United757

Okay, so in some of the FF forums here (particularly the United MP forum) there is so much complaining!

Everything from people complaining about rude check-in agents, rude airline lounge employees, rude gate agents, to rude flight attendants! (Yes, I know there are some bad apples!)

My question is, Are you being nice?

I have never had a problem with airline staff being as harsh as they sound on FT. On my last three flights I have met nice airline staff! I think it has to do with me being nice to them. I always say good morning/afternoon/evening, and LOTS of thank you's. I smile, and I have a positive attitude in general.

It is not hard to be nice. Airline employees are humans (well..) too, and maybe if travelers could show them some respect, they would be more decent in general.

I have seen so many people be rude to airline staff lately, and I really don't understand it. From my observations, if a traveller sets a bad tone with an employee, the employee sends back a bad tone too! I can understand if someone is having a bad day, but that doesn't give them the right to act rude or better.

I also understand that the airline industry is suffering right now, but I think it is safe to say that the people who work for the airline are still being paid to do the job they were hired to do. And if the airline employee doesn't like their job, then they should quit!

It takes more muscles to frown then it does to smile!

Mudfish

I'm always nice, and I think that is part of the problem. When I'm dealing with airline staff they are typically in a position to either make my day better or worse, so I feel obliged to be nice. If they aren't nice in return I feel the need to vent. That venting often happens at FT. Maybe it is just me, but I'd much rather be nice to people in person and hope they return the favor.

KNRG

I'm perfetly pleasent and at times so likeable that i get free drinks and such.

If any FA has hated me thus far, it's not shown.

At the same time, i'm entirely capable of calling someone incompitent and unworthy of their nametag. Did this recently at a high end hotel after experiencing the rudest human being on earth.

I dont think much of what we read here was kharma or anything, rather that service does often suck and the bad service gets reported instead of the good which happens often too. We all fly a good bit, so if you consider the complaints to flights ratio then we're in pretty good shape.

ECOTONE

I noticed myself being mean just the other day. It wasn't to TSA/GA/CSR/FA, it was to another passenger. I'd had a long day at work and was going home from CMH on Sunday.

I was standing in line behind a guy that must have never gone through security before and asked me, oh, 20 questions about what he had to do.

"Do I need to have ID with me?"
"What do I do with my computer?"
"Why are you taking your jacket off? Should I take mine off too?"
"Are you flying out of the same gate as I am?"
"Can you tell me what I need to put into these bins?"

On, and on, and on, and on....

I was a bit snippy towards question 10 or 12 and quickly got through security and away from him. I guess that's what happens after flying 103 segments already this year. So much flying, getting a bit snippy.

KNRG

Dear lord, the lines are typically small enough at CMH that i'd of left gotten some coffee or a bite at Max and Ermas and then come back instead of deal with him.

I get that people are nervous and new - heck i'm still pretty new - but i didn't ask a million questions like that.

florin

I think being nice is important in any situation. Even when the situation is unpleasant I find it imperative to stay above the polite level. Be that as it may, I will list a couple of nuissances:
1. I am always polite, smile, please-and-thank-you.... the whole deal. I will say that I don't believe I should have to kiss up to employees just to get the service that I paid for. I am nice, but I do expect a decent level of service.
2. I acknowledge FA's, make eye contact, smile and I'm polite. (I greet them as I board and thank them as I leave. Sometimes I congratulate them for very good service.) I don't like people desperately trying to engage in conversations with FA's, trying to become the FA's buddy, the "special" pax, in a [sometimes pathetic] attempt to get extra attention, or who knows... maybe even a free drink? (It's most annoying when after a 2 min conversation with the FA the pax looks around to see if anybody actually noticed him/her talking to the FA with that smug "did you see the FA talk to ME?" look.)

OffToOz

I'm with flo rin. I don't expect anything special, but I do treat people with a certain amount of respect and consideration and I expect the same in return. I always start any interaction with an airport or airline employee by being nice to the point of sympathetic. I know it's not a job I'd want to do.

Did I step up with a chatty "Thank you!" to the pilot standing at the door as we disembarked from a flight that took off an hour late, experienced a solid 45 minutes of mid-flight turbulence, and then went through an aborted landing? Uh, no...because neither he, the co-pilot, nor any of the FAs on board ever once made any sort of announcement about any of these things. I realize they must have been having a rough day too, but a 2 second acknowledgement of the fact that there were actually passengers on the plane would have been nice. In any event, he got the stone cold blank stare as I walked off the plane.

jimquan

It's nice to be important but it's important to be nice!

Jim

aleaf

I've picked up quite a few tips from this board about how to deal with some of the situations that can arise when traveling. It's certainly helpful to know what recourse I have, what I can say in a pinch and I now have quite a few lightening comebacks up my sleeve.
(grrrr, I can think of a particular seatmate I would have flambe'd with some of the snappy comments I can now unleash. Oh well, I'll be ready for her next time.
I am pretty darned friendly and hope I treat pretty much everyone the same way. And I expect to be treated a certain way as well.

That said - apologies in advance, I'm new to this board - I sometimes find myself cringing when I read descriptions of how posters handled, or more often than not, would have handled situations. I hope some of it is just posturing and people sounding 'bad' or 'badder' than they are in real life. Good grief, some of it makes me think of men trying to impress a date and treating the waiter badly.

It seems to me that, if I'm going to have a conflict with someone that may escalate, I want to make sure I have the higher ground behavior-wise. I think you can be nice and respectful but still have a spine.

skylady

Being nice to those you interact with daily surely is important. Airline folks are mostly hired to be in frontline facing positions, but it is great when you recognize that they are also human beings, not robots. Most start their day with a positive attitude, but it can only take one bad apple customer to change all that.

We would all like to think that we should be thick skinned, but again one terrible experience can ruin one's day, just like one bad employee can ruin yours. Civility is the answer. Please don't take your anger about one situation to the next employee, just because they wear the same color uniform.

I often feel that as the last airline representative you may interact with, it is my duty to make up for all the rudeness and harm done. Give me the courtesy to make an impression before you judge us all as being terrible as a whole.

florin

I would hope that as a service employee, it takes more than ONE bad apple to change that attitude. I also hope that this attitude doesn't automatically get projected onto the next unlucky set of pax.


Those are excellent points! ^

thegeneral

People who make the mistake of flying United shouldn't complain. It's their choice.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

ps. No, the people with the most issues probably aren't nice.

szg

Yes, I try always to be nice !! I complain later, if it is necessary.

Guyin

Whether the request is my right or privilege or favor, I am always first to be
nice with them. Although sometime it doesn't pay to be nice but most of the
time someone will always pay for being rude.

dchristiva

I am nice until it becomes time to not be nice. Then I will be as unpleasant as the situation dictates.