Annoying FBO things....

[Brett Hull]

But we'll rent you a car

NO CREW CARS!
There is NO reason not to have crew cars at ANY FBO. Period.

What's annoying? When an FBO's ripped on airnav.com by various customers about not having a crew car. Instead of buying a cheap clunker for the crews to run into town to grab lunch with, they have all of the responses removed with the disclaimer: "Midwest Aviation has requested that AirNav not collect or publish user comments. For any feedback or customer service inquiries, please contact Midwest Aviation directly."

I'm so tankering next time I go through PAH.

What this crew did was classic...they walked out the door, started up their 604 and taxied one ramp over to the other FBO! More power to 'em

Sweet!

 

[AV8R4]

FL 350: The magnetic door lock is there so that Joe Blow can't walk out onto the ramp and mess with your aircraft. You have to come up with something better than that.

Skyking 1976: We put the chocks under the tires so you don't have to engage the brakes. The trash doesn't get picked up because you are probably a bad tipper.

Flying Illini: No, it's because you guys trash the cars and then we get stuck cleaning up the mess. You want a free ride and don't have the manners to put a little fuel in the car that you got for FREE. It beats getting a cab, which would cost you much more than a few gallons of fuel. Think about it.

Let me see if I can reverse the situations that you all are describing.

WE fuel your planes. WE wash your dishes. WE provide you with free transportation in the form of a crew car. WE get your ice, coffee and papers. WE provide you with ground power. WE throw your trash out. WE make sure that your passengers transportation is waiting upon their arrival.

YOU don't buy any fuel (not in all cases). YOU trash the crew cars. YOU keep the crew cars out for periods exceeding two hours. YOU bring the crew car back with no fuel in it. YOU have kept others from using the crew car because you were late bringing it back. YOU get all of the services that you have requested, most of which are free and then you have the nerve to say you've been mistreated. Wow! Oh yeah and thanks for the tip!!!!

 

[BankAccount=0$]

.

Let me see if I can reverse the situations that you all are describing.

WE fuel your planes. WE wash your dishes. WE provide you with free transportation in the form of a crew car. WE get your ice, coffee and papers. WE provide you with ground power. WE throw your trash out. WE make sure that your passengers transportation is waiting upon their arrival.

YOU don't buy any fuel (not in all cases). YOU trash the crew cars. YOU keep the crew cars out for periods exceeding two hours. YOU bring the crew car back with no fuel in it. YOU have kept others from using the crew car because you were late bringing it back. YOU get all of the services that you have requested, most of which are free and then you have the nerve to say you've been mistreated. Wow! Oh yeah and thanks for the tip!!!!

Hmmmmm. I'm not too sure if you realize this, but it is your JOB to fuel my aircraft. It is your JOB to throw out a bag of trash if left on the ramp to be picked up. It is also in the best interest for an FBO to try and make a flight crew as comfortable as possible since they are usually the ones who decide where to buy fuel.
Don't get me wrong, I know it sucks going out in a f'ing blizzard to fuel/de-ice/move an airplane. But it is a line guy's JOB to do those things. And as far as tipping goes, I'll throw ya a couple of bones when I start seeing the PAX tip me ok??
I worked the line, and now I'm on the other side of things. I don't need much to be happy, but if you're going to charge my boss money for things like a "ramp fee" or charge more for fuel but not support it by having superior service, then why on Earth should I stop on your ramp instead of the other guys?? Ultimatly it's YOUR job that is in the balance here not mine, and not the owner of your FBO.

 

[AV8R4]

I am well aware of what my job entails. I just don't like hearing pilots talk trash about line personnel.

 

[Gulfstream 200]

yup, thats your job - if you dont like it - get another!!!

But c'mon guys, tip the line guys. Nothing worse than a cheap a$$ pilot. Especially you folks who stiff a hard working line guy and write down 20 bucks on your expenses.. you are a real scumbag and you deserve $hit service you always seem to get.


You know who you are and so do the line guys who park you in the back 40. so dont complain.

 

[Flying Illini]

AV8R4,
At no time did I (or anyone else) trash line personnel. As far as your gripes, most of the FBO's I go to have no problem performing any of their duties with a smile on their face. Crew Cars...it pisses me off too when I get in a car that is trashed from other crews. That's not professional and I ALWAYS take in a few pieces that have been left in the car. I have NEVER left my trash in a crew car, nor have any of the guys I have flown with. I think it's unprofessional to do that and think that other people should clean up after you. However, I'm not going to vacuum a car, dust a car, wash a car, or put fuel into a car that I am only going to have for a few hours (you can't get far in that time, so you aren't using much fuel). I admit, I've gone over the time limit before BUT we asked before we left if we could be gone X number of hours. If I purchase $1200 worth of fuel, I EXPECT good amenities and EXCELLENT customer service (and I won't put ANY gas in a crew car...ever. It's not my job, nor my responsibility. The car is provided as an amenity). IF you can't smile and put on a good face at your job, then you shouldn't be there. PERIOD. Your job involves direct contact with customers and you are the first face seen as that door opens. Greet the pax and the pilots with a "hi, how are ya? What services will you require?" and do your job. If you don't like being nice and smiling all of the time, don't take the job. I can tell you that if I didn't put on a good face for my pax, I wouldn't last long at the job. Most days are great, but other days drag on or you just aren't in a smiling mood, but that doesn't matter, your job (and mine, as a pilot) involves direct customer contact, therefore, suck it up and put on a good face.
As far as trash, I always carry my own unless someone offers to take it in. I have no problem dragging my own coffee and ice to the airplane but usually those items, the ice in particular, aren't accessible to pilots so we HAVE to ask the people behind the counter for it, they in turn, call you line guys.
I expect nothing from line service other than a professional attitude and the willingness to help me do whatever I need to do to make my pax happy. If they aren't happy, we hear about it. If we (pilots) aren't happy, the FBO hears about it...or they don't, but I guarantee we won't be going to that FBO again.

Bottom line, the job of a line-man IS customer service. Any line person who thinks otherwise is in the wrong. The job of the FBO is to provide pilot and pax services. Happy pax=happy crew. Happy crew=a fuel purchase=return business.

Now, after this rant it may seem like I hate line-personnel, that's untrue. There are many very good line people out there and they can make all the difference in how my day goes.
There are also many good FBO's out there, they are the ones that realize that crew cars are an expense to doing business and that they exist to server the customer. The bad ones are the ones that think that what they do is just another job. It is very easy to tell as soon as you get off the plane which place you are at.

 

[AV8R4]

Flying Illini,

You speak the truth. I have no problem with that. I know the ins and outs of line service and I also know how to smile when all you want to do is stick your foot in some rich guys butt. I don't like my job but I show up every day ready to work. I provide the best service available in this industry. It's tough having to do the grunt work and always getting the short end of the stick. I'm sure you know what I mean.

 

[h25b]

"It's tough having to do the grunt work and always getting the short end of the stick. I'm sure you know what I mean. "

Hate to be the bearer of the bad news here bud, I'll let you in on the secret though. As a corporate pilot, YOU do have to do the grunt work and you will get the short end of the stick.... ! ....

But I wouldn't trade it for anything, because I do love what I do and I don't mind going out of my way for the passengers because that translates in to another wonderful thing I call job security...

Fortunately, most FBO's and line service provide excellent service. most pilot's, myself included, have worked the line and understand what it's like. On the tipping front, some pilots do and some don't. Get used to it. I always make sure one of us has tipped the van driver for a ride to the hotel or for lunch/dinner. But never for anything around the airport except for service above and beyond the call of duty. I don't get tipped for performing what's in my job description or for anything else for that matter. Sorry And believe me, I could tell you some stories about going completely beyond the call of duty and not even having it acknowedged. I don't mean to knock the wind out of your sails, but if you plan on eventually flying for a living you have a few more disappointments left ahead of you besides getting stiffed on tips. Remember, if it weren't for those rich guys we would be out of work.

 

[LegacyDriver]

FBO ramp monkeys that try to make you park tail-to-the-wind. Not a problem in an Embraer, but in a Citation or Mitsu-Beech-i it can definitely contribute to engine startup issues.

 

[AV8R4]

Known as a "Hot Start" Correct?