Cashless Test on Select Flights

[nbmcg01]

I thought Ms. McGuire said there is no "them" and "us." Funny how she likes to wave the differences between the two work groups like a flag when it suits her.

When we were "LLC", but under AA's reporting requirements, the "we" was valid. All monies collected were help separate but the accountibility was very strict. It was during the learning process and this was not meant to wave a red flag for you StraightTaalk but to define the benefits of cashless working. Before we were acquired, the TWA agents met our flights and we handed the liq. envelope to them for deposit. The signed copy was kept for 90 days. No looking for safes or taking money on layovers. The one exception was ANC (NWA serviced our flights) and we did round trip the envelopes. There was a time that AA "cherry picked" our contract and we lost the best of ours to mirror selected AA work rules. Staffing being the first to change. 6+1(Purser) on a full 757 to ANC, 7+1 on any 757 used for International. 4+1 standard for any 757. Short staffing was paid at an additional flight hour per hour which could be very costly on a JFK- SJU or STL-ANC or even STL-LAX,SEA, or SFO. Those flights rarely went out short f/as. This is why the LLC 757s have(had) 8 jumpseats.

Those furloughed (with the exception of the first that "fell" off the seniority list) were furloughed as AA f/as. That is where the "we" becomes a collective "us". I'm trying to promote unity for those returning and from all reports (from both sides)(and let me qualify that, furloughed and active) that is happening. Sorry to disappoint you.

 

[kirkpatrick]

TWA F/A's were good at following all the rules, I will give you that.

Call it the paranoia of the uninitiated. I quickly learned to turn it in at a place that was convenient for me and the crew. That usually meant when passing through STL. I admit it pissed me off when someone would keep the whole crew waiting while looking for some secret door at midnight in SNA or some other place.

I'm depending on you guys to teach me which rules to bend and how far.

MK

 

[nbmcg01]

Call it the paranoia of the uninitiated. I quickly learned to turn it in at a place that was convenient for me and the crew. That usually meant when passing through STL. I admit it pissed me off when someone would keep the whole crew waiting while looking for some secret door at midnight in SNA or some other place.

I'm depending on you guys to teach me which rules to bend and how far.

MK

Isn't that the truth! lol I could never figure out why they didn't have a drop box on each concourse if they were so worried about the money. With TWA, I always said I'd be concerned when they provided me with an envelope that would seal properly. Cashless for f/as should be a mantra.

Mark, remember the "legend" of the headset shaped pool and the Mercedes license plate, HDSETS? Those were the old days...

 

[AC AA LA FA]

Cashless still sucking out of SFO..if anyone still cares..
I would say its at about 30/70 yay to nay...

Last trip-

757 SFO-ORD...no operative OSRs.............

That makes 3 for 3 this month so far..
will try again on Monday..............................................

 

[nbmcg01]

Cashless still sucking out of SFO..if anyone still cares..
I would say its at about 30/70 yay to nay...

Last trip-

757 SFO-ORD...no operative OSRs.............

That makes 3 for 3 this month so far..
will try again on Monday..............................................

Tell them true cashless means no charge...Absorb it into ticket cost.

 

[Maark767]

Yeeeaaaahhhhhhh, for the most part AA F/A's only make deposits in their base or maybe on sit time. Most likely at the end of a sequence. TWA F/A's were good at following all the rules, I will give you that.

So... who cares where the deposits are made... sit time.. home base ??? where ever...

 

[jimntx]

Well, I guess the cashless test wasn't the unmitigated disaster that has been reported here, after all. Got this message this morning...

TO: ALL FLIGHT ATTENDANTS
RE: EXTENSION OF CASHLESS TEST FROM SFO
.
BASED ON POSITIVE RESULTS OF THE CASHLESS IN-FLIGHT SALES
TEST ON ALL FLIGHTS DEPARTING SFO, THE TEST PERIOD HAS BEEN
EXTENDED.
.
THE TEST WILL NOW CONTINUE THROUGH OCTOBER. NO CASH SHOULD BE
ACCEPTED ON ANY FLIGHT DEPARTING SFO DURING THE EXTENSION.
.
FEEDBACK FROM MANY FLIGHT ATTENDANTS HAS BEEN POSITIVE.
MANY OF THOSE WHO FLEW A TEST FLIGHT IN SEPTEMBER CITED THAT
IT IS EASIER TO NOT HAVE TO WORK WITH CASH.
.
WE WILL CONTINUE TO ANALYZE SALES DATA AND THANK YOU VERY
MUCH FOR YOUR EFFORTS ON THESE FLIGHTS TO DATE.

 

[jersey777]

Well, I guess the cashless test wasn't the unmitigated disaster that has been reported here, after all. Got this message this morning...

TO: ALL FLIGHT ATTENDANTS
RE: EXTENSION OF CASHLESS TEST FROM SFO
.
BASED ON POSITIVE RESULTS OF THE CASHLESS IN-FLIGHT SALES
TEST ON ALL FLIGHTS DEPARTING SFO, THE TEST PERIOD HAS BEEN
EXTENDED.
.
THE TEST WILL NOW CONTINUE THROUGH OCTOBER. NO CASH SHOULD BE
ACCEPTED ON ANY FLIGHT DEPARTING SFO DURING THE EXTENSION.
.
FEEDBACK FROM MANY FLIGHT ATTENDANTS HAS BEEN POSITIVE.
MANY OF THOSE WHO FLEW A TEST FLIGHT IN SEPTEMBER CITED THAT
IT IS EASIER TO NOT HAVE TO WORK WITH CASH.
.
WE WILL CONTINUE TO ANALYZE SALES DATA AND THANK YOU VERY
MUCH FOR YOUR EFFORTS ON THESE FLIGHTS TO DATE.

Jim, you have a lot to learn how this company operates. You have to know that no matter what we say they are going to do what works for them. This was not really a test. They just wanted to see if revenue improved or not. Our feedback was tossed in the trash. They look at numbers only and that is it!! Like I said in an earlier post..a year from now we will be well on our way to being totally cashless on the airplane.

 

[jimntx]

Cashless suits me just fine. As posted earlier, several other airlines have already gone to a cashless system and it seems to work just fine for them. Just as people finally learned to bring something on the airplane because we weren't serving meals in coach anymore, they will learn that we no longer have change for their $50 bill.

Once they make the decision to go systemwide with this, I wonder how many pay periods it will take them to deduct our change fund from a paycheck? The very next one, maybe?

Oh, and I am fully conversant with how the company operates. That's why I tell passengers to go to aa.com/customerrelations if they have a suggestion or complaint about the food, the a/c, whatever. I know that they will totally ignore anything I submit on the catering papers/fa report. After noting it on the catering papers almost every flight for a month, I went to my base manager to find out why catering at our station quit putting any extra paper tray liners in the untensils drawer or on the trays. Even she couldn't get an answer. They simply denied that it was happening.

I am also very aware that if the cashless test had resulted in a drop in revenue, it wouldn't have lasted the whole month of September. That it is being continued means that there was probably an increase in revenue. If that is the case, then it would indicate that the f/as are the only ones unhappy with this change. (no pun intended. )

 

[JS]

Cashless suits me just fine. As posted earlier, several other airlines have already gone to a cashless system and it seems to work just fine for them. Just as people finally learned to bring something on the airplane because we weren't serving meals in coach anymore, they will learn that we no longer have change for their $50 bill.

Once they make the decision to go systemwide with this, I wonder how many pay periods it will take them to deduct our change fund from a paycheck? The very next one, maybe?

Oh, and I am fully conversant with how the company operates. That's why I tell passengers to go to aa.com/customerrelations if they have a suggestion or complaint about the food, the a/c, whatever. I know that they will totally ignore anything I submit on the catering papers/fa report. After noting it on the catering papers almost every flight for a month, I went to my base manager to find out why catering at our station quit putting any extra paper tray liners in the untensils drawer or on the trays. Even she couldn't get an answer. They simply denied that it was happening.

I am also very aware that if the cashless test had resulted in a drop in revenue, it wouldn't have lasted the whole month of September. That it is being continued means that there was probably an increase in revenue. If that is the case, then it would indicate that the f/as are the only ones unhappy with this change. (no pun intended. )

I just submitted this comment on the AA web site:

I think the cashless test for in-flight amenities on flights out of SFO is stupid. I do not use my credit card for small purchases, and if you are not going to accept my cash, then I will keep it.

Please give your customers the choice between cash or credit. AA is supposed to be a full-service airline and should remain that way.

 

[StraaightTaalk]

I agree with Jim. I am fine with a cashless cabin. Money sales have been problematic for years, on a variety of levels, both for flight attendants and for management.

Perhaps AA could install "pre-loaded" credit card machines in gate areas, where passengers without cards may purchase a pre-loaded card, on which they can put $10 or whatever. AA could then charge a small commission on each purchase.

 

[JS]

I agree with Jim. I am fine with a cashless cabin. Money sales have been problematic for years, on a variety of levels, both for flight attendants and for management.

Perhaps AA could install "pre-loaded" credit card machines in gate areas, where passengers without cards may purchase a pre-loaded card, on which they can put $10 or whatever. AA could then charge a small commission on each purchase.

But you would still have to deal with cash at the airport, eliminating the overhead savings, and what's worse, since all in-flight sales are impulse purchases, no one would use it.

Anything that can be purchased on board can also be purchased in the airport before departure and probably at a lower price. Impulse sales are not something where you want to put up roadblocks.

Take convenience stores for example. It's a multi-billion dollar industry that doesn't need to exist at all (much like cash sales on a plane). Anything you can buy in a convenience store can be bought at a drug store or grocery store or whatever at a lower price. Yet there are thousands of convenience stores anyway that charge full price for everything because shopping at one doesn't require going out of your way and you can buy stuff on impulse.


a related story on cashless b.s. -- I went to this place called "Frankie's Fun Park" (mini-golf, arcade games, etc.) that is "cashless" to a certain extent. In order to buy anything, you need a Frankie's card. So you put money on this card and then use it to play mini-golf, arcade games, whatever. I found the whole setup revolting that I should go to one counter to exchange money for a card and then go to another counter and hand over that card to another person to pick up a golf ball, score card and a putting club.

What they were trying to do is eliminate the cost of handling cash at the mini-golf counter (and snack counter, too) and since the card's balance is non-refundable, they're banking on people spending more than they would otherwise since the card can't be used anywhere else. With me, they lost out because I put just enough money on the card to play mini-golf and then tossed it. I would have stopped at the snack stand but since they made it MORE difficult for me to spend money with them, they lost money. And I'm not going back because I think it's a stupid idea.


another related story -- (last one, I promise!) a co-worker recently needed a taxi at a major airport in the northeast. They didn't take credit cards, and it was a $55 ride, so she had to go to an ATM. See, this would not have happened to me because I always carry enough cash to pay for stuff without having to resort to a credit card.

 

[Boomer]

Cashless still sucking out of SFO..if anyone still cares..
I would say its at about 30/70 yay to nay...

Last trip-

757 SFO-ORD...no operative OSRs.............

That makes 3 for 3 this month so far..
will try again on Monday..............................................

This is an easy fix: order rechargeable OSR's configured for 400HZ power on the aircraft with a docking station located in the galley units plugged by the removal of other equipment, ovens, etc...

The charger, 400HZ for aircraft only, will accept the OSR and since it is labled for aircraft use only the unit will be less likely to be "lost" or inop.

There are several tech things that need to be configured but it is easily doable.

For the F/As'; it should be a more reliable way of distributing the concessions gained by the sales since your keycode will be entered for all items entered into the OSR prior to a data dump.

 

[StraaightTaalk]

But you would still have to deal with cash at the airport, eliminating the overhead savings, and what's worse, since all in-flight sales are impulse purchases, no one would use it.

Anything that can be purchased on board can also be purchased in the airport before departure and probably at a lower price. Impulse sales are not something where you want to put up roadblocks.

Take convenience stores for example. It's a multi-billion dollar industry that doesn't need to exist at all (much like cash sales on a plane). Anything you can buy in a convenience store can be bought at a drug store or grocery store or whatever at a lower price. Yet there are thousands of convenience stores anyway that charge full price for everything because shopping at one doesn't require going out of your way and you can buy stuff on impulse.

It all depends on to what extent the loss of sales offsets the fact that the company would no longer have to maintain an infrastructure to collect deposit envelopes; ship them off to SDQ, where they are processed; etc. The accounting process is currently very prone to error as well.

 

[IORFA]

JS, bring stuff from home or buy it in the airport. Then your problem is solved. Now we can move on.