabin for security reasons.

Unbelievable response. And not the good kind of unbelievable. :rolleyes:

Well said.

Unless the ill passenger's life were in jeopardy, protecting the integrity of the First Class cabin should have been a top priority.

Everyone in Y should be given a dog collar upon boarding, when the aircraft pushes back the FA's should energize a "security screen" between Y and F so the rif raf will be zapped if they try to use the F lav or request something from the FA in F.

That seems a bit extreme. A locked transparent door would suffice.