Moderators: richierich, ua900, PanAm_DC10, hOMSaR
Quoting uberflieger (Reply 2): I thought AA personal wears name tags? |
Quoting travelin man (Reply 3): I believe "shut up" is AA's version of "hello". |
Quoting Armodeen (Reply 49): |
Quoting guyanam (Reply 53): The passenger asked why the 2nd row was served last. There are 4 rows in business, so the 2nd row should NOT have been served last, whether they began from the front or the back. It should have ben the 1st or the 4th row being served last. |
Quoting DTWPurserBoy (Reply 6): |
Quoting peanuts (Reply 1): |
Quoting AEROFAN (Reply 57): |
Quoting Andy33 (Reply 56): You've obviously missed the several posts explaining that AA now has a pre-order system for meals, so that passengers who are concerned about which meal they get can order the one they want from the menu on line in advance. |
Quoting tonystan (Reply 59): It's called controlling cost and preventing wastage. If they over catered every flight by 10 percent that's a hell of a lot of food wasted at a time millions are homeless on the streets and it's not like it can be used after a flight as it will be spoils and unsafe to consume.....and you know what? You could still find yourself running out of a choice! |
Quoting Flighty (Reply 64): |
Quoting Revelation (Reply 63): Doesn't justify being told to "shut up" when asking for an explanation. You don't know if the pax even did the purchase themselves, it could have been a secretary/admin, could have been a relative, could have used a (public or corporate) travel agent, etc. So "obviously" the FA should have shown better manners, regardless of any check box on a web page. |
Quoting rbavfan (Reply 46): If your talking during the announcements they can tell you to shut up and you should |
Quoting Andy33 (Reply 56): |
Quoting tonystan (Reply 59): |
Quoting rbavfan (Reply 46): If your talking during the announcements they can tell you to shut up and you should. Your comment shows all here what entitlement attitude is. So you were talking during a time when your not supposed to and were told to shut up, then quit fling UA over it. I'll bet UA is glad you left. |
Quoting AEROFAN (Reply 57): How about having enough catering so that they don't run out of food choices. It is ridiculous the crap airlines do that some of you airline folks find acceptable. |
Quoting stratocruiser (Reply 70): |
Quoting Mcmax (Reply 4): On flights that involve a time zone change, the meal orders for westbound flights are taken from the rear of business/first class to the front. Thus, if the passenger was seated in the second row of business/first class--and assuming it was a 737-800 with four rows of business/first class--then at least 8 of the 16 passengers would have ordered before him. |
Quoting mattnrsa (Reply 79): This is his side of the story. Looks like he did pre-order his meal on the flight out to Punta Cana but preferred the main option. He chose not to pre-order on the return flight. |
Quoting hongkongflyer (Reply 77): Regarding the waste, airlines need to prepare crew meals for their crews, especially on long haul flights, instead of preparing meals specifically for crews, why not do doubt catering for F & J so that at lease everyone sitting in premium cabins get their first or second choice. Whichever left can be used as crew meals, and I believes most meals in F&J will be better then crew meals and crews will be happy with such arrangement. |
Quoting ogre727 (Reply 78): I just saw the video.... The flight attendant threatened to call the police because he was asked his name? Completely overboard! I know this is going to sound strange, but we are not required to give our names out. We come into contact with hundreds of thousands of people a year--not all of whom are nice. All you need is the flight number, date and the to and from cities and any airline can instantly figure out who displeased you. To be honest, passenger complaints come with the job (for some reason people do not like being told "no"). The carriers know this and unless it is something particularly unusual all that will happen is you MIGHT get called in and asked about it but any major airline gets literally thousands of complaints and each one cannot be tracked, especially now with easy online access to vent. And we will never, ever give out another crew member's name. It is a violation of their privacy and safety. I now of three flight attendants that were raped and murdered by passengers who stalked them. We have families and will not put them at risk because I ran out of chicken the row in front of you. Some people just get enraged over the subject of one meal. Never have understood that. Preordering is the way to go. Perhaps it is all part of the "Me, me, me, it's all about ME" idea that (thankfully) a few people have. Most times I just get creative and a little humorous and invariably they understand I cannot pull over and buy more pasta. What makes me laugh is when they start screaming that they are "allergic" to chicken (or beef, pasta or whatever). I just say "Well, I certainly do not want you to risk your health so we'll just skip you for the meal." You'd be surprised how many miraculous healings I cause. |
Quoting DTWPurserBoy (Reply 74): It is not penny-pinching to board the correct number of meals. In the last 100 days DL operated over 877,000 flights (without ONE mainline cancellation!). The cost of an airline meal is not just the food but the kitchen staff that prepares it, the guys who load it on the trucks and onto the aircraft and then the crew that serves it. That drives the meal costs skyward quickly. Just overboarding by one meal per flight would be a loss in the tens of millions of dollars on that many flights. |
Quoting DTWPurserBoy (Reply 74): Food is donated to shelters but directly from the caterers. Once it is on the airplane it cannot be reused--health department issues and concern about contamination. |
Quoting DTWPurserBoy (Reply 74): Fact is that domestically most people in the forward cabin are on upgrades. Very few actually pay the high tariff. This is why many carriers are switching their frequent flyer systems to a dollar base rather than a mileage base. |
Quoting Revelation (Reply 84): The customer can do the upgrades because they are showing loyalty by buying tickets or using credit cards and many other avenues and all of this brings revenue to the carrier or they would not be offering it. Crew is supposed to provide service by category of service regardless of how the service is obtained. And as you suggest, as programs are increasingly dollar based, you really can't say the |
Quoting AEROFAN (Reply 62): When you are lucky enough to be seated in F? Well that clearly indicates to me that you did not pay to sit in F so your accepting what is left is appropriate coz beggars cannot be choosers. When you have paid for it however - a different situation altogether. |
Quoting aloha73g (Reply 86): |
Quoting AA94 (Reply 75): |
Quoting AEROFAN (Reply 89): Thank God for living in NYC and for AMTRAK! |
Quoting AEROFAN (Reply 58): Having established its price point and the customer having purchased its product, the company has the obligation to provide what was purchased. |
Quoting AEROFAN (Reply 61): I would not complain. I would just call my credit card company and chargeback the cost of my flight. |
Quoting tonystan (Reply 65): Simple fact of the matter is even the finest restaurants run out of certain items on a menu. Happens all the time. Compounded more so on an aircraft where space is also a factor for catering and the fact that it is very much frowned upon (particularly at large companies) to waste items such as food. But there will always be that class of person (and certainly not a high class of person) who feels entitled to complain and whine |
Quoting DTWPurserBoy (Reply 74): It is not penny-pinching to board the correct number of meals. In the last 100 days DL operated over 877,000 flights (without ONE mainline cancellation!). The cost of an airline meal is not just the food but the kitchen staff that prepares it, the guys who load it on the trucks and onto the aircraft and then the crew that serves it. That drives the meal costs skyward quickly. Just overboarding by one meal per flight would be a loss in the tens of millions of dollars on that many flights. Food is donated to shelters but directly from the caterers. Once it is on the airplane it cannot be reused--health department issues and concern about contamination. On international flights all trash and left over food must be incinerated. We had these great big orange stickers that said "international trash" and we got great delight by slipping one of those onto a colleague's back unnoticed inflight and seeing how long it took before someone told them. But then you have to guard against the "payback." Fact is that domestically most people in the forward cabin are on upgrades. Very few actually pay the high tariff. This is why many carriers are switching their frequent flyer systems to a dollar base rather than a mileage base. Ground agents cannot eat aircraft food on pain of termination. I am not saying that it does not occur after I get off the jet (I see lots of chubby mechanics and cabin cleaners) but at most airlines that is a definite no-no. We will offer the agents a cup of hot coffee or a cold drink, time permitting. On bitterly cold winter days in MSP we try to send some cups of hot coffee down to the rampers to show our appreciation for their work. I am standing in a warm cabin while they are slinging bags in -60F. As far as telling passengers to shut up during the demo, we have practiced a million ways around that. Usually all it takes is for me to catch their eye and raise an eyebrow--maybe it is that old Catholic school upbringing (not that I look like a nun!). If all else fails I will lean over and quietly ask for their attention for just a few seconds longer--99% of the time that works. Even if they are not paying attention most people are just silent...unless you are flying with my beloved spouse sitting next to you who, as a retired teacher of forty years will not hesitate to say "Excuse me, but we cannot hear the announcements." I know that tone and have been on the receiving end of it more than once and they stop dead. And yes...unfortunately there is a small percentage of people that work for an airline that are unhappy. Not just with that day, the job or their company. They just are miserable in their lives and take it out on others which is totally wrong. The simplest solutions are always the best on the airplane. |
Quoting DTWPurserBoy (Reply 74): Fact is that domestically most people in the forward cabin are on upgrades. Very few actually pay the high tariff. This is why many carriers are switching their frequent flyer systems to a dollar base rather than a mileage base. |
Quoting Revelation (Reply 84): The customer can do the upgrades because they are showing loyalty by buying tickets or using credit cards and many other avenues and all of this brings revenue to the carrier or they would not be offering it. Crew is supposed to provide service by category of service regardless of how the service is obtained. |
Quoting DTWPurserBoy (Reply 74): |
Quoting TheRedBaron (Reply 94): Thanks for the very clear and to the point post! Douches will be found everywhere when intolerance and entitlement has a surplus... TRB |
Quoting AEROFAN (Reply 61): I would just call my credit card company and chargeback the cost of my flight. |
Quoting AEROFAN (Reply 72): You control cost at the detriment of the customer??? |
Quoting AEROFAN (Reply 89): For some bizarrely strange reason you seem to think that an airline is not obligated to deliver what it is charging the hefty price differential for... |
Quoting AEROFAN (Reply 62): When you are lucky enough to be seated in F? Well that clearly indicates to me that you did not pay to sit in F so your accepting what is left is appropriate coz beggars cannot be choosers. When you have paid for it however - a different situation altogether. |
Quoting rbavfan (Reply 47): Nope. The union won't allow that. |
Quoting Revelation (Reply 84): To me you are making a few rationalizations here. You count every meal served whereas in many cases there is no choice. You are not factoring in the cost of the business lost when customers are dissatisfied and use another service. Yes, in many cases, customers do have choices... |