"You need to Use the Lav in the Rear..."
 

Last month I was flying CLT to LAX in first. A couple hours into the flight I got up from my seat and went to use the forward lav. The FA (the same one who had taken and delivered my breakfast order an hour earlier) stopped me and told me I had to use the lav in my class of service while gesturing towards the rear of the plane. I was really taken aback, quite speechless actually. I stood there looking at her, not knowing what to say.

Finally I stammered that I was in 2A, and she looked at me, looked over at the empty seat, and without a word, stepped aside and allowed me to use the lav.

It was truly one of the few times that the actions of a FA left me angry. Had she apologized I would have laughed it off, but instead of an apology I got the look of death as she turned her back to me and stepped away.

Has anyone else had a similar situation ever occur?

I guess what got my goat was that after that at least a dozen times during the flight, passengers came through the curtain into the first class cabin and used the lav--at one point there were a few lined up for it, and she didn't say a word to them.

FA mistakes you for a steerage pax, you point out the error, problem solved. And, this all happened a month ago?

Let it go.

Frankly I had forgotten about it as I was even more frustrated with AF on my connecting long haul. What concerned me wasn't the mistake, but rather her reaction. As I said, and apology would have made it all right. Instead I got a nasty look.

Obviously I'm not losing sleep over it, but the issue wasn't actually solved, as the problem was her attitude, which only got worse once she realized she was wrong.

Some people become cover up their embarrassment by getting defensive or angry. The FA was probably just embarrassed that she didn't recognize you.

Good advice

But it frosts me many a times when I am up front I see some FAs allow everyone, and when I am in Y and it is more practical to use the front I get shooed out !

Luck of the draw :)

People like that maybe should reevaluate their choice of working in a customer service oriented position. I've made mistakes as well, sometimes embarrassingly bad ones. But I apologize and try to smooth it over rather than trying to pass the blame.

@ Annerk

Are you trying to play the drama queen?

I'm not excusing the FA as a simple "Oh, sorry" would probably be expected but I wonder if your initial reaction had anything to do with it. Instead of just saying you are in 2A you were "really taken aback and quite speechless"?? :confused:

Why was it so hard for you to just say "Oh, I'm in 2A" and you had to stammer it out?

Perhaps the FA was a little confused by your reaction and consequently you threw her off her game. A natural "I'm in 2A" from you might have elicited a natural "oh, sorry" from her. Instead your reaction (and I'm not blaming you, just pointing this out) might have just thrown her off track.

Why would I be? just trying to mention an awkward situation that shouldn't have happened and wasn't handled at all well by the FA.

If I were being a drama queen I'd be asking what type of compensation I should ask for. :rolleyes:

I was caught off guard and confused by her demand--she had just served me a meal! It happened very quickly, it's not like I stood there with my gob hanging open for three minutes staring at her. From the time she first spoke to me until I responded was probably three seconds.

Some of us (myself included) are sometimes more sensitive than others. That said, the best thing is to shrug it off and let it go. I know it's hard...but learn to let it go. Let's put it this way...I would rather have the FA make a mistake in this direction that to let endless Y passengers use the forward lav.

I agree. I guess I was just surprised that she didn't apologize and instead gave me a very nasty look and walked away once she realized her error.

And it seems reasonable that she was caught off guard and confused by your response. Even three seconds is a long time to just stare at someone and not say anything. So again, your less than simple "I'm in 2A" response, may simply have evoked a less than simple response from her. And again, not blaming you or excusing her, just offering a reasonable explanation of why her odd response to your odd response might have happened.

You should've just told her "no, I only need to go #1" and then went ahead.

It's amazing how much just saying "I'm sorry" can help.

Sounds like she was just having a bad day, and probably embarrassed she didn't recognize you.

Safe travels,

Doc