United Airlines' Stewardesses Need Training in Customer Service

So, you asked for cranberry juice and got it. And instead of a "full
can" you were offered a second glass.

I'm afraid I don't see what your problem could be here, well, actually
I do, but it's not with the airlines.

Jessica, there are neat little symbols on your keyboard that make it
unnecessary to keep typing quote & unquote. Ready? Here they are:

"

Want to see them again?

"

You're welcome. ;)

I wish my life were so fun that I could complain about these things.
Unfortunately, I have quote bigger fish to fry unquote than a can of
cranberry juice.


PS, the quote, unquote thing drove me batty. I would like an apology.
Now would be nice...

Was the plane you got a full can on completely full of passengers?

Why, you may ask, because my son (who was 6 at the time.) asked about
the whole can, cup thing thing while on the final leg of our flight on
British Airways, (we flew from Frankfort, Germany, to London, England,
and then onto the US) on the DE to UK flight he got a full can of
juice and then on the UK to US only got a cup and he respectfully
waited until they were done serving (we were in the next the last row
of seats) and asked.

He was asked if he could see any empty seats on the plane that took us
to the UK, he said, "yes, a lot" and the FLIGHT ATTENDANT told him
that sometimes on flights with many empty seats they would give the
person a can as an extra gift, but when the plane had more people on
them that they had a certain amount that they could give out so that
people sitting in the seats where we were would be able to get the
same amount if we wanted.

My 6 year old understood. Why can't the OP? (or others whom seem to
think that if something is given one time it must be given all of the
time.)

the only thing i can say beyond what others have said is, are you
living the 1950's? They haven't been called stewardresses since
forever. The correct term is flight attendant.

I work in retail and have worked with the public for 13 years. I've
always been a stickler for the rules and when given the rules I follow
them. This becomes a problem when other employees don't follow the
rules. Then I look like the bad guy for doing my job. Yes they are
silly rules sometimes to an outsider but I assure you they are in
place for a reason.

You purchased a ticket to safely fly from one location to another. It
appears from your letter the airline fulfilled its obligation. A
beverage is an added bonus which is a courtesy, not something the
airline owes you.

Okay! Pop quiz everybody! Which is better customer service:

A. Giving the passengers a glass of cranberry juice and landing the
plane safely, or

B. Giving the passengers the entire can of cranberry juice, and
nosediving the plane into a mountain?

I think I know which answer most people will choose. If not getting
the entire can of cranberry juice is the worst thing that ever happens
to you on a plane, then consider yourself lucky.

Quote, you are obnoxious, unquote.

By any chance was this dictated onto a tape and meant to be typed from
it?

I understand that air travel these days is truly stressful for
everyone Period Honestly Comma to complain over a cup versus can Comma
and a reactive remark from a persnickity Open Paretnthesis sp Period
Question Mark Period Close Parenthesis passenger who just had to
Quote go there End Quote Period with the snide remark within earshot
of the Flight Attendant Period Seems a wee bit over the top Period

They don't call them stewardesses any longer. They are called flight
attendants because like oh, I don't know.....about 30+ years ago they
let boys do the same job and they didn't think calling them a
stewardess would attract enough boys into the job. Or something like
that.

And.....in this day and age, you're lucky you got anything on the
flight that they didn't charge you extra for. Things will vary from
one flight to another. And with EVERYONE flying these days, it's
really a thankless job, so being unfriendly is really more the norm
now than ever and although not usually acceptable, it's just the way
it is. It's a really sh*%^&*&(ty job to say the least. But......if
the plane is in any type of danger, then you'll be glad they're there.
They are mostly trained for safety and to evacuate a plane. Pushing
a cart around and handing out treats is just a small thing they do in
between.

If you're bugged by it, stop flying United. They are notoriously the
worst Airline out there. They were great, oh like 25 years
ago.....but no longer. When you fly it's like taking a bus.
Sometimes the driver and passengers are nice. Sometimes they're not.
It's just the way the world is today. You're gonna have to deal with
it. Try taking your own beverage next time. Oops.....I'm sorry, they
won't let you do that any longer. Try a flast. That might work.

They'll give you the whole can. Jeez. Then you'll really have to use
the restroom.

Just a few facts about pouring a glassful vs. giving the can..
1. It elimnates waste... throwing out cans that aren't empty.
2. It enhances customer service because the flight attendants are
visible and available offering seconds.
3. The more cans that they have to board, the more weight. The more
weight, the more fuel used. The more fuel used, the higher the ticket
price. I think you get the idea.

United's Flight Attendants are not the only ones that need lessons in
customer service. Everyone that works at United is in need of
training. Because of United I was stranded at Dulles only to be called
a lier and to have to listen to the customer service people complain
that I was cutting into their partying time. When I asked for a
supervisor I was told the supervisor did not want to talk to me.
After working my way up the food chain I finally got someone that
admitted I was right and was given a room for the night. The next day
I was told by a United employee that they really didn't care if I ever
flew on their airline again. So I am going to do what they suggested
and not fly with them.

Jessica-While I do agree your sarcasm was unwarranted and even rude, I
do agree with you that it cannot possibly be too much of a cost issue
to receive an entire can of juice. I fly regularly (coinseidently also
out of Dulles as I live here in Virginia)and I have to say I too
expect at the very least a can of soda when I pay over $100 per way
for a flight. I do not think you were being unreasonable in your
request. Furthermore, if you received the entire can in error on the
previous flight, I say that is their fault and they should accomodate
you for the duration of your flight as you were on the same airline
carrier. Again, a can of juice will not equate to a bankruptcy. Now, I
think you could have waited another minute to have access to the
restroom and your comments were out of line. I hope next time you're a
little more patient with the crew.

Next time just say, "no ice please" and you will get the entire can.
Funny it works that way, but it does.

CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP - OMG AA, you are my hero!

They do make this little symbol on your keypad that looks like this: "
so that you don't have to keep typing "quote"/"unquote."

In other words, when the stewardesses, is helping you you want
professional service such as getting the whole can of cranberry juice,
yet when the stewardesses is serving another customer you expect her
to act in an unprofessional way and stop serving the customer so that
you can use the washroom. Atleast she apologised to you for making
you wait. That is professional. However the customer she was helping
while you wanted to use the washroom was also a paying customer. She
had as much right to professional service as you do.

One more thing, next time you want to quote something you should use '
or ". It will make the letter look more professional than just
putting quote and unquote.

What a sense of entitlement! I am so sick of reading letters that are
written by people who feel that they are better than those people who
are serving them. So what, you single handedly put food in the flight
attendant's stomach, give her a roof over her head and clothes to
wear?

The fact that she was most likely following the rules handed down to
her in order to "cut costs" actually makes me quite happy. Maybe next
time I go to look for a flight, prices won't have gone up because of a
simple tweek in the way they do things. There have been plenty of
times I've found myself having to chug my diet coke on shorter flights
in order to finish it. Maybe the airlines way of thinking is that if
they refill glasses rather than hand out full cans, there won't be so
much wasted drink. Makes sense to me. You don't see restaurants
setting out 2 litters of Pepsi, they fill your glass as it empties.
As for the bathroom incident, if the tray was so close to the end of
the aisle, why didn't you just wait until the flight attendants had
put the tray back in it's original location? It sure would have been
easier to get by that way. That's what I've always done to ensure
that I'm not getting in anyone's way.

Like the others, I agree that you're nitpicking about things that have
no relevancy for a complaint Jessica.

I hope I never sit next to you on a flight.

Ha! Sounds like you got busted being snotty with another passenger,
and weren't quite clever enough to remember to do it out of earshot of
the person about whom you were being snotty.

Have you ever tried to move one of those beverage carts? They are
heavy and unwieldly. Would it have killed you to wait just a minute or
two?

Probably.

How many other customers got upset because they wanted more to drink
than the policy was given to them? How many other customers decided
that they couldn't possibly wait for the beverage cart to come back up
the aisle before going to the bathroom? How many other customers went
around complaining to other people *in front of the flight attendants*
about how unpleasant they (allegedly) were?

I suspect that the TED flight attendants will not all be on the
unemployment line if you go off to make ridiculous demands on another
airline. I also suspect that they will not be all that torn up that
their company has lost a customer who makes their jobs that much more
difficult.

In fact, there is at least one person thinking, "Maybe TED is the
airline for me! They don't seem to be encouraging disruptive
passengers to be even more disruptive" as often happens when service
providers get too caught up in the "the customer is always right"
mindset.

And as others have said, you probably want to drop the "stewardess"
bit, for exactly the same reason that you wouldn't have been too
thrilled if someone had come into your business, whatever it was, and
said to you, "Hey, sweetie, go get me a coffee." Being respectful of
people whose difficult job you're busy making more difficult really
won't kill ya.

First of all, to call a female flight attendant a "stewardess" is
insulting.

Second, the term is not "unquote", it's "end quote".

Third, your flight from Hartford to Washington was on a United
mainline, not a TED flight, so for all you know, the flight attendent
on the TED flight was telling you the truth about policy. Chances are
it wasn't what you wanted to hear, so you got angry.

Fourth, there is a difference in volume in 2 cups of juice that
include ice and a full can of juice.

Fifth, the FA'a were just fine in asking you to wait a minute to get
to the lavatory. Have you ever had to move one of those beverage
carts? They can weigh up to 75 pounds. If it was just a matter of a
minute, I'm sure you could have held it, unless you are a 2 year old
or are incontenent.

Sixth, your comment to the other passenger within hearing distance of
the FA's, who are there for safety reasons not to be a waiter in the
sky, was wrong on your part. Of course they replied "sarcastically".
I would have also. Receive as ye shall give.

Seventh, as a retired business woman, you should know that while
without customers there is no business, there are just some customers
that cannot be pleased, no matter how hard you try. Personally,
Jessica, you sound like one of those people, and I can tell you that
if you were a customer of my business, I have a feeling that I would
have to "fire" you as a customer, because you would take up more time
than you're worth financially.

First of all, they are Flight Attendants, not stewardesses. Secondly,
I really think you are nitpicking. I've always gotten a glass of
juice or soda and not the entire can. This is not just on TED but
every airline. There is only so much they can store on those short
hop planes and this allows them to make sure they have enough for
everyone. It was great you got it on your first flight but it's not
the norm.

You instigated the second encounter with your service with a smile
remark. Why couldn't you wait a minute? You already had your
beverage but the passengers they were serving did not. If you were
one of those passengers, you'd be complaining that you had to wait.

If this little encounter is the worst thing that happened to you while
flying, I suggest you count your blessings. Flying today is not a
pleasure but rather something to be endured. Flight delays,
cancellations, rude employees seem to be the norm. One reason I can
think of is that everyone wants cheap fares but no one wants to put up
with the lack of service that comes with them.