Why are passengers rude to pilots?

[Terry Hunter]

When a passenger approaches me, my response is to pretend I don't hear them for about 12 seconds, then slowly turn my gaze toward them but before actually making eye contact, I yell "Neggs guess n' lion".

THANK YOU Ganja- My wife was wondering what was sooo funny that I was reading, causing my eyes to swell up. The rewards of wasting hours of my life finally find a return on investment in FI.com.

 

[Sig]

I'll be DURNED if this thread didn't come to mind this afternoon in Philthadelphia.

No gate agent, I was totally ignored by a supervisor, planeful of pax, 18 minute turn- ran in, got the door open, kicked the folks off, printed my own release (like that's a big deal, but hey), fielded about 15 questions from passengers, made three of them laugh hysterically, made one feel like pewp for laying into me (AND he apologized when he deplaned), somehow managed to find a gate agent and forced her to take those odd ticket things, and somehow felt good about it.

Having said all that feel-good saccharine flapdoodle above, I gave up on giving half a crap about USAirways because they gave up on me a long time ago, and therefore F the passengers. I could've been a serious pr!ck about the whole ordeal and sat on my hands, but I did someone else's job(s). The goofiest part? Because I read this thread and I rethought my job.

Don't even begin to get me wrong- I don't have some revamped outlook on being a turboprop puke in the northeast, and I'll most certainly get an instant headache when the next stupid question is fired at me the nth time that day, but I did have an ounce of give a d^mn. For the most part, it's going to be "I just fly your fat arse at the speed of smell for a pittance. Siddown. Shaddup. Quit yelling." But it was surreal thinking about this thread when a minor meltdown in a crummy corner of a shabby terminal could've gone full tilt into a huge delay behind the late evening push, or with a half ounce of give a shyt I made a tiny planeload of people a little less intolerable and got them home.

Whatever. Who wants pie?

 

[cjdriver]

Here's my bus ticket driver, when do we leave?

 

[CA1900]

I'll be DURNED if this thread didn't come to mind this afternoon in Philthadelphia.

No gate agent, I was totally ignored by a supervisor, planeful of pax, 18 minute turn...

LOL, you're getting me all nostalgic for CommutAir's US Airways Express days. I distinctly remember coming into Boston--an ALG station then; not sure now--when the express gates were out along the far end of the terminal, and they were bussing the passengers out to the planes.

So we get to the ramp at about 9:45am (right on time), creep towards the gate so they can hear us in the ops trailer, and we get.... nothing. Nobody comes out. One guy opens the door of the trailer, looks at us, and goes back in: Not his flight, not his problem. So we sit. And sit. On the service road, with our ass out on the taxiway, and cars stacked up in both directions on the service road, giving us dirty looks. (At least we didn't get the finger; that's another story altogether!)

We've waited five minutes now, we've called in repeatedly, we're due out in 10 minutes, and I have to whiz like a racehorse. (It's a 1900 -- no bathroom!) Finally, I look over at the captain: "I have an idea." He shuts down the left engine, I climb out, shut the door, grab wands, and marshal us in.

All of a sudden, the ramp agent in the trailer hears the other engine shut down, and comes running out. He gets right up in my face and says, "What the f--- do you think you're doing?"

I threw the wands at his feet. I was furious -- this particular agent had made us late every day that week because of his pure laziness, as somehow we always were his assigned flight.

"I was doing your f***ing job, since you aren't interested. Where the hell were you? Don't even tell me you didn't hear us, because I already know: You were sitting on your ass watching TV in the trailer, like you do every morning when you make us late. We're going to be 20 minutes late out of the gate today. And you know what I'm going to tell Ops when they ask what the delay was? I'm going to say it's a Carlos-wanted-to-watch-Wheel-of-Fortune delay! Our airline paid US Airways $1300 to 'handle' this flight, and I had to park the god**** thing myself!"

Then I turned around, and see the captain just laughing his head off at my tirade. I grinned, opened the door as the bus showed up, and wished our passengers a nice day as they went on their way. The ramp guy just stood there, dumbstruck.


Honestly, I have never had worse service from a US Express station; at that point (late 1999), even PHL did a better job, despite the drug deals going on in that trailer down there. With employees like these guys, I'm amazed US Airways has stayed in business. I really am.

 

[CoolSidePillow]

People suck that's why they created a God to forgive them![/quote]

People suck that is why there is war, famine, disease, and natural disasters to get rid of so many and keep the cancer of the earth from spreading

but that Slomo avatar is the most profound thing ever put on this forum

internet is for porn!

if I need to read important things I will use my library card

I hate MESA

I am a schitzo..... so am I

 

[suupah]

What do you guys think Chuck Norris would have done ?

chuck norris would have them naked before they could have even asked the question "where is the baggage claim?"

 

[RJP]

1) Give puzzled look.
2) Mumble any three words you know in a foreign language.
3) Turn up iPod and walk away.

 

[acaTerry]

IMHO - Be a Professional Pilot, when interrupted by a rude passenger, do the best you can to help them with a smile and a kind word. We might not know where their flight leaves from, but we probably know where the information can be found.

Often passengers are running late due to no fault of their own and their stress is a normal reaction - after all we will leave them at the gate if they don't connect in time. If I can help someone with my ALPA pin and bag tags in plain view, I hope that passenger goes away with a better impression of airline pilots and of our association.

I once heard a senior US Attorney (two levels from the President of the US) relate a story how as a child she got lost at CVG and a Delta Pilot helped her find her way back to her father. This made enough of an impression on her that she still talks about it 28 years later and candidly, she holds Delta pilots on a pedestal as a result to this day.

After all, take a deep breath, forget all the Reguest for Proposal garbage for a second and enjoy smiling back at the kids that smile at you. They go back and draw pictures that they want to be airline pilots some day. Our percentages against Firemen have fallen in recent years and darned it, this is a better job that going into a burning meth lab, or an apartment complex engulfed in flames at 02:30 in the morning.

Even the backpacker pilots with the ear buds have the newest Ipod'o'Treo with WiFi. Show off that internet connection. Starbucs has free wireless and every airline (except for AirTran ) has a site where you can get current flight & gate info. These are our customers who pay for those jets we get to scoot around in. Go ahead and hate airline management for the stupid schedules and lousy service that get these people so jacked up to begin with, but don't hate the customer.

BINGO!!!!
As long as you guys call yourselves losers (See spelling BTW), have that queer looking gel / spikey hair, whine about hats and walk around with wires in your ears and backups hiked up on your backs, the public perception of you will be LOW. Geez, people had more respect for us J32 (for you SJS Academy grads..a J32 is a 19 seat PROP) drivers than they do for todays regional jet "Captain". You guys make your own bed, now sleep in it or remake it. Act like a pro, and you'll be seen as one. Remember the newspspers in CVG during the CMR strike? CMR had a top notch pilot group, and they had the respect of their pax and the press, and the strike worked, thanks in no small part to the perception of the pilots (this led shareholders and frequent flyers to write letters.).
...now todays regional pilot, with your requirement for 24 hour electronic stimulation, borderline queer styling, and slack-off attitudes, you deserve what you get. Those who this does not apply to, and you know who you are, educate / lead the way thay need you to. Then you"ll see a change, slowly.

 

[acaTerry]

1) Give puzzled look.
2) Mumble any three words you know in a foreign language.
3) Turn up iPod and walk away.

Classic example. See my above post.

 

[TCBKING]

Ok folks, everyone take a deep breath, relax. Forget customer service, professionalism and all that and let's try and re-focus on why we got into this sordid business in the first place.

Let my avatar remind you.


I didn't think it'd be such a hit. I just thought it was mildly amusing.

Im pretty sure I quit caring about this thread when I saw this Avatar. By the way, Is there a story behind this picture or did you find it on the net somewhere. If it is your picture, where do I send my resume?

 

[PositionandHold]

Is all this stuff about pilots wearing I-Pods in the terminal true? Or an exaggeration?

 

[ArcticFlier]

BINGO!!!!
As long as you guys call yourselves losers (See spelling BTW), have that queer looking gel / spikey hair, whine about hats and walk around with wires in your ears and backups hiked up on your backs, the public perception of you will be LOW. Geez, people had more respect for us J32 (for you SJS Academy grads..a J32 is a 19 seat PROP) drivers than they do for todays regional jet "Captain". You guys make your own bed, now sleep in it or remake it. Act like a pro, and you'll be seen as one. Remember the newspspers in CVG during the CMR strike? CMR had a top notch pilot group, and they had the respect of their pax and the press, and the strike worked, thanks in no small part to the perception of the pilots (this led shareholders and frequent flyers to write letters.).
...now todays regional pilot, with your requirement for 24 hour electronic stimulation, borderline queer styling, and slack-off attitudes, you deserve what you get. Those who this does not apply to, and you know who you are, educate / lead the way they need you to. Then you"ll see a change, slowly.

Spot on, mate!!!!!!



AF

 

[suupah]

Spot on, mate!!!!!!



AF

spot on, yet the guys i fly with wear the hats, do not wear i pods and usually keep it low key. but the nasty passengers still treat us like crap. The real reason is, they hate flying on cramped planes that are late into cramped terminals that are noisy and chaotic just to find out their luggage is lost and they can't find a soul who cares. Basically I think passengers hate express style.

 

[Flyingdutchman]

Can you blame m?

Didnt think so...

 

[RJP]

Classic example. See my above post.

Thanks for your easy-to-read-retardedly-large post.

We don't have hats (or ties), wear backpacks and talk on cell phones (no one can afford an iPod). So, stuff that self-righteous rant up your arse.

When we get paid like professional airline pilots, THEN, we can take time to be nice to rude asholes that yell at our FAs. Until then, it's all you.

 

[acaTerry]

Thanks for your easy-to-read-retardedly-large post.

We don't have hats (or ties), wear backpacks and talk on cell phones (no one can afford an iPod). So, stuff that self-righteous rant up your arse.

When we get paid like professional airline pilots, THEN, we can take time to be nice to rude asholes that yell at our FAs. Until then, it's all you.

Hey man, I was just pointing out your own self-incriminating reply there. Like I said, WHY would you ever expect to be treated like a pro when you act like an a$$. I say again...your post said it all.

 

[RJP]

Interestingly, I saw a great example of pax rudness yesterday. It made me laugh about this thread. A captain was chatting at the gate with an agent when some old woman comes walking up and sticks a ticket in the CA's face. "What gate is this at?" The CA backed up and mumbled something and the lady walked away. No "excuse me". No "thank you". Just rude interruptions.

As I said, I don't get paid enough to be nice to the 10% of rude pax. They can kiss my arse. They show up drunk, wearing no shoes, swear at FAs, moan about ATC delays, etc. When you pay $39 for a ticket and your crew makes McDonald's wages, why would anyone really care?

Do you walk up to someone in a random uniform at the mall and grab them by the arm and rudely ask them some question they have no chance of answering? Doubtful. So jump off your self-righteous high-horse and spend your days off at the airport as a greeter so we don't have to do it.

 

[acaTerry]

Interestingly, I saw a great example of pax rudness yesterday. It made me laugh about this thread. A captain was chatting at the gate with an agent when some old woman comes walking up and sticks a ticket in the CA's face. "What gate is this at?" The CA backed up and mumbled something and the lady walked away. No "excuse me". No "thank you". Just rude interruptions.

As I said, I don't get paid enough to be nice to the 10% of rude pax. They can kiss my arse. They show up drunk, wearing no shoes, swear at FAs, moan about ATC delays, etc. When you pay $39 for a ticket and your crew makes McDonald's wages, why would anyone really care?

Do you walk up to someone in a random uniform at the mall and grab them by the arm and rudely ask them some question they have no chance of answering? Doubtful. So jump off your self-righteous high-horse and spend your days off at the airport as a greeter so we don't have to do it.

Awwww, did I make you cry, or was it the passenger? Like it or not, you are in a SERVICE based industry. Looks like you and your hero CA there could better handle your situations. Do you know how many times rude pax approach me and ask me questions? Or tell me how P Oed they are at MY airline (when I am travelling ticketed with them and don't even fly for airlines anymore)? I always politely answer the question with a smile and by the time I am done with them they are gracious, and probably walking off with an idea that the only ones who give a darn about them anymore are the pilots.
But if I made your eyes swell up a little and you are sucking your thumb with your blanket in your fingers, don't worry...I promise I'll stop doing your job for you since you are above helping your passengers:bawling:

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

ACA Terry..good effort.... either they get it or they don't. It really comes down to ones parents...




Anyone can do a task.... That is why the better airlines and the better companies hire for attitude. They can't control how someone else thinks...

Either you know how to handle rude people or you don't. Good companies don't want to hire employees or pilots who whine and cry about rude people. They want to hire pilots that know how to easily deal with rude people, not let it effect their self esteem and continue to focus on the service.

Either you get it or you don't. Which means you'll get hired by the better airlines or you won't.

 

[NuGuy]

Is all this stuff about pilots wearing I-Pods in the terminal true? Or an exaggeration?

No, it's true, but it is a symptom of the rest of the crap we're complaining about.

I look around these days, and a good majority of people just look like 200 pounds of $hit forced into a 100 pound sack. It used to be that your mom would make you wash below your neck every once in a while, but that apparently is no longer true.

I've lost hope for most people. These days they're mostly overweight, ill-kempt, foul mouthed lard-a$$es. The few decent looking folks out there ruin me once they open their trap to either stuff food down their gullet, or screech in some vulgar gutter speak over the booming of the gangsta rap on their ipod.

I use to think that they had opened the gate to all the world's trailer parks, but in reality, its the trailer park that grew and surrounded us.

But to be fair to the ladies, I'm no Brad Pitt. But I shower at least once a day, pay my bills, say please and thank you, chew with my mouth closed and my clothes have seen the hot side of an iron more than once.

But that doesn't mean you can't have any fun with it. One day I was at work, and a buddy of mine non-reving (in civvies) walked up, and started to "interrupt" me with stupid sounding questions. I turned around, an in a loudish voice said "you will address me as 'sir'. Tuck in that shirt! Pull up those pants!" (basically a modified Neidermyer routine from Animal House). He went right along with it, and it was hysterical, but I thought the people looking on were going to sh!t eggrolls.

Nu