My Friend's First Time on Airways--Not a Good Impression

[dexter]

OY VE !!!

What did you expect EL-Al service?

Suzie Boda can't even get this right!

 

[jimcfs]

Oh But Art my friend US does excel--poor mis mgnmnt decisions and poor leadership!

Isn't the correct statement here that "US uses Excel". Management via spreadsheet is the way they operate.

 

[Whatnow?]

You NEVER get a second chance to make a first impression!

Old adage still true today. No matter what anyone who defends the conduct of the flight crew, the in-op IFE has to say it doesn't change that in this customers mind he was treated poorly.

I agree with your opinion about not getting a second chance in making a first impression.....however people are extremely critical and if you go looking for problems you're going to find them! As I said before, I've worked this trip several times this month and cannot believe the amount of people that have mentioned to me how nice the service and the flight is......they have been flying on Continental and Delta respectively out of EWR and JFK and have stated US was far better. It takes all kinds and if you just sit back, relax and enjoy the flight without dissecting every stinking moment of the flight....who knows you might enjoy it! Geez! Build a bridge....life's too short!

 

[freedom]

Again, I am trying to bring some issues to the attention of those who MAY care--but the attitude of some of you is just amazing--if you read my post you will see that I was not complaining for the sake of complaining...I was trying to bring some issues to the forefront of discussion.

I saw my friend this afternoon, and he said one of my assumptions was wrong--while the flight crew on the return did reboot the IFE system a couple of times, he said they were frustrated and not as helpful as I had thought--but again, the IFE system failure was only in a couple of rows, not the entire aircraft...not directly under US control, but MAYBE it could have been tested better.

That said, the person who called me a US basher just does not know me or my history with US... I have spent alot of time and money (my own I might add), trying to help the employees AND customers of US - only to fail due to an upper management who could not care less about either. Look again at my statement--I DO place the blame right at the top--Doug Parker--who thinks they put too much emphasis on customer service--well it shows...

Hearing stories like this from people who know I know people at US does not make me feel good--I am sad for those of my friends still working at US--who can really do nothing about these issues, but have to handle the customer's complaints...I can only imagine how frustrating and demoralizing that is.

At the end of the day, I think that absent a change in upper management, I do not see any improvement coming, and that does not bode well for the future of this company...

My BEST to you all....

You are 100% right ! This starts at the top , for TOO LONG we have under utlized doug parker , just having him sit in his cushy desk crunching numbers and coming up with a short and long term game plan is going too easy on him ... we need to put him to WORK ...

First i propose transfering him to PHL ...

Once in PHL he will PERSONALLY walk through every single TLV flight from first to coach personally inspecting every single IFE ....

After that we will have him go to the front and aft galleys and do a meal check , then just to be accurate , we will have him perform the meal check again ...

Finally before every flight to TLV departs we will have him HUG every FA and pilot as they enter the A/C ..

I beleive that once my plan is instutied we will see not only employee morale soar , but customer complaints drop !

(not to mention having him there will motivate the crews to get the flights out on time ! )

 

[SS255]

What did you expect EL-Al service?

I wouldn't expect El Al service, but it sure would be nice. Just give me a good Israeli music channel and some movies subtitled in Hebrew, and I'll be a happy camper.

My parents just booked AVP-PHL-TLV today. They are going in November. They usually fly LY, but they wanted to support US. (That actually says alot, considering how much they support Israel, and have always felt it their duty and obligation to fly LY.) Hopefully whatever service and IFE issues still remain to be worked out will have been worked out by that time.

This is definitely US's sexiest route, IMO, so they should be pulling out all the stops. Loading extra Kosher meals is a .

 

[robbedagain]

Isn't the correct statement here that "US uses Excel". Management via spreadsheet is the way they operate.

most likely yes but hey it was just a guess lol

 

[WCT]

Okay, just my two cents worth..
I don't care if you are 22 years old, 66 years old, been here 45 years, or 20 years. You are a flight attendant, and there is no excuse to be rude and unprofessional.
Blame management????? NO! I don't think so..
There a lot of fa's that would love the opportunity to fly to Tel Aviv, London, maybe even Boise, IDAHO.
The point is, all pax should be treated nicely, respectfully, and have some sense of validation, and care from the flight attendant.
Doug Parker has you on the payroll, but bottom line, the CUSTOMER is PAYING YOUR SALARY!!! Yes the morale, our pay, schedules, all need major improvements. But taking it out on the flying public is not the answer.
I have bad days, believe me. If I have been unfriendly to a passenger, I always apologize, and let them know, I am human, I do get grumpy, and have longs days, etc. Sometimes, a little empathy, and just saying "sorry" go a long way to make the customer feel better. Especially a warm smile.
Bash me all you want, but I am sick of people blaming management for bad attitudes. We are in the customer service business, and are there for safety. If you can't handle being nice, retire, or move on to another field. JMHO.

 

[dexter]

Suzie Boda and her dancing machine!! Disgraceful to say the least. She had almost one year to make sure this route got 100 % attention as it is a money maker for us in the system. I heard that inbound flights arrive so early and she didn't even staff accordingly. These passengers are exhausted upon arrival and deserve more attention. Can you imagine what our China service would have been like if we took on that route? I would definately book EWR or JFK if I were a paying passenger.

Art, is it the fares that drive friends like yours to take the risk and connect through PHL?

 

[700UW]

Management by making the working conditions as they are, the conditions of the planes, the lack of offerings for service are all matters that management control not the line FA, so after years of getting no support from management its their fault a lot of times for the given up and/or bad attitude employees have.

Not too long ago, Envoy was an award winning style of class in the airlines, now its just like white castle, and you expect once proud and now beaten employees to be happy?

Life doesn't work that way.

 

[WCT]

Management by making the working conditions as they are, the conditions of the planes, the lack of offerings for service are all matters that management control not the line FA, so after years of getting no support from management its their fault a lot of times for the given up and/or bad attitude employees have.

Not too long ago, Envoy was an award winning style of class in the airlines, now its just like white castle, and you expect once proud and now beaten employees to be happy?

Life doesn't work that way.

You might not be happy, but don't take it out on the customer. <_< They don't have a clue of the problems, and usually fly US Airways for the first time. No excuse to give bad customer service, and most of time the pax know it is not our fault for lack of amenenties, seat comfort, and broken video systems. No reason to be rude, sorry.. We all have our concerns and complaints, but I for one will not treat customers badly because I hate mgmt, or the Unions who fight on our behalf.

 

[doing it on my knees]

Does anybody really expect good customer service out of anyone anymore? Customer service is bad everywhere now, not jut on US. If I could use self service for every part of my life I would, because I don't need a complete stranger to ruin my day because they don't want to be doing what they're doing.

When I board a flight now, I see it as just hitching a ride. I'm already fed and hydrated and I have my own entertainment. I leave no room for "Sorry, we're out of meals, Sorry just gave away the last headset, etc." I may sound cynical but it's years of rude service from all aspects of life that have made me this way.

 

[WCT]

Does anybody really expect good customer service out of anyone anymore? Customer service is bad everywhere now, not jut on US. If I could use self service for every part of my life I would, because I don't need a complete stranger to ruin my day because they don't want to be doing what they're doing.

When I board a flight now, I see it as just hitching a ride. I'm already fed and hydrated and I have my own entertainment. I leave no room for "Sorry, we're out of meals, Sorry just gave away the last headset, etc." I may sound cynical but it's years of rude service from all aspects of life that have made me this way.

That is really sad to hear. I hope when you fly on my flight, that you will feel good about your experience, and not alienated. Rude service is uncalled for. :down:

 

[Travels2mch]

First i propose transfering him to PHL ...

Once in PHL he will PERSONALLY walk through every single TLV flight

Why stop at TLV?? Make him work all flights!!

 

[LD3]

You might not be happy, but don't take it out on the customer. <_< They don't have a clue of the problems, and usually fly US Airways for the first time. No excuse to give bad customer service, and most of time the pax know it is not our fault for lack of amenenties, seat comfort, and broken video systems. No reason to be rude, sorry.. We all have our concerns and complaints, but I for one will not treat customers badly because I hate mgmt, or the Unions who fight on our behalf.

Very well said...

 

[doing it on my knees]

That is really sad to hear. I hope when you fly on my flight, that you will feel good about your experience, and not alienated. Rude service is uncalled for. :down:

I do remember when the FA's knew you worked for US/HP they would "Take Care Of You" and I to this day talk with fellow employees about those days and wonder when they stopped that and started being borderline rude when they found out you were a nonrev.