A message from your friendly neighborhood airport worker

[eliza61]

I posted this last winter during one of the blizzards. My good next door neighbor, who is a reservationist at Philly airport with US air, thought we might need a friendly reminder.

Dear Traveler,
I cannot control the weather. I totally realize that air travel is not a pleasant experience at the best of times but.....

Yelling at me
Cursing at me
Threatening me will not make the snow go away any quicker.
I don't cancel flights and would you reallywant to fly in this weather anyway?
I really am going to try and get you home as quick as possible but I can't prevent a Nor'easter.

I empathize with you, when you have a bad day, there's a good chance my work day is not going any better. I know holiday travel is stressful and you have to be at work but....

Please, cut me some slack.

Just passing on a plea for my neighbor Barb.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Well, if Barb will let me blame her for this storm arriving one day LATER than I would have preferred - and with the understanding that my travels wouldn't have taken me through PHL, no matter what kind of rerouting I'd done - so that I couldn't stay in Las Vegas an extra day even though I had it all planned out including taking tomorrow off from work as a buffer, then no, I will NEVER blame any frontline airport or airline worker for the weather or weather-related delays and cancellations

 

[Disneyland1084]

I remember your post from last year. It's really terrible that some take their anger out on people who have NO control over what's happening.

 

[LoraJ]

Even though I was on hold for a total of 7 hours trying to deal with my canceled flight, I was extra friendly to the person taking my call. I knew that they must have been having a really rough time dealing with everything. It's not her fault, or the airlines fault.

 

[simba928]

I used to work in an airport and HATED it. I got yelled at, talked down to, ignred, cursed at, etc. and I worked at a food location and then at a retail store. Yes, I woke up this morning and thought it would be so much fun to make sure the security lines are backed up so you would have to wait 2 hours to get through, then you would miss your flight and come yell at me about it. You're so right, I planned this horrible weather so that you could be stuck in the airport for hours. I so enjoy cranky passengers throughout my whole 8 to 10 hour shift.

 

[mommasita]

Even though I was on hold for a total of 7 hours trying to deal with my canceled flight, I was extra friendly to the person taking my call. I knew that they must have been having a really rough time dealing with everything. It's not her fault, or the airlines fault.

7 hours, wow.

Your post DID make me smile . I can guarantee you that you did something to make that employee's day a LOT more tolerable. I know this for fact

I did work at the airport for a few years, and then transferred the heck out. It was just way too hectic. The delayed flights, the missed flights, connections. Calling security for "my" protection at least once a week, from some over the top passengers. We always say we should write a book, something along SW's show, lol.

Working now at the head office is slightly easier. I still get the very irate passengers, but don't fear for my safety. The majority are extremely understanding, but there is always at least one . The best is when they are calling to ask for what reason is there a delay. I don't think they looked outside at all, or watched/read ANY news.

I really love that poem also. I am going to steal it.

 

[bicker]

I remember your post from last year. It's really terrible that some take their anger out on people who have NO control over what's happening.

Y'know, it isn't even who the anger is directed at that's the problem... the problem is the anger in the first place. Getting angry about things not working out for you isn't good for anyone... surely not the people you direct your anger at, not the friends and family members who need to be with you while you're "simmering", and not even yourself. Whatever happened to good ol' disappointment? Why are so many people so quick to skip that step and go straight to anger?

 

[Art 1]

One of the reasons I won't travel to the northeast during Thanksgiving and Christmas, and winter in general is the unpredictable weather.

 

[pilotwife_02]

On behalf of my husband, thanks for posting this. A couple weeks ago DH's flight got in late due to weather and when he walked up to the gate for his next leg (he had to switch planes) some nasty man yelled at him "It's about time you got here". Thing was, this guy wasn't even on DH's flight after all.

I don't understand people who get angry at the pilots/flight attendants/airline employees for weather delays. Trust me, they want everything to go just as smooth as the passengers do.

 

[MiniGirl]

On behalf of my husband, thanks for posting this. A couple weeks ago DH's flight got in late due to weather and when he walked up to the gate for his next leg (he had to switch planes) some nasty man yelled at him "It's about time you got here". Thing was, this guy wasn't even on DH's flight after all.

I don't understand people who get angry at the pilots/flight attendants/airline employees for weather delays. Trust me, they want everything to go just as smooth as the passengers do.

Amen that!! My dh's trip is supposed to take him up to LGA today. I am fairly certain it will be canceled -- if it isn't already. Of course, we'd love for him to get home a day earlier than scheduled, but hate that he will lose pay because of cancellations due to weather. Oh well.... that is why we have a cancellation fund saved up.

As a former f/a, I was often screamed at because of weather or mechanical delays. Believe me... none of the passengers hated the situation more than the flight/cabin crews -- esp if we were still at the gate. We loved getting yelled at all while being OFF the clock. I don't know if ya'll are aware of it, but crews start getting paid when the door is closed and the brakes are released. Boarding, etc, is done off the clock, so when there are delays at the gate, the crew is not being paid. Not only that. There is a good chance the delay will mess up the rest of their trip and they will lose hours because of it. With it being so late in the month, there is no time to make it up either. Seriously, nobody hates delays more than your flight crew.

 

[plutotek]

We got stuck in Cinncinatti a few years ago and as our subsequent flights kept getting cancelled, I was working w/a particular agent to book the next attempt. On one of the trips to the counter, I got behind someone that just berated her and the airline/airport/everyone he could think of. When it was my turn, I thanked her for all her help all day and let her know that the other guy was out of line. She smiled and thanked me, and we were on a first name basis for the next 6 hours til I left. I wrote the airline and let them know how well their staff dealt w/the issue, this agent in particular. I didn't expect anything from it, but the airline wrote me back, letting me know they had credited an additional 10k miles to my account. Sometimes, nice guys DO finish first.

 

[MichelleVW]

My girls were supposed to fly out of Boston yesterday and now are stuck there until Thursday. It's annoying and frustrating, but nothing to get mad about. I'm just glad they are safe and warm at their Aunt's house and not stranded at an airport somewhere.

 

[debster812]

Even though I was on hold for a total of 7 hours trying to deal with my canceled flight, I was extra friendly to the person taking my call. I knew that they must have been having a really rough time dealing with everything. It's not her fault, or the airlines fault.

REALLY good advice. We were caught up in a February storm several years ago, and it was chaos at Logan Airport in Boston. When I finally spoke to an airline rep, we were exploring all our options, and she told me I was the 1st person in about 4 hours who had not yelled at her.

We finally got re-booked for 3 days later, but we were re-booked in 1st Class. DS (9YO at the time) thought that was the coolest thing ever.

Good Luck to everyone trying to get somewhere over the next few days.

 

[Dax]

MCO was not a pleasent experience this morning...or yesterday...I walked in and looked at the flight board and saw a LOT of red...meaning CANCELED! People have been sleeping in MCO, and they act like it too...Glad I have very little public interaction here..

 

[Micca]

Y'know, it isn't even who the anger is directed at that's the problem... the problem is the anger in the first place. Getting angry about things not working out for you isn't good for anyone... surely not the people you direct your anger at, not the friends and family members who need to be with you while you're "simmering", and not even yourself. Whatever happened to good ol' disappointment? Why are so many people so quick to skip that step and go straight to anger?

Brilliant! I see this a lot right here on the boards: "Should I be mad?", "Would you be mad?" It's like people are looking for an excuse to be mad.
Some people must just enjoy getting mad. I found out a long time ago that I'm really lousy at being mad so I've virtually eliminated that emotion. Disappointed? Sure! Hurt? You betcha! But angry? Life's too short.

With respect to being courteous during stressful travel circumstances, I'd encourage everyone to chillout.

 

[MM27]

Remember that show Airline about Southwest? I was always amazed by how many people yelled and screamed at the people at the counter because of things that were not within their control. I understand being aggravated that your flight is late or cancelled, but some of them border on abuse.

I was helped by someone once in Miami because Royal Caribbean had messed up a return flight my sister and I had after our cruise. They ended up putting us on standby, then the flight was delayed for hours because of weather at Newark Airport. The girl at the gate came over to us and said she was going to work to get us on a flight because unlike many of the other passengers, we didn't yell and scream at her, but understood that it wasn't her fault.

 

[jlder72]

On a positive note...

Coming back from Disney last June we got diverted from Minneapolis to Rochester because of tornadoes (my niece claims she will never fly again). We tried to land, I fly enough to know that when you are descending and then all of the sudden the nose is up there is a problem.

So, we are sitting at Rochester, Airtran doesn't have gates there so we couldn't get off. There was a meterologist looking at his laptop radar screen and another line of tonadoes were heading toward us, stuck on an airplane on a tarmack lol............

Crew was great, all the passengers were great. Pilot got out to talk to the fuel guy and passengers were joking he had to give his own credit card to fuel up since Airtran had no contract at this airport.

We got back to Minneapolis only 2 hours behind schedule but everyone had a good time.

 

[onelilspark]

I was in line to be re-booked for a flight home to Philly one time a few years ago. The flight I was on had been delayed because of weather at my connecting city, so I was trying to re-route. The guy in front of me was trying to do the same thing, but was yelling at the gate agent. I finally got so disgusted that I tapped him on the shoulder and informed him that it was the weather in the connecting city that was keeping us on the ground, not the lady he was talking to. He got pissed at me and walked off. The agent gave me his seat on the re-routed flight

I don't understand why people yell at people and expect to get their way. Even if it is their fault, you'll be way more productive with a smile.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Politeness gets you a lot further than being mean. Show the gate agent/customer service person/ticket agent some politeness and you will make some ones day a little brighter. After standing in line to get rebooked on a flight if the person a head of me is rude and nasty, I always make it a point to be extra nice to the person helping me because its not that person fault that my flight got cancelled. So why be nasty to them. In the end that person is the one who is responsible for helping you get to your destination. He or she will do everything humanly possible to help you.

 

[shortbun]

I have never understood why airports were not better equipped to handle crowds. I was in the travel industry for 27 years and airports were always horrible then; that was before all the security check issues. Seems that airports could have some supplies, better distribution plans and some better trained staff on hand to handle bad weather delays and holiday travel. Not blaming Barb, just saying that it seems no one really goes to any effort to plan for these things. I always travelled with emergency supplies: water, food, washcloths, a blow up pillow and extra clothes. these days with luggage, carryon restrictions-it's just not possible.