username

This is one of these topics that I am curious of others' (passengers and FAs) opinions but I am not going to do anything.

I was on a short mainline flight (about 1.5 hours) in F. The flight attendant was REALLY happy and cheerful - singing to himself, dancing, spinning...

The guy next to me asked another FA who took the drink order which kind of white wine they had. She went to ask the singing FA. She came back and said "He said it is white and it is wine. He is such a jokester....It is Spanish."

When my drink came (prepared and delivered by the singing FA), it has a piece of hair in it - probably his from dancing and shaking his head in the galley He had shoulder-length long hair (never seen a male FA with hair that long.)

Other than spending too much time talking to a nonrev visitor in the galley, he did a great job - made a few rounds offering snacks and drinks, which is more than many do.

I wonder style-wise, does UA have any guidelines for FAs? It is one thing to be friendly and cheerful but it is another to be dancing and singing to yourself? What is the line between presenting a professional image and "being fun"?

dorisrpas

While I agree, sounds like the private-party exuberance was a bit over the top, as long as service otherwise was what it was supposed to be, much rather have a singing, twirling, joking FA than a grumpy, rude, inattentive FA.

And who knows, maybe that is his way of recentering after dealing with obnoxious DYKWIA on his previous flight

EnvoyBoy

Agreed.

If I have to 'tolerate' an FA who isn't quite my style (with no implication that they should all be like me), I rather tolerate a happy FA than a crappy FA.

MSPeconomist

At some point, is becomes unprofessional and annoying to those who, for instance, want to work during the flight. (it doesn't matter whether it's a leisure destination. IMO passengers and especially those in premium cabins have the right to work quietly during the flight.)

If customers had wanted this sort of entertainment during the flight, they would have purchased a Southwest ticket.

cosflyer

+1^

zrs70

Every once in a while, entertaining safety announcements go viral. Posters say something like "I wish all fa's were like this. It really made the flight great!"

Usually it is Southwest.

Ive heard similar on UA. The first time, admittedly, it's great. But if you get the same FA again, it sounds canned. The third time it's just annoying.

(I feel the same way about the overly-produced safety videos on UA).

A simple professional approach is best.

Here's a case in point from WN that was just posted:


That said, perhaps this UA FA was recently engaged or something!

gold23

Travel is often a hassle, and I always appreciate someone making me laugh or smile. In fact, I appreciate merely the effort to do so. I've always enjoyed FA who enjoy their job and have some fun with it. Can it be over the top at times? Absolutely. But we've all experienced more than our fair share of horrible FA...I'll never complain about one with too much energy.

dcfromdc

Burning question. What did you do with the hair-laced drink? If you asked for a new one, was it awkward for fear of bringing him down from his good mood?

bmustaf

Yes. There's an entire airline dedicated to it: SWA.

I like it when people have fun and enjoy their work but the clownery can border on appearing like things like being desperate for attention or the like when taken too far.

It can feel like the airline version of Officespace/hackneyed office humor that isn't actually funny because it's overdone.

I haven't seen this on UA and they seem to maintain a balance or decorum, if perhaps on a bit of the too starchy (or just grumpy on domestic mainline) side even.

Often1

Like it or not, the FA is in a service role, at least when serving. A key part to that is "reading" the customer. For some people, the flight is a chance to zone out. Others want to chat. Yet others want to work. To each his own.

No different than a restaurant. A good server gets it that a person who wants their food and to be left alone ought to be left alone.

TA

Just be glad you didn't have this guy who overdid it on the showtunes:
http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.c...ty-demo-funny/

porciuscato

You nailed it. The problem with United and both the surly and clownish FAs is that it's never about what you, the customer, want. It's about what the coddled, job-protected flight attendant wants.

transportprof

How much flair was this FA wearing?

Hite

Sounds like a lot more than 15 pieces. But who wants to do the minimum?

username

First, thanks for not ridicule the question/post. I was afraid of being attacked or trivialized. It seems to happen more and more on FT.

It took me a while to figure out it was a hair in the glass. I thought it was either cracked or something. It was above the water level. Eventually I reached in and pull it to confirm it was hair. He just got me a new one and my feeling is that he knows it was likely his (I have short hair). I just got of a 3+ hour Y flight, spent an hour on the phone while connecting and was too hungry to worry about ruining his mood

I too was thinking about WN. What I find about WN FAs is that they work really hard to complete service on short flights and achieve fast turnarounds. Few are clowns at heart, it seems.

I definitely thought this FA was a little over-board. He was joking with a passenger during the safety demo video. Even though he did his job well, the jokester is not the image I want of someone who is there primarily for my safety.

His attire was fine but I am curious about any policies on long hair for male FAs.