Please don't. This will not have the effect you're thinking. It comes off very patronizing and probably sexist in current American culture. I'm fairly sure the emoji was sarcastic.

Absolutely no one in a grumpy mood wants to be told to smile, much less by a customer who simply wants pseudo-cheerful service.

As the person who posted the suggestion to tell the grumpy person to smile, I can assure you that the emoji definitely was sarcastic, for exactly the reasons outlined here.

I try to be extra polite, friendly and nice. You catch more flies with honey....

Indeed, BTW polite, friendly and nice is SOP. And if they get even more grumpy, so what? Unless there is some egregiously bad service, it isn't going to make any difference to the here-and-now interaction. But I would not escalate the grumping match, nor highlight any issues with service until after the flight, you just never know how that can escalate into something bad with the rogue attendant.

I do not forgive. When I tell people this they always assume I've never worked a public-facing job, because if I had, I'd "understand what it's like."

Well, I have indeed worked a public facing job. 7pm to 3am for a year. Bonus: thanks to the time of my shift, many of my customers were intoxicated. Now I have even less forgiveness for public-facing employees because my takeaway was that if you do your job correctly like I did - with tact, patience, and respect for each customer even if they were disrespectful - then even the most demanding and unreasonable customers can be tamed.

The public doesn't suck. If you're a service provider who thinks this, then you either have an extremely unfortunate clientele, or you in fact are not competent in providing service.

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Also, please do not say the Flight Attendant job "isn't easy."

Raising a kid isn't easy.
Open-heart surgery isn't easy.
Writing a screenplay isn't easy.
Graduating from Ranger School isn't easy.
Building deep neural networks for self-driving cars isn't easy.

The job of a flight attendant is easy. And yes I know what I am talking about because I have personally attended new hire FA training at a major US airline.

I've never personally worked as an FA, that's true, but given the vast majority of FAs are not grumpy, I have no tolerance for those who are. I'll still say please and thank you with my drink orders, but I'm not going to bend over backwards to try to sympathize with how "the public sucks" or "the job isn't easy," because I have bent over sufficiently backwards to conclude the public does not suck and the job is in fact easy.

If you are at work you are expected to do the job you are being paid for, no excuses

Confronting somebody is not a horrible thing to do, i am confronting you now and saying i disagree with your opinions

Why should we allow somebody to treat us badly, i did nothing and i expect to be treated with respect

Well, this thread has me miffed, because I always greet them when boarding with a big smile and a "Good morning, nice to see you (or) nice to see you again (which happens on occasion) !!"

Non-existent problem solved.

Dont fly longhaul USA based airlines.
Only fly Asian airlines.

What is this "Flight Attendant" you speak of ? Are you referring to the Credit Card Saleswoman ?

Likely it is.

Nonetheless, on occasion, I've done it. Notably when they've treated another passenger badly. I'm not proud of having done so, but I have to be honest.

Hello, Please and Thank You, usually go a long way when faced with FA grumpiness. If not, just move along and don't change your attitude.

Most of us have a terrible day. I've already done customer services and I usually tried out to be my professional best whatever was heading on beside me at that time.