That is where I was going with this... button pushers are either amateurs or needy Precious Metals...typically .... they have been conditioned to deal with it accordingly...

Try to do it yourself first and if that fails then push the call button.

That said, my mother tells me that when I was 5 years old, I kept pushing the call button over and over for no good reason. (I do remember the flight but not the button pushing.)

I'm very surprised by the willingness of so many Flyertalkers to try and justify poor service by Delta with respect to this issue.

You base that on the assumption that pushing the button will get us service or even better service. Pehaps many of the experienced Flyers realize the key to getting great service is to treat the FAs with respect in a friendly manner. Smile, eye contact, please/thank you... I do not HAVE to do that... but I am smart enough to know that in the end, they do not get the service I get....

THIS!

Again, for those who missed it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sCL_AATSv4

:p

I like how the "do it yourselfers" have ignored my examples in my post earlier. So, if you would have me do it myself... you would...

.... after having just been served my meal in F, sans fork and knife... and the FA's just disappeared behind the curtain into Y... you'd have me get up and go root around in the galley for my own knife and fork? Seriously?

.... after having an uncontrollable cough for the past few minutes, and there's no sign of stopping... you'd have me get up and go root around in the galley for a water?

I have no business rooting around in the galley for anything. That is not my space. I am not entitled to help myself there. Besides, in F, I'm awfully close to that Flight Deck Door... If I was helping myself to an area where I don't belong, I imagine someone might think I'm trying to do something nefarious.

I can't believe a lot of the responses - the OP and all passengers have every right to use the call button if needed, as long its not abused. And the FAs need to respond to it in a timely manner.

All of you who say that you haven't used the FA call button in XX years and call those who use it amateurs obviously haven't been in a Y window seat on INTL flights with extremely infrequent post meal service. I have, and obviously the OP has.

In fact, we are being very courteous to the other passengers when we call for an FA to request a drink or water or napkin by not asking two other passengers get up with their trays out or disrupting their sleep.

As others have mentioned, its certainly not for emergencies only.

Holy Hell! Tell me about it! So sorry, OP! The problem is that your's is a commoner's issue. For an elite group such as those on this forum, you need to bring up the lack of a pre-flight beverage in FC or that Delta may be rolling out an "F" buy up program to have a more sympathetic crowd!

Just wait until the PM/DM phone line is ignored until the 2nd ring. All hell would break loose here!

That is probably because amateurs fly in back on international in coach...

one common use of the button that i think many of you overlooked is using the button when asked to do so to answer a fa question like a lost item or vdb request

It so annoying
 

Sitting next to the galley hearing the uncalled dings with passengers keep calling the FA's is annoying especially when trying to sleep. Instead of having these archaic noisy buttons why not incorporate them into the IFE system with AVOD? If you want an FA go to menu and click on FA and select your request from the menu. The FA gets an e-mail with the request on the screen in the galley with a beep or some other notification.

The FA could reply back if it will take some time to bring the request.

Where does it say that you need to have a FA call button in the Federal Aviation Administration protocol? If the IFE is not working they could still have the button but make it silent as people mistakenly push it when reaching for the light.

They need to redesign the inseat IFE system whereby the call button is separate from the Audio/light controls and make it a Red button so that way people are not dinging the FAs.

Whats your opinion?

I've only had to use the FA call button once. It was on an AF A380 flight sitting in 92L. Woke up in the middle of the flight, my throat and mouth were extremely dry and I thought I needed water (I ended up being sick). The guy next to me was passed out so I couldn't get over him. Hit the call button and ended up waiting about 25 minutes (hit it about 4-5 times during this wait) before I woke up the person next to me and went to the back. The FA was just chilling back there reading a newspaper. I was so mad... The call button was working too, you could hear the audible tone throughout the cabin.

Yes, separate from the light controls, as long as it's near the light controls people will continue to push it no matter what color it is. You could make it neon green with pink polka-dots and people will still push it looking for the damn light. If they can't tell the difference between the picture of a light bulb and a stick-figure, what's a red color gonna do differently?

I personally prefer to walk to the galley if I can get up, and 99% of the time when I need something and am able to get to the galley, I do so. FAs also usually come around often enough to see what I need so between me going and them coming around regularly, I do not need to press the call button. On the other hand, the FAs should definitely respond to the call button swiftly in any class. A call button may be pressed for any number of urgent reasons, including medical needs, and nonresponse should be inexcusable.