Eemraldskies

I agree, this shoudl be it's own thread. FA's do many things at once during boarding. Jokes are just something to lighten the day (and usually the mood as many people are tense after going through security, waiting, lining up and then boarding and looking for the perfect seat). I'll admit 6 a.m. is no time for a joke or a heckler, but to this posters comments. Really?

I'm sure you do not realize that it is a personal fine by the FAA (yes real $$) towards an FA if they do not fulfill their job duties in regards to the OWWE, seat belt sign on and many other items. No not a fine against the company, but a fine, personally, against the FA.

If you are speaking a foreign language during boarding and choose to sit in the exit row your chances of being asked if you speak and understand English go way up (although I prefer to test this by asking a question that does not require a yes or no answer). You'll also be asked if you are able if we notice you can't get your own seat belt fastened, and if you happen to have great skin and look young, yes, you'll be asked if you are old enough.

If you get up when the seat belt sign is on you may be told it's on, you may not, but if FAA is onboard the aircraft and passengers are not reminded when they get up when the sign is on, the FA can be personally fined ($$).

So Yoyash, would you rather be on a flight where the qualifications of the folks in the exit row are unknown or simply say yes to an easy question and get comfortable in your extra leg room?

Hayden

If I might, my understanding was that Yoyash wasn't concerned about being asked their understanding of English per se. Rather, they were concerned that the FA assumed, because of their appearance, that they may not speak English, and asked them about it. Fine so far, until the FA made a different assumption, and did not ask, an adjacent passenger who had a different, perhaps whiter, appearance.

In that situation as an FA, unless I had already heard each passenger speaking--and perhaps even if I had--I would likely ask each the same question, in order to avoid discomfiting any one passenger with it by limiting it to them. Eemeraldskies' approach of asking a non-yes-or-no question seems reasonable--I'd tend to apply it to everyone, so as to ensure each of the passengers, my guests, after all, feel welcome.

pinworm

I think WN's cornball schtick is undignified and generally only amuses the beer bellies in the ball caps and grampa in row 2.

toomanybooks

Welcome to Flyertalk, yoyash1!

For what it's worth, I'm the whitest-looking guy you ever saw and have been asked the same question by WN.

pinniped

Part of their procedure is to ensure that the people in the exit row are capable of fulfilling the requirements to sit there, one of which is speaking English.

I've been asked the question dozens and dozens of times by FA's for various carriers. I'm a Caucasian U.S. citizen.

Sometimes they'll ask you if you can lift 45 pounds, a clear example of anti-wuss profiling.

spineangel

Everyone keeps forgetting..... The beer bellies and the grampa's are who SW caters to....

pinniped

No, those guys are back in Row 18. They're not A-listers, they don't know what EBCI is, and they have no idea that people use the Inter-tubes to check-in for airline flights.

Maybe they should have a nonjoking section of the plane and a joking section? Of course, people in Rows 16 and 17 might be forced to inhale secondhand jokes but hey, that's incentive to buy EBCI if you're extremely sensitive.

hotdogs

Orwaid

As for the ramifications I alluded to earlier -

If nothing else, this thread should be read by the marketing department at WN and maybe the service operations department also.

If this can lead to changes in service that leads to a net improvement in the traveling experience for passengers, then everybody will have won.

pinniped

Yes, I'm sure your whining is going to lead to a major cultural shift at Southwest Airlines.

April traffic is up 8% Yields are so far in the stratosphere I don't think anyone would have believed these numbers 2-3 years ago. In other words, I think your selfish little hypothesis that everybody is looking for this particular change to the culture has zero tangible support.

(I was honestly hoping the April numbers would show weakness because for every 1 opinion about FA humor there are probably 10,000 opinions about RR2.0. I'd love to think the new program is pushing away travelers. Clearly it is not.)

If you and everyone else on this thread is seriously so offended by the jokes that you stop buying WN tickets, then stop doing so. Like I've said before in this thread, if your position is right then the data cannot hide it and Southwest will be forced to adapt its product and brand in the marketplace.

Orwaid

Hi Pinniped -

I have never suggested that a major cultural shift should take place at WN. I have said that they should seek to maximize overall net customer utility, especially when it involves little or no expense.

I don't think that everyone is looking for a major change here. But judging by the posts here, it is also certainly true that it is not just my "selfish little hypothesis".

Certainly WN is trying to adapt its product and expand its brand. RR 2.0 is an example of that. Tier levels, bonus points and free wifi are all attempts to broaden the appeal of WN to high frequency, high fare passengers. So was changing its boarding procedures. Adding energy drinks to the onboard offerings is meant to attract a different segment. The problem is that its current culture alienates the people it is trying to reach out to. And in reaching out to them, they are alienating a significant portion of its current customer base

And to your other point - WN has traditionally been my last choice of carrier. But the boarding procedures implemented a few years ago were a big start to change that. RR2.0 is a it of a drag, but that is not a dealbreaker. They are not really a low fare carrier anymore, but that is not a dealbreaker either. But the overall service experience is.

Another example of what I am talking about is low-end retail. Wal-Mart is my last choice; Target is my first. Others are somewhere in between. And it is because of the service experience I get when I go.

To bring it back to the OP, if overall passenger utility can be improved with something as simple as "keep the jokes to one or two during the safety briefing and maybe another one on landing", how can anyone here really think it is such a horrible idea?

Eemraldskies

You are totally correct - we cater to beer bellies, grampa's, grandmas, frequent flier, one time fliers, first time fliers, vacation fliers and and everyone else when they are on the flight. Doesn't matter one iota to a flight attendant how much you paid for your ticket or where you stood in line for the boarding process.

Everyone receives the same award winning service WN flight attendants are known for even when they act out like a 6 year old over a company policy (during flight no less and at deplaning) like you did on one of my flights.

Yes, it was you no doubt, because you came and posted here about it after the fact. No one has ever had a problem with that policy but you so there is no way on God's green earth it was anyone but you on my flight that day having a hissy fit and taking pictures.

So ya, trash the clientel if you like, you are just like every other passenger on the flight once you are strapped in your seat (even if you do behave childish).

pinniped

Perhaps WN has market research that suggests that moving to a surly culture (think about United's FA's) would decrease net customer utility? Maybe they already have invested a great deal of thought and execution into their existing culture and think it results in the best client service, best internal operations, and most profitable enterprise possible?

I mean, data about airlines is all out in the public. Is there another carrier out there posting great financial results and sayin "We believe that the surliness of our flight attendants is a core value driver that has led to these strong profits and growth."

Indeed, I think WN has the sk8er segment locked up.

Is it? Sorry, but I'm just not seeing any data that supports that. In fact, all of the public data points to the opposite conclusion.

That's fine - you have a preference for one; others have a preference for the other. WMT and TGT are both highly successful. Both firms will no doubt watch the other one and try to anticipate/understand its strategic course but each will continue to follow what it sees as its own most-profitable model. Clearly there are things that Walmart does that its customers prefer.

I don't know...maybe somebody on the plane was hoping for an hour-long standup routine and is writing a letter to Dallas right now demanding that FA's step up their comedy game. I still don't expect Southwest to change its operations or culture.

indyscott

It seems you miss the whole point... The "Fun-LUVing Attitude" is part of the corporate culture. Have you seen any of the Southwest commercials? Humor is part of the BRAND!

How would a policy such as the one you suggest be enforced? Would employees be disciplined after their third joke and fired for repeat offenses? If it can't be enforced, then it shouldn't be written... A rule like you propose would be completely contrary to the essence of the airline and therefore, yes, I think it is a horrible idea.

spineangel

You may not care, as a stewardess, who flies on SW, but what I'm saying is your senior management at SW caters to the beer bellies and grampa's, you just simply carry out what that culture dictates you to do.

And.... your senior management informed me YOU were completely out of line AND going against company policy by putting a ridiculous home-made sign up on the prime forward-cabin overheads that said "for flight attendant use only". Good thing I did take that picture. If I am wrong, do you still carry that silly little sign around with you? Bet....NOT..
Guess carrying around a badly celophane taped sign securing your space for your overnights, is not acting childish. According to the head of your CS, he stated you were only to use forward cabin space for the bag you carry your flight book in, not multiple pieces of luggage, just because your too lazy to go to the back of the plane and fetch.