"Can I get your name"..."No, I don't give my name"

[N346PS]

Honey, I've been around long enough to remember when all we had to do to get through the airport was show our ID...we didn't have to have our bags screened, go through security or anything. As I said in my post, my Piedmont wings had my name on them--first and last-- and those were replced due to security reasons.
As a matter of fact, when I first started in GSO, we used a card at the gate to walk across the ramp right past the aircraft to start our day....then the PSA incident happened and we all had to start going through security. Those were the good old days......

....then the PSA incident happened ? That incedence was caused by a terminated usAir employee.

 

[YVINTERN]

....then the PSA incident happened ? That incedence was caused by a terminated usAir employee.

Unfortunately on a PSA operated flight giving it the PSA appearance

 

[jerseyfinn]

Nice to see that a cabin on a US Air flight is now as impersonal, intemperate, & self-absorbed as most any other public place in America. I think that the OP is relating a matter of civility and attitude in the work place, and that it's not unreasonable for that female pax to ask a name of any personnel. Nor is it unreasonable for a FA to provide a first name only.

I don't disagree that a pax does not need to know complete personal details about the FAs, but a pin with a first name on it is not a violation of your rights and if you guys can't do that much, then I seriously doubt why you're in the service industry to begin with as it should be no surprise that other human beings will querey you in this sort of job. Neither do I buy into NYC's "bad day" paradigm. You're there to do your job . . . period. Nothing wrong if one is not bubbly & effervescent every day however. Social intercourse in one thing . . . saying F**k the customer or adopting that sort of attitude is another. :cold:

Glad that my cabin experiences have most usually been pleasant.

Barry

 

[WW1FlyingAce]

Years ago, when I began my f/a career w/Eastern, our wings were engraved with our names. Thankfully we are not "exposed" so openly these days. I've always been a private person and, especially in this day and age of terrorism, identity theft, passenger ignorance, etc., the last thing I want available to the traveling public is my FULL name. Lets not forget that an upset passenger may write a letter containing the only name he/she can remember and - having had this happen to me - it is a P-I-the-A to straighten out when supervisors refuse to give us the benefit of the doubt.

The FAA requires only that our ID be visable when entering secured areas. Once we board the aircraft we are not under any requirement or regulation to display our IDs. Not simply for that reason, but having an ID exposed - whether name-side or turned around - lends itself to the ID possibly falling off w/out one's knowledge or having the chain/lanyard catching on any number of things.

As mentioned in previous posts, Flight #, date, to/from, and a description of the offending f/a(s) are all that's needed for the company to research who is being written up.

As for the f/a being called out on this particular thread, I can empathize but don't condone. We've all had our grumpy days and for anyone to use the cliche' "leave your troubles at home" is not fully appreciative of human nature and the onslaught of trickle-down aggravation that affected the passenger long before he/she boarded the a/c.

 

[InternationalShannon]

My name is Shannon. Please fill out my "You Go Girl" and give it to my manager since I upgraded your Frosty before you asked. The winner of the drawing gets a better Frosty priority. That means I get the leftover Frosty in the machine after work before it melts and curdles, not after. SWEET!!

Are you mad because someone was able to sell your premium Frosty before you had a chance to get it for free? Are you calling me incompetent, just because you're all mad? What?? This restaurant is so ghetto? Oh. Well, I dont really care if you want to write a nastygram though, you can have my name all you want because guess what, Im going to put a code on your rcpt that says you had one too many Frosties and were yelling at me all psycho so that if your obnoxious self does actually find enough energy and the address to write a letter, my hiney is golden.

 

[sharktooth]

Nice to see that a cabin on a US Air flight is now as impersonal, intemperate, & self-absorbed as most any other public place in America.

In another time, far away, crew members could depend on their supervisors to at least give them a fair platform on which to either defend their actions or to learn from mistakes, as practiced by SWA.

Now, FA supervisors, with 18 to 24 months "experience", if any at all, enforce rules made by cubicle people, rules that, for the most part, defy all reason. Apparently taking the lead from Microsoft, every "project" is expected to be "beta tested" by employees and passengers alike, whether they want to or not. It would likely be not too bad if the "projects" were up to "beta" quality when released, but, some, like the computer changeover or the "call-sign" change were barely source code when released, costing the corporation millions to fine-tune (hack with an ax just to get it to work, at all).

I'd like to point out that in PHL, new offices for managers were completed in two weeks. Crew facilities, in the same general area, are nearing, what, two years, now and still not even close to being utilized. Yep, gotta have a clean, new area where supervisors can hide from those, um, masses.

I might also add that this is only after the employee transits employee parking, where waiting for an employee bus in a shelter/non-shelter for 40+ minutes is becoming the practice. It goes on, all the way to the airplane.

In the immortal words of Captain E. J. Smith, full speed ahead........

 

[ClueByFour]

You may rest assured, that between the company, the FAA, and the TSA...once those professionals are on the plane, they have been scrutinized as to their identity already, by all of the security measures this country has come up with to date. YOU, however, as a passenger, have NO such entitlements to identity...at all. PERIOD.

Let me explain something in very clear terms:

1. The company, the FAA, and certainly the TSA do not even come close to "scrutinizing" your identity with all the security measures this country has come up with to date. The pilots (and I'm discounting a threat vector from a CASSed pilot sitting on the jumpset) arguably have something more of a buffer, if for no other reason that the checks that are run in conjunction with the time in the system involved to get an ATP, typed, recurrent, etc are probably robust) have some degree of sanity in this regards. Flight attendants do not. A "10 year background check" is essentially an NACLC. It does not even come close to a deep background check and is not at all indicative of anything beyond staying under law enforcement's radar. Nada. This myth needs to be quashed every time someone tosses it around.

2. Much (if not most) of the drive behind the "not needing to show ID" is so that flight crew, notably flight attendants, can make foolish decisions and act in a crappy manner and then cite "security" as a reason not to reveal their identity. That's it. Nothing further. The flight deck crew, notably the Captain, is going to have to release his/her identity to take any action (call police, etc). FAs do not.

I might note that this behavior is literally unique to airlines. In no other service industry (and that's what it really is, in the back, anyway) can an employee get away with treating a customer like garbage and then refuse to provide their identity, ostensibly to make it difficult/impossible for the customer and the company to identify the individual.

 

[flybynite]

A ten year back ground check with finger prints as well as palms prints repeated every 5 years is nothing to sniff at.

And I have found that in no other industry except the airlines that customers think they can treat and talk to the employees like dogs and then turn around and demand personal identity info as if it's their god given, holier-than thou right.

Nada.

 

[Zarah]

It is not difficult for the company to identify the flight attendants on any flight. You really don't need a name for them to figure out who you are talking about with just a few keystrokes and phone call.

Myself, I won't give out another FAs name because it is not mine to give. I will give you my first name, but never would I show a passenger my ID - Never. My ID is only visible in secure areas. Good or Bad, letters land in the mail file of FAs with instructions to either provide a written response, call their supervisor, or set up a meeting with their supervisor. FAs get away with rude behavior because nobody calls them on it and/or the company doesn't pursue it. It is not because the passenger does not have a "name" to give the company.

FAs have their (suppose to have) first names on their serving aprons and the aprons are required to be worn during service.

Not related, but this conversation reminds me of when I was younger and me and my friends had "bar names" that we gave out to guys who we weren't interested in. Maybe FAs should start doing that, giving out flight names. I am a bit old to be a Bambi, but I kinda like the way Elphaba sounds!

LOL

 

[pilotn79]

Let me explain something in very clear terms:
Much (if not most) of the drive behind the "not needing to show ID" is so that flight crew, notably flight attendants, can make foolish decisions and act in a crappy manner and then cite "security" as a reason not to reveal their identity. That's it. Nothing further. The flight deck crew, notably the Captain, is going to have to release his/her identity to take any action (call police, etc). FAs do not.

Don't provoke them, you might see another full page ad in USA Today that run off paying passengers.

 

[nycbusdriver]

The flight deck crew, notably the Captain, is going to have to release his/her identity to take any action (call police, etc).

Not true. All the flight deck crew needs to do is identify the flight number and location if they need assistance. If the pilot needs the police at, say, gate C17 in PHL, all that has to be done is to call ground control and ask. Voila, police respond. No names needed to get a response.

 

[desertgal]

I do not know if the F/A's have other guidance but I doubt it. It MUST be worn in a specific way that is always visible WHILE ON DUTY. That obviously includes in flight. I always thought it was silly for F/A's to think that not wearing their Badge or wearing it with the back side facing out was going to somehow immunize them against complaints for bad behavior. Grow up!

F/As do, in fact, have other guidance regarding our IDs.
FA IDs are to be removed and hidden from pax view while onboard.
The reasons are not any of your business.
Count me as one who wears mine on a lanyard w/the back facing out.
Not that my reasons either are any of your business, but its only because I know myself and know that if I was constantly taking it off and putting it back on, I would most likely misplace it.
That you think I need to "Grow up!" makes me laugh.
Obviously you are much smarter and better than me.

I usually work FC and ALWAYS introduce myself when I take predeparture drink orders.
I am in the minority on that one.

Our names are on our aprons. They are required to be worn during service.
They are required to be the correct name.
We are no longer required to be introduced during the safety demo announcement.

All you need to identify a FA for company communication is the flight number and date.
If its unclear which FA you are referring to, all on the crew will recieve the letter, good or bad.

 

[sharktooth]

All the flight deck crew needs to do is identify the flight number and location if they need assistance.

You should try that in BCN. (Cops wandering aimlessly for 25 minutes looking for an airplane with "Cactus" painted on the side. Tempe morons that want the call sign to be "Cactus", no matter how many people die.)

 

[hulagirl]

You know, in any business, be it a major hardware chain, a department store, a restaurant, a theater, driving on a highway, or for that matter, my lawyers office, there are rude people everywhere in America today. I wonder if the person who demands a cheerleader on every flight realizes that his or her business is probably the same.
While I don't like a chilly co worker either, it is everywhere today.
Think about that before you get the fever for a write up!
I had a passenger ask my name because I was laughing with a coworker and the pax said were weren't "role models" . Honestly, you can't win these days, no matter what.
Maybe the guy had his "time of the month"....

 

[ClueByFour]

A ten year back ground check with finger prints as well as palms prints repeated every 5 years is nothing to sniff at.{/quote]

That tells me you have never seen or thought about a serious security clearance, or even a really in-depth private background check. Or, to put it this way: a 10-year "background" (and that's laughable, because it's not really a "background" check) where they do nothing but essentially run a NACLC on you. They don't examine it for threat vectors, there is no extensive interview, etc. It does nada to actually prevent a "bad person" from failing it, provided they've stayed out of prior trouble.

And I have found that in no other industry except the airlines that customers think they can treat and talk to the employees like dogs and then turn around and demand personal identity info as if it's their god given, holier-than thou right.

I don't know about treating employees like dogs (because I save my ire for Tempe). But in just about every service industry, there is a way to identify people to the company who are not providing what the customer deserves to be an adequate level of service--and that usually involves their name.