What You Wish Your Flight Attendant Knew ...
THE OPPORTUNITY YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR!
I'm really looking for honest feedback here, so please help me out. This post is public. Feel free to share with your friends if you think they'd like to weigh in. Also, comments will be screened-- please let me know if you're okay with me unscreening your comment, otherwise it will remain private.
Yesterday I had a completely full flight. At the end of boarding, I had a man come up to me and tell me that the passenger sitting next to him was too large, was taking up too much of his seat, and that he wanted to move. I had no other seats available and no non-revenue passengers (i.e. airline employees traveling for free or super reduced cost) whose seats I could switch for him. He was insistent and I had him come up front and talk to a customer service representative, who offered him a seat on the next flight if he did not want to sit in his seat. Very irritated, he returned to his seat and spent the whole taxi out leaning dramatically into the aisle and giving me huffy looks.
I am genuinely sorry he was uncomfortable, because I never want any of my passengers to be uncomfortable. However, I was extremely aware that this man's behavior was also making the man sitting next to him uncomfortable too. It was drawing attention and basically shaming him for being large and his shoulders spilling into the other seat. Upset Guy finally settled for sitting quietly and behaving in a mostly proper manner after I demonstrated that I would not be playing the game with him and would not further shame another passenger to make him feel better. (Though I went out of my way to smile and be extra helpful/polite to both of them on that flight and because there was a large break in the line and bit of privacy as the second man was disembarking, I stopped him briefly to apologize for the uncomfortable situation he'd been in and tell him straight out that he was not an inconvenience; he seemed just weary and used to it, which made me sad.)
It's my job to coddle inconvenienced passengers, but it's a very difficult line to walk to placate an "inconvenienced" passenger (which I have to-- and should!-- do) without further shaming or saying something that would indicate that the other person is an inconvenience.
Because the other man was not an inconvenience. His person, his size, his presence on our airplane-- none of those things are EVER an inconvenience. I want to make that VERY clear. Every passenger on board is valued and should be treated as the valuable person and customer he or she is. This goes for larger passengers, passengers with visible or invisible disabilities, passengers with special needs, cultural or dietary sensitivities, or specific accommodation requirements-- everyone, full stop.
For those of you who travel: What do you wish that your flight attendant knew. What could we do to make things better/more convenient/easier/less awkward/less embarrassing/more comfortable for you. I truly want to know. How can I better serve my passengers? Because sometimes I don't know the best way and I don't know what questions to ask or how the situation feels like to you.
Important-- this is not a "Airlines Suck!" complaint forum. I know that travel is hard and you may have been inconvenienced, but I'm not looking for things like "fewer delays, don't lose my bag, don't charge me for this or that, make the seats bigger." While those are all valid concerns, I have no control over that. We're aiming at constructive criticism here. What can I, as a flight attendant with the resources at my disposal (including the pilots and customer service agents/airport staff if we're at a gate), do to serve you/accommodate you better?
Anyone is welcome to comment, but I'd particularly love to hear from my friends who have special considerations. Again-- please let me know if you're comfortable having your post unscreened and please let your friends who might have good feedback know about this. I imagine this information could be usefully extrapolated to many other service industries as well.
I'm really looking for honest feedback here, so please help me out. This post is public. Feel free to share with your friends if you think they'd like to weigh in. Also, comments will be screened-- please let me know if you're okay with me unscreening your comment, otherwise it will remain private.
Yesterday I had a completely full flight. At the end of boarding, I had a man come up to me and tell me that the passenger sitting next to him was too large, was taking up too much of his seat, and that he wanted to move. I had no other seats available and no non-revenue passengers (i.e. airline employees traveling for free or super reduced cost) whose seats I could switch for him. He was insistent and I had him come up front and talk to a customer service representative, who offered him a seat on the next flight if he did not want to sit in his seat. Very irritated, he returned to his seat and spent the whole taxi out leaning dramatically into the aisle and giving me huffy looks.
I am genuinely sorry he was uncomfortable, because I never want any of my passengers to be uncomfortable. However, I was extremely aware that this man's behavior was also making the man sitting next to him uncomfortable too. It was drawing attention and basically shaming him for being large and his shoulders spilling into the other seat. Upset Guy finally settled for sitting quietly and behaving in a mostly proper manner after I demonstrated that I would not be playing the game with him and would not further shame another passenger to make him feel better. (Though I went out of my way to smile and be extra helpful/polite to both of them on that flight and because there was a large break in the line and bit of privacy as the second man was disembarking, I stopped him briefly to apologize for the uncomfortable situation he'd been in and tell him straight out that he was not an inconvenience; he seemed just weary and used to it, which made me sad.)
It's my job to coddle inconvenienced passengers, but it's a very difficult line to walk to placate an "inconvenienced" passenger (which I have to-- and should!-- do) without further shaming or saying something that would indicate that the other person is an inconvenience.
Because the other man was not an inconvenience. His person, his size, his presence on our airplane-- none of those things are EVER an inconvenience. I want to make that VERY clear. Every passenger on board is valued and should be treated as the valuable person and customer he or she is. This goes for larger passengers, passengers with visible or invisible disabilities, passengers with special needs, cultural or dietary sensitivities, or specific accommodation requirements-- everyone, full stop.
For those of you who travel: What do you wish that your flight attendant knew. What could we do to make things better/more convenient/easier/less awkward/less embarrassing/more comfortable for you. I truly want to know. How can I better serve my passengers? Because sometimes I don't know the best way and I don't know what questions to ask or how the situation feels like to you.
Important-- this is not a "Airlines Suck!" complaint forum. I know that travel is hard and you may have been inconvenienced, but I'm not looking for things like "fewer delays, don't lose my bag, don't charge me for this or that, make the seats bigger." While those are all valid concerns, I have no control over that. We're aiming at constructive criticism here. What can I, as a flight attendant with the resources at my disposal (including the pilots and customer service agents/airport staff if we're at a gate), do to serve you/accommodate you better?
Anyone is welcome to comment, but I'd particularly love to hear from my friends who have special considerations. Again-- please let me know if you're comfortable having your post unscreened and please let your friends who might have good feedback know about this. I imagine this information could be usefully extrapolated to many other service industries as well.