Be Proactive - Give Your Gate Agents a Gift Card
May 2, 2017, 12:07 pm
#61
Join Date: Sep 2000
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May 2, 2017, 10:56 pm
#62
Join Date: Feb 2017
Posts: 70
Last Christmas Eve I was flying B6 JAX-DCA. 7p or 8p flight. Handed out some swag to the TAs (last two aside from, I believe, WN down the hall), and proceeded to security with an unopened, shrink-wrapped box of really fancy chocolate chip cookies from the event I had just finished working. I tried giving the TSOs the cookies. They flatly said no. Pointed out the fact the box was unopened in every way possible. They said they'd throw it out if I left it.
Just when you try to be nice to a group of folks who never catch a break...
Just when you try to be nice to a group of folks who never catch a break...
May 2, 2017, 11:14 pm
#63
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TSOs are a whole different jar [box] of cookies I'm afraid. As government employees they are just not allowed to accept gifts of any kind without obtaining prior permission. At least that's the policy at one federal department that I know of. Even attending events at conference where free food is served is forbidden without permission.
Every so often government employees do something right. The rules for accepting gifts are extremely stringent like this for good reason. Government employees have far more power than any airline employee.
May 3, 2017, 10:01 am
#64
Join Date: Jun 2013
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Yeah, I don't have an issue with tipping someone who is a tipped employee (even though there are cases where I think they shouldn't be, but I'm not going to take that out on them) but I hate the extension of tips to include basically any customer facing employee. Especially since, as others in this thread have noted, in the long run that just is a way for employers to depress wages and push an extra cost on to consumers.
May 4, 2017, 11:22 am
#65
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 123
No Federal employee is allowed to accept gifts, even food & beverage of nominal value. We regularly provide refreshments for meetings, and Federal employees are provided the opportunity to pay a nominal amount rather than accept them gratis. Virtually all of them do, at least I cannot recall any that accepted the coffee and cookie without paying.
May 4, 2017, 6:27 pm
#66
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 240
So I used to do this as well until I spoke to a few actual gate agents and airline flight attendants and I was pretty surprised to discover that positive feedback often times NEVER makes it back to the employee. Or, it comes back so late that its impact is minimalized. The circumstances are different for those who are on the phone, but at an airport, it makes a difference.
Furthermore, to you it may appear as if they're, "just doing their job," but maybe a little encouragement will inspire them to go above and beyond after the gesture. Or, perhaps, maybe you didn't realize that before you got to the gate, they held the plane longer than they should have for a family that was going to misconnect if they'd closed the door any sooner, even though it wasn't going to meet the D0 standards.
The thing is, you NEVER know. I don't see what is wrong with paying it forward.
For those of you who think this is going to open up a can of worms, I'd love to hear your experiences working in the services industry for an extended period of time and then convince me why this will be so problematic.
Furthermore, to you it may appear as if they're, "just doing their job," but maybe a little encouragement will inspire them to go above and beyond after the gesture. Or, perhaps, maybe you didn't realize that before you got to the gate, they held the plane longer than they should have for a family that was going to misconnect if they'd closed the door any sooner, even though it wasn't going to meet the D0 standards.
The thing is, you NEVER know. I don't see what is wrong with paying it forward.
For those of you who think this is going to open up a can of worms, I'd love to hear your experiences working in the services industry for an extended period of time and then convince me why this will be so problematic.
May 7, 2017, 3:56 pm
#69
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May 7, 2017, 8:24 pm
#71
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May 7, 2017, 11:00 pm
#73
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May 7, 2017, 11:02 pm
#74
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Don't forget to wave down those folks driving the golf carts that make that horrible beeping noise. You can than them with a $5 gift card for not running you over.
May 7, 2017, 11:16 pm
#75
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