It is the season in which we vote on the Freddie Awards. If you don't know what the Freddie Awards are, you are no road warrior. The Freddie Awards are basically a chance for travelers to vote for our favorite travel programs.
I am not sure that this is why the pilot for my first flight of the day actually took the time today to walk through the aisles of the plane (yes, the pilot) to thank all of us row by row. I am also not sure that this is the reason that the front desk of my hotel called me just to check on me after I arrived. But I am pretty effing sure that it is NOT the reason that the flight attendant on my second flight of the day acted like a totally condescending, rude, and disrespectful jerk.
A fuzzy overcoat was the initial victim of her disdain. "Whose is this?! Who put this here?" she barked as she yanked the coat from the overhead bin. "And who put this purse here?! Ya'll have been REALLY bad..."
I am usually the first to become irritated with the lack of space in overhead bins as the result of passengers who don't follow proper etiquette, like using both the space above and below for belongings, and putting your jacket in last, only if others around you have placed their bags. Now this airline employee was shrieking out all those thoughts I had always had kept to myself...so why was I so offended at her outburst?
I had just been seated and was about to forgive the airline in my mind for not getting an upgrade this flight (thanks to the friendly PR pilot from the last flight). I think that because my opinion of this company had flown so high (ha, get it?) in the past hour, this flight attendant affected me that much more. Her griping in the aisles was bad enough to leave a bad taste, when...
"WELL, IT LOOKS LIKE WE'VE GOT THE PLANE LOADED WITH ABOUT 5 MINUTES TO SPARE. THANK YOU. A FEW OF YOU WERE BAD, YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE, ROW 13, BUT WE ARE READY." Yes, she announced that over the intercom. I wasn't even in row 13 and I was embarrassed! Well, I was in 12 -but was still wearing my overcoat (not the perpetrator!).
I realized over the course of the next hour that Kathy Griffin (my code name for this flight attendant) was doing what so many of us are guilty of: assuming that her casual, day-to-day persona was appropriate for customers. I know I do this at times - I become frustrated and start to slip. I have to remember that my "Californian" (read: sarcastic) sense of humor is not always appreciated! Not everyone will agree with me and/or understand my references to obscure scientific/technical/literary sources!
Of course, I had just been reading one of those Denny Hatch articles (which, generally, are quite good) about delighting the customer, so I admit that I was a bit sensitive. This experience, though, showed me how quickly the simple mistake of becoming too complacent with the stability of your job can cause a rift between a customer and a company. Though the humble gratitude that the first pilot had shown us was a shining beacon in the dark night that is customer service, this condescending staffer plunged us back into the abyss even deeper than where we started. I could hear mumblings around me of "THIS is why I don't fly this airline."
This is a daily battle that we that meet customers must continue to fight. I do not employ myself, but I must remember that my employer's customers associate me with their feelings about my employer. This is something that "Kathy Griffin" needs to realize - especially during Freddie Awards season.