US Airways is at it Again-Things That make you go WTF!

[Glucose Intolerant]

The first one (Pax) is insulting and dehumanizing to those who pay your salary.

"Kettles" is a stereotype that serves as a deeper descriptor. just like, "Oh, he's a Silver". Those of us who have lost Elite status say, "I'm Dirt Preferred" All of these descriptors refer to the type of CUSTOMER we are.

For someone who usually agrees with or sides with you on your arguement du jour ...... This is one I am going to have to disagree.

Although PAX are customers - and they do pay our salaries.... once they walk in the airport or the aircraft they are a "Passenger" they are no longer a "customer". You still respect and treat your "customesr" well - but once onboard they are a "passenger".

"The Customer may be always right" on the ground - but not on an airplane. Just refer to the airline bible to which all must adhere: the Federal Aviation Regulations or FARs.

I guarantee you can scan and scour this massive collection of documents and you won't find the word customer" once for one simple reason:

Passenger have certain responsibilities that they must abide by and adhere to for travel under Federal law. PERIOD. "Customers" on the otherhand don't think the rules apply to them as long as they bought a ticket. WRONG.

There was a document printed awhile back called the "Passegers" bill of rights - it was not called the "Airline Customer" bill of rights... Was it?

If a "customer" acts up or assaults the staff at a restaurant the worst that will happen is the local authorities will be called and they will be asked to leave and possibly end up in court.

A "passenger" pulls that kind of behavior on a aircraft or at the airport, he or she WILL be detained, incarcerated, and facing federal charges along with becoming penpals and fast friends with FBI. Think I am wrong?

We can thank Crandall at AA and Stephen Wolf for the confusion as they started referring to passengers as customers.

Wolf even went as far to approach tbe flight attendants about turning a blind eye regarding the FAR regarding excessive carry on baggage a decade ago. He wanted the elites to be exempt. He lost that battle.

I am not saying that airlines don't have to take care of their customers just because they are technically passengers. You still have to satisfy your immediate customers with first time quality: whether they are passengers, or your own employees. If you do not, chances are you will have neither one.

Tempe is getting ready to learn this lesson the hard way regardless of how they used to do things at AWA.

 

[Art at ISP]

I have to agree with Glucose Intolerant, especially the very last sentence. One can be both a customer and a passenger, but once on board, passenger is correct.

Semantics aside, I'd be interested in hearing any followup to the original story in this thread.

 

[SparrowHawk]

For someone who usually agrees with or sides with you on your arguement du jour ...... This is one I am going to have to disagree.

Although PAX are customers - and they do pay our salaries.... once they walk in the airport or the aircraft they are a "Passenger" they are no longer a "customer". You still respect and treat your "customesr" well - but once onboard they are a "passenger".

"The Customer may be always right" on the ground - but not on an airplane. Just refer to the airline bible to which all must adhere: the Federal Aviation Regulations or FARs.

I guarantee you can scan and scour this massive collection of documents and you won't find the word customer" once for one simple reason:

Passenger have certain responsibilities that they must abide by and adhere to for travel under Federal law. PERIOD. "Customers" on the otherhand don't think the rules apply to them as long as they bought a ticket. WRONG.

There was a document printed awhile back called the "Passegers" bill of rights - it was not called the "Airline Customer" bill of rights... Was it?

If a "customer" acts up or assaults the staff at a restaurant the worst that will happen is the local authorities will be called and they will be asked to leave and possibly end up in court.

A "passenger" pulls that kind of behavior on a aircraft or at the airport, he or she WILL be detained, incarcerated, and facing federal charges along with becoming penpals and fast friends with FBI. Think I am wrong?

We can thank Crandall at AA and Stephen Wolf for the confusion as they started referring to passengers as customers.

Wolf even went as far to approach tbe flight attendants about turning a blind eye regarding the FAR regarding excessive carry on baggage a decade ago. He wanted the elites to be exempt. He lost that battle.

I am not saying that airlines don't have to take care of their customers just because they are technically passengers. You still have to satisfy your immediate customers with first time quality: whether they are passengers, or your own employees. If you do not, chances are you will have neither one.

Tempe is getting ready to learn this lesson the hard way regardless of how they used to do things at AWA.

Framed as you presented it, I tend to agree. Airlines are unique. I was chatting with my contact at US and they said to me, "We are the only industry where if you screw up only 20% of the time you're considered great, Thank God we don't make cars"

 

[cynic]

Audio recordings are against the law in PA without prior knowledge and consent.

The law does not apply to video recordings.

If the video includes audio, it still applies. If the video doesn't include audio, then it wouldn't do any good for the originally proposed purpose.

 

[cynic]

There is a loophole in the prior knowledge or consent law...

If it is outside I can record you without your knowledge...an argument in NYS is that I was recording the birds and the conversation just happened to be there :huh:

If you state that you do not grant consent, they must stop recording. Local and state police have abused those regulations for years. The in-car cameras and recorders that more and more are using actually benefit the public.

 

[Dont call me Shirley]

If you state that you do not grant consent, they must stop recording. Local and state police have abused those regulations for years. The in-car cameras and recorders that more and more are using actually benefit the public.

With so many cell phone cameras around these days, it's fairly certain that just about any ruccus or or unusual event in a public place is subject to being recorded.

A cop friend says that he goes on that assumption if involved in a confrontation or arrest in front of a crowd.



It seems that US Airways just can't keep its name away from "News of the Weird" material these days. Pasengers with pants too low, no pants, and now this. Hey, at least it was WN with the open mike thing, that gave US a break for a little while.

 

[Glucose Intolerant]

Framed as you presented it, I tend to agree. Airlines are unique. I was chatting with my contact at US and they said to me, "We are the only industry where if you screw up only 20% of the time you're considered great, Thank God we don't make cars"

With Tempe involved - thank God they don't make skate boards....

 

[SparrowHawk]

With Tempe involved - thank God they don't make skate boards....

FUNNY!

 

[Newman]

[We can thank Crandall at AA and Stephen Wolf for the confusion as they started referring to passengers as customers.


And Herb Kelleher at WN was another one

 

[ggiby]

First off, we're NOT "Pax", we are customers. Let's get that straight right here, right now.

That said, something smells here and I think the aroma might be from the customer. Your point regarding the potential to use the photo to create a fake version of an employee ID is not at all far fetched. I come from the printing/graphic arts/copy industry and it's easier then you might think. In fact I think you could make a case that taking pictures of anything beyond security should be prohibited by law.

OTOH, Philadelphia was my home airport and some of the folks who work in customer facing positions shouldn't. Most are some of my favorite people and I know several personally. What caused this to escalate into an incident we will likely never know for certain. I've seen incredibly petty issues turn into absolute pissing matches.

Did the employee over react? There is one key piece to the story and that is the Manager from US backed up the employee and in PHL that doesn't always happen.

Customer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A customer (also known as a client, buyer, or purchaser) is usually used to refer to a current or potential buyer or user of the products of an individual or organization, called the supplier, seller, or vendor. This is typically through purchasing or renting goods or services. However, in certain contexts, the term customer also includes by extension any entity that uses or experiences the services of another. A customer may also be a viewer of the product or service that is being sold despite deciding not to buy them. The general distinction between a customer and a client is that a customer purchases products, whereas a client purchases services.
The word derives from "custom," meaning "habit"; a customer was someone who frequented a particular shop, who made it a habit to purchase goods of the sort the shop sold there rather than elsewhere, and with whom the shopkeeper had to maintain a relationship to keep his or her "custom," meaning expected purchases in the future.
Passenger....

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A passenger is a term broadly used to describe any person who travels in a vehicle, but bears little or no responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination.
Passenger is one who is carried by a public carrier from one place to another, whether for consideration or without it.
Crew members (if any), as well as the driver or pilot of the vehicle, are usually not considered to be passengers. For example, a flight attendant on an airline would not be considered a "passenger" while on duty, but an employee riding in a company car being driven by another person would be considered a passenger, even if the car was being driven on company business.

Just had to add my two cents.... as the the Wikipedia Encyclopedia defines "Customer" and "Passenger"

I am thinking that anyone on the a/c that is not a working crew member is a Passenger....? Thoughts anyone...? In this case, the customer did not purchase goods at USAirways. USAirways does not sell goods. USAirways sells a service.... the service is to get a Passenger from point a to point b safely and within a certain amount of published time. The product purchased is a service... not a good.