
How Airline Workers Learn to Deal with Passengers - gist
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/22/your-money/how-airline-workers-learn-to-deal-with-you.html
======
jseliger
I've spent a bunch of years teaching college students and suspect that part of
the problem is simple: 95% of people are fine, but that last 5% can occupy a
lot of time and mental energy. So there's a temptation to become somewhat
armored against that last 5%, which impacts one's interactions with the vast
majority of people, who are normal and reasonable.

A lot of public-facing professions seem to have this problem, including
emergency medicine doctors, cops, retail workers, and public school teachers.
Because that bottom 5% is so noisy and time-consuming, a kind of misanthropy
can set in, as one begins to think the bottom represents the whole, even if
intellectually one knows it does not.

EDIT: I wrote more about related issues here:
[https://jakeseliger.com/2014/12/22/how-do-you-know-when-
your...](https://jakeseliger.com/2014/12/22/how-do-you-know-when-youre-being-
insensitive-how-do-you-know-when-youre-funny)

~~~
Merad
What infuriates me is how much our society coddles and encourages that 5%. I
used to work in customer support (call centers), and I couldn't tell you how
many times I saw the following scenario play out:

* Customer calls in angry about a legitimate problem they're having, but their anger is 2-3 orders of magnitude larger than the actual severity of the problem.

* Customer attacks and berates the CSR, often to the point of tears, before demanding a supervisor.

* Supervisor takes over the call, apologizes profusely for the "incompetent" employee, showers the customer with account credits and so on, and maybe (but often not) fixes the actual problem

I'm not necessarily blaming the supervisor. If they pretended to have a
backbone and the customer managed to escalate beyond them, then they'd be the
one thrown under the bus while their manager verbally fellates the customer.
It's very clear at basically all levels: the employee is 100% expendable,
while _any_ risk of the losing the customer's business is unacceptable.

~~~
otterley
What if the front-line CSR were empowered to solve the problem in the first
place? Then no one would have to be "thrown under the bus."

~~~
deadbunny
"solve the problems" varies wildly from call to call, one could be that they
haven't paid their bill and got cut off (but it's your fault obviously), it
could be a physical fault with something that requires a return or engineer
site visit, or any one of a million things.

99% of the time the person answering the call is there as a buffer, cheap
fodder infront of the more expensive people who can do things. You either have
a very expensive resource manning the phones and working inefficiently with
long wait times or you have the meat shield filtering for you.

I've been on both sides of this (meat shield and technical fixer) it's driven
by about 30 layers of management so it's always a mess, the alternative is the
Google/Valve model where there is zero support.

(Yes i know support is good on paid Google products. It's not on the free
ones)

------
cm2187
Like many I had my fair share of bad experiences with airlines staff, most
often with British airways, who I find tend to behave more like closet prison
wards than other companies.

It reminds me that day when I was sitting in an emergency exit row, and the
seat next to mine was empty. The stewardess got upset that I left my jumper on
that empty seat, arguing that it was blocking the exit (I didn't see how it
could) and that it had to be placed in the overhead bin. Instead I slipped the
jumper on, which she perceived as a challenge to her authority and threatened
to take me off the plane...

~~~
empath75
My worst united experience was when they wouldn't let me take on my carry on,
which had an iPad in it because I had planned to take it out on the flight.
They checked it and I watched from the plane as the flight crew picked the
thing up and slam it down. The attendants at the gate were totally
unsympathetic when I showed them my destroyed iPad, at first denying that it
was possible that the flight crew would abuse luggage that way, and then
blaming me for not properly packing it. I wasn't even looking for money, just
some kind of apology would have been nice.

~~~
praptak
You might watch "United Breaks Guitars" as a consolation which is an internet-
famous song that describes a similar experience.

------
csours
Slightly OT, but I've become convinced that the real purpose of airport
security checkpoints is to put travellers in a compliant frame of mind.

Everything about the checkpoint screams "WE CONTROL YOU", from the forced
removal of clothing (shoes, hats, jackets) to the submission pose in the
scanner (hands up over the head).

I have mixed feelings about this: one the one hand it is quite humiliating,
but on the other, if it makes a potentially difficult traveller more humble
and easier to deal with it's probably worth it.

~~~
komali2
You can opt for the pat down and get a free ball fondling instead if you're
more of a dom

~~~
cryptarch
I actually get it every time, twice per return flight. Maybe I should shave
better before flying, or not wear high-quality cotton jeans with metal
buttons.

One day I might stop flying altogether.

------
kartan
I find that this article, even that it is interesting, it tries to shift blame
again.

United wanted four seats for their airline staff who had to cover an unstaffed
flight at another location. And then decided to remove some of their
customers, that had paid for the fly.

To add Dr. David Dao case to the others is a misclassification of the
situation, and it assumes as true the narrative of the company that "they
didn't have any other option than to remove this passenger".

The article is interesting anyway, and worth the read.

> Not everyone wants a free drink for the trouble, however, and airlines have
> typically had little else to offer angry people in the moment.

Sometimes United Airlines is not even able to act after the flight:
[http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2016/08/what_...](http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2016/08/what_happens_when_sexual_assault_happens_on_a_long_haul_flight.html)

~~~
cryptarch
The issue was basically management deciding that "getting the crew to their
destination cheaply" was more important than "honouring their contract with
their customers".

I hope they go belly-up, as a company that is.

Edit: actually, I don't know how much worse they are compared to their
competitors. I don't really care, I strongly dislike flying because of the
authoritarian border checks anyway.

~~~
sdoering
Not only border checks. I have to fly about once per month. Just a German
domestic flight. It is bad enough.

But on the other hand - I really love to surprise the airport staff with
exceptional friendliness and respectfulness. The look on their faces when
encountering a friendly human being cannot be described.

~~~
cryptarch
Ah, I'm Dutch so flying within the country isn't really a thing. The longest
train ride possible is about 3,5 hours and goes every hour.

I think that suprises most people :)

Hard to do on a Ryanair/Easyjet flight though, where your legs slowly merge
with the chair in front of you...

------
Animats
Today's tight seating densities have pushed up passenger annoyance levels.

Flying used to be far less complicated. In the 1970s, you could park next to
the terminal at SJC, and pay about $15 in cash to fly to LA. The cash register
receipt was your boarding pass. There was a plane every hour. No reservations.
Every hour, a 727 would roll up outside the waiting area, the built-in rear
staircase would lower, and people would get off and on.

Also, here's the PSA stewardess class graduation picture of June 1974.[1]

[1]
[http://www.jetpsa.com/stewgrad/stewgrad/7406.jpg](http://www.jetpsa.com/stewgrad/stewgrad/7406.jpg)

------
resoluteteeth
"I asked several airlines to enroll me in any deescalation classes they had.
None responded, so I signed up for a course in middle English literature at my
local community college. Here is what I learned about being a flight attendant
from Chaucer."

~~~
losteverything
Life is short. Art long. Opportunity is fleeting. Expierience treacherous.
Judgement difficult.

Get out!

------
trhway
not sure what is up with the opening picture - a guy with a service dog and
supposedly allergic to dogs woman next to him. This is exactly the job of the
flight attendant is to arrange another seat for either of them to put a
distance between the dog and the allergic woman. Yet it seems that flight
attendants aren't doing their job. One can see how such a situation has the
potential to develop on its own in the direction when the flight attendants
would have to use their "dealing with you" skills.

It is very noticeable trend everywhere - instead of learning the mindset of
how to help people they serve, private and public organizations' employees are
trained to "deal with" the subjects of their authority.

------
losteverything
The author admits "No airline would sign me up" for the class... So it not
really what the airlines teach directly.

Anyway, what I don't understand is why dont the airlines simply inform an
unruly passenger that (we) Will prevent you from flying our airlines for xxx
months, starting after this flight. It is a safety issue. If you comply with
our direction then you can continue to fly with us.

So the lady that brought her own drink will be denied future boarding or
purchasing.

I work in a craft which I am the final and only decider of my safety. And if
some jerk screws with me I refuse service.

~~~
Zak
_So the lady that brought her own drink will be denied future boarding or
purchasing._

They probably don't want to lose her business, nor should they: she's not
likely to be a safety problem or cost the airline money in the future. The
rule against her drinking her own wine is fairly arbitrary, and imposed by the
FAA, not the airline.

Airlines do ban passengers who are disruptive enough, or who create a safety
hazard.

~~~
losteverything
True. That was an example (not a good one) from the article. But the threat
would work. Just ban a few, get the word out and people will comply.

Just like drunk driving. Before you lost your license 1st offence, people were
not as careful. Now, one drink can suspend your license with potentially dire
consequences (not being able to drive to work, e.g.)

Flying is a privilege not a right.

~~~
Zak
Airlines already do ban people, and have them dragged off planes by police
when they behave badly enough (and sometimes when they want to stay in the
seat they paid for). You seem to be suggesting that bad behavior on planes is
prevalent enough to warrant a crackdown.

I fly several times a year, and that does not match my experience. If I've
stated your position correctly, why do you believe a crackdown is a good idea?

~~~
losteverything
No. I was referring to a verbal strategy that might work.

Deny future service.

Instead of arguing or physical action, one path that imo would be effective is
denial of service.

It isn't the act of denying the person it is the threat (real) to do so that
is one a verbal arsenal.

Not necessarily only for airlines but other situations in general.

The goal is to change a person's action or behavior AT THAT MOMENT. By stating
flat out their future service with your company is in jeopardy and it won't be
tolerated IN THE FUTURE.

Use the pregnant pause after stating the consequences. Then ask a few minutes
later.

------
makecheck
Authority should be handled carefully so that it is still respected when it
really matters.

On planes, there _are_ times when a flight attendant’s commands are critical
to follow. It is _extremely stupid_ for airlines to use blunt authority for
every little thing, because passengers will start to see every request as
another abuse of power instead of something with a good reason behind it.

And frankly, we’re already there. How many stupid little rules are there?
Which rules really matter, and which ones were just dreamed up to exert more
authority? What about rules that can’t really be rooted in safety because they
would rely on perfect enforcement that doesn’t exist today?

There should be just a handful of “real rules”. The language should be cleaned
up, too (no long-winded sentences full of unnecessarily-complex words that
probably confuse foreign speakers the most; use Grade 8 language, get to the
point). Abolish pretty much every TSA rule and about half of the “safety
lecture” (we understand seat belts, thanks). This just isn’t hard.

------
rpmcmurphy
Remember the saying, "Hell is other people".

------
sjg007
Americans and maybe most of the world are very angry. Nickel and dimed and
overworked. How about government guaranteed vacations! You see it on the
roads, the supermarket, the shops, and in the skies. It's me, me, me, and at
some level why not me. We seem to have lost our optimism.

------
Steeeve
The perspective of customers at the airline executive level is skewed. They
see customers as a danger, not as a valuable part of the ecosystem. Whether
you treat people kindly or you treat them like cattle, there will still be the
same set of problems and problem customers.

Disney has it right. Their property is considered a stage, and their
customer's experience is part of the value they deliver. It works.

Flying once was an incredible experience. As a child, you could expect special
treatment, a coloring book, a visit to the cabin, and a special smile from the
flight attendants. As an adult, you could ask for a pillow or a blanket and
get it with a smile - anything to make you comfortable. All the while, you got
to experience the magical world of flying above and in the clouds. Pilots
would announce sights as you flew by them.

Now, you get treated with suspicion before you arrive. Cameras and security
guards abound. Anybody who needs any sort of special treatment - be it a need
for a reprinted ticket, a schedule change, or heaven forbid you have more
luggage than you expected - is subjected to long lines, additional fees, and
interaction with people who are unwilling to offer more assistance than is
required to provide you with a 15 second verbal response. You are expected to
provide the airline with 1-2 hours of your time ahead of flight so you can get
through their lines while smiling and being friendly lest you be cordoned off,
frisked, and reviewed for having a dangerous attitude. You are expected to
submit to x-ray scans, remove your shoes, unpack your electronics, have the
contents of your travel belongings reviewed, and explain anything and
everything abnormal.

Why? Because 15 years ago the Vice President did a fantastic job of making
every little old lady from clearwater to phoenix afraid that her fellow
passengers were carrying bombs in their underwear, and this charade of a
security check would stop them.

We went from the friendly skies, to a strained relationship, to fearful
flying, to what we have today, which is bat-shit crazy.

What happened to bringing the kids to the airport to watch Daddy's plane take
off and land? The kids are a security risk, so they are sectioned off before
the security checkpoint where they can buy a $12 coffee for refreshment and
that's about it.

How can FedEx tell me where my package is taking it from depot to depot all
around the world, but the airline can't? They tag and scan everything, but
still manage to completely lose things more regularly than an Alzheimer's
patient. If you've been lucky enough to experience it, you know that there's a
number for you to call that may or may not be manned during it's limited
hours, their is one to two people working it, and they never have any idea
about anything. No idea how you submit an insurance claim. No idea where your
luggage was last seen. No idea when they will learn anything. No idea who you
can call to complain. But if you show up at the terminal, you can meet the guy
and look through his office and find your own damn luggage that was less than
10 feet away from him the whole time.

The airlines train their employees to make you compliant with their rules.
They need to train their employees to help their customers get from point a to
point b as quickly and as comfortably as possible. Help people through the
system. Don't make it harder for them.

People today travel in spite of the airlines. It's a necessary part of their
vacation experience. They are losing money because of this perception, and so
are many other people.

~~~
meursault334
You may want to consider always flying the same airline, getting that airlines
credit card and using it for everything, and purchasing a lounge membership to
that airline.

If you do this and fly enough your experience will be much better. You can
arrive to the airport later because you can use the elite/first class line at
security. If you need to check bags there will be a priority line and finally
if you need to change something you will have access to a priority phone line
that is answered in a timely manner and the customer service agents in the
lounges will help you quickly and effectively. Also, many change fees will be
eliminated and you will occasionally be upgraded to first class.

Edit: they will also put special tags on your luggage that will cause it to
come out first and get lost less.

Edit2: They will also treat you better on the plane. They have a list of where
everyone with status is sitting and they make an effort to be nice. It helps
if you are also nice to them.

~~~
Steeeve
While it's true that you can buy your way to decent customer service, I'm of
the opinion that airlines should treat all customers as if they will one day
have a $50k travel budget.

