When I was young, I wanted to be an air hostess. I saw the glamour in the make-up and uniforms, the extensive travel opportunities and a nice long term career opportunity for a woman.
In the past decade I have averaged 20 flights per year both domestic and international. That’s a decent amount of time spend above clouds watching the glamour, and establishing that it’s much harder than I thought; smiling while serving a glass of bubbles at 30,000 feet suddenly did not look like fun. Throw in a drunken arrogant passenger, and it all turns into a nightmare.
On a recent trip from Sydney to Melbourne, I was in awe of the male cabin steward who had been dished up multiple grumpy customers in one flight.
After making his well articulated announcements (with a smile), he walked up the aisle and noticed me wedged between two enormous men. I’m not a frail figure myself, but in between these guys, I was looking deathly anorexic. After take off, he came to my seat and offered me a place in business class which was empty. I’m not sure if that’s allowed, so I wont mention his name, or the airline for fear he may join the unemployment queue with me. Lets call him Jim.
On arrival into Melbourne, two business men reached up for their cabin luggage which were two huge orange boxes (Hermes no less) that had filled up the entire space. Jim assisted them in getting the boxes down, much to the angst of another male passenger.
Once most of the passengers alighted, the man proceeded to vent to Jim about the airline allowing people with excess cabin baggage on board without checking. He went into a tirade (I remained on board for the show) and was apoplectic with rage after a few minutes. His face was red and he was panting, I think there may have also been steam coming off his head. He started making threats of never flying that airline again and was going to use every form of media (social and otherwise) to talk badly about the airline.
Jim handled this beautifully. His body language was open, he looked the man in the face and used nods to acknowledge the mans complaints.
He allowed the man to vent. He didn’t try to butt in or stop in (there would be no use), and after the man had provided a suitable pause Jim spoke in calm tones.
Jim firstly acknowledged the mans concerns and thanked him for expressing them. Without being condescending, he then went on to explain the airline guidelines for cabin baggage and that the boxes were indeed the right size. He confirmed the boxes had been checked by airline.
He apologised to the man that as a passenger his experience was not favourable, it was obvious that Jim was very good at his job and was very loyal to the airline. I was thrilled that he didn’t fall into the trap of agreeing with the complaining customer.
Being an air hostess is “in your face” customer service in difficult conditions for a lengthy shift. Thankfully I reconsidered my career choice before experiencing this first hand.
In the past decade I have averaged 20 flights per year both domestic and international. That’s a decent amount of time spend above clouds watching the glamour, and establishing that it’s much harder than I thought; smiling while serving a glass of bubbles at 30,000 feet suddenly did not look like fun. Throw in a drunken arrogant passenger, and it all turns into a nightmare.
On a recent trip from Sydney to Melbourne, I was in awe of the male cabin steward who had been dished up multiple grumpy customers in one flight.
After making his well articulated announcements (with a smile), he walked up the aisle and noticed me wedged between two enormous men. I’m not a frail figure myself, but in between these guys, I was looking deathly anorexic. After take off, he came to my seat and offered me a place in business class which was empty. I’m not sure if that’s allowed, so I wont mention his name, or the airline for fear he may join the unemployment queue with me. Lets call him Jim.
On arrival into Melbourne, two business men reached up for their cabin luggage which were two huge orange boxes (Hermes no less) that had filled up the entire space. Jim assisted them in getting the boxes down, much to the angst of another male passenger.
Once most of the passengers alighted, the man proceeded to vent to Jim about the airline allowing people with excess cabin baggage on board without checking. He went into a tirade (I remained on board for the show) and was apoplectic with rage after a few minutes. His face was red and he was panting, I think there may have also been steam coming off his head. He started making threats of never flying that airline again and was going to use every form of media (social and otherwise) to talk badly about the airline.
Jim handled this beautifully. His body language was open, he looked the man in the face and used nods to acknowledge the mans complaints.
He allowed the man to vent. He didn’t try to butt in or stop in (there would be no use), and after the man had provided a suitable pause Jim spoke in calm tones.
Jim firstly acknowledged the mans concerns and thanked him for expressing them. Without being condescending, he then went on to explain the airline guidelines for cabin baggage and that the boxes were indeed the right size. He confirmed the boxes had been checked by airline.
He apologised to the man that as a passenger his experience was not favourable, it was obvious that Jim was very good at his job and was very loyal to the airline. I was thrilled that he didn’t fall into the trap of agreeing with the complaining customer.
Being an air hostess is “in your face” customer service in difficult conditions for a lengthy shift. Thankfully I reconsidered my career choice before experiencing this first hand.
