Cheapskate Captains

[Resume Writer]

The one that I heard that takes the cake is the Captain that would have everyone eat together at the hotel, order the most expensive stuff on the menu, including the most expensive bottle of wine and drink it all himself. Then when the bill would come he would split it up equally between everyone no matter what they ordered. He would then wait till everyone left the table and he would scoop up all their tips.

That reminds me of a story about a Captain I flew with on the 757. He insisted that we go to some Tavern in BOS that Paul Revere ate at or something. Then he proceeds to insist that we try these "tavern chips" and keeps raising the bill up. When it came time to "split" the bill, we came up short. All the FA's thought each other had stiffed. So, here are all the poor FA's chipping in more money while he sat there and did not come up with a penny. Come to find out, after talking, it was the Captain. He now works for SWA!

Now for a great Captain story. We had a Captain, that every time we went to EWR, he would take the whole crew out to dinner in Portuegese (sp?) EWR. He would order a big thing of paella (seafood rice dish) and bottles of Sangria. Then he would pay for everything, without taking a dime from the crew. He eventually went to UAL, which we really missed him. Not only was he a nice person, but he was a good Captain. He always backed up the crew on any passenger problems.

Kathy

 

[vetteracer]

Interesting, It brought to mind a thread quite a while back on which folks were discussing doing just that. They got pretty indignant when I suggested it might not be very ethical. http://forums.flightinfo.com/showthread.php?t=2381

It did not really bother me to much, but they would park right up front at the FBO. Then scam a ride over to the terminal.

HINT: Some guys would do this, but would be honest and tell the line guys what they were doing. And that there may or may not be a case of beer in the back seat. Wink Wink.

That case of beer to a bunch of guys that were making $7.00 an hour was a nice treat. When this guy called from the terminal for a pickup, his car usually got started and warmed up when it was cold out. Small acts of kindness with the right folks can go a long way. So lets see, a case of beer once a month, not a bad buy for vallet service.

Mark

 

[irapilot]

So one day, it was my leg. I was in the left seat doing whatever and the pax came. The Capt. (he was new to me) greeted them and they got on board. I was waiting for the door light to go out or at least hear him futzing around in the entrance and it seemed to take forever. I finally turn around and there he is, with the ramp rug all rolled up, stuffing it in the baggage with a kinda "kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar" look. I went to his house for dinner soon after that and his entire garage floor was covered in ramp rugs. I could tell you other stories but this guy was incredible, he got so much crap for "free". And, he was making top $. It actually was funny and or embarrassing, depending.

 

[Tripower455]

All pilots should be made to work the line for a year.

Amen......

I did the obligatory line job for a few years, as well as many of the other "lesser" jobs around the airport, and it really made me appreciate how much work these guys do. I always cringe when I see some condescending A-hole giving these folks a hard time.....


This also includes: F.A.s, CSA's, ops people, rampers etc...........

You will get much farther and make the day more pleasant for everyone with a kind word and empathy than with abuse.

My lineman job was the "in" I needed to get a flying job with the company. I had been working for the same company (in MX) in a different location. The president of the company asked me to go out to HTO to be a lineman one summer ( a bit of a downgrade in job description), because they were having a hard time getting help that they could trust. In return, he would put me on as a pilot in the fall. I jumped on it, and don't regret it one bit.

There was one guy, who was one of the chief pilots (they had 2 certificates......long story), who was a major a-hole to me both when I was in MX as well as on the line. He knew that I was a pilot, and told me on several occasions that I would never work for that company. I got along with everyone else at the company but him (fortunately, I got along with his boss better than he did).

He used to give me crap about everything when he came in. He didn't trust me to fuel the Lear properly, so he would supervise. I would really take my time to do it "right", especially when it was really hot or cold out .

He ended up giving me my VFR 135 ride in the Chieftan (I had about 550 hours or so)! He was getting his DE in that airplane and was being supervised by the POI (thank God). He gave me an hour oral on that plane, and it was obvious that he wasn't very familiar with the systems (I was), so it was kind of a rough oral (me explaining to him really how it worked while he argued with me). He ended up giving me an entire IFR checkout "by mistake", with the fed watching. I did well, and I passed (I had been 91 checked out on most of the a/c for a while and had been ferrying and doing mx test flights on them). I found out later that there were some wagers made that I wouldn't pass!!!!!!

AFAIK, he has fallen into the "lower" levels of the business........

The good guys (most) made the job worthwhile. The guys that would bring Billy Joel in when he chartered a Lear would always give us a tray or 2 of the leftover (and usually untouched) catering. We got cold seafood platters a few times! Rest assured that we remembered these guys, and when it came time for them to sit around, our cars were available to them, and occasionally, our house. It's amazing how far a kind word and a soda from one of those guys will go.....


The dicks got the bare minimum, or less...........

I ended up getting 2 other jobs later due from meeting people as a lineman.

 

[AA717driver]

We always give away the catering to the line guys(Notice the tug drivers at Garrett/LAX getting a little plump? ). If we are staying a long time somewhere, we'll even give them the beer.

Since I'm new to the corporate thing, my biggest problem is remembering to bring enough cash to tip the line guys. We often have over 20 bags and tipping is a must.

Fortunately, there are few cheapskates where I am now. Now, the airlines were a totally different thing... TC

 

[Swede]

It's fun to goof on the cheap captain stereotype, but I've also flown with many, many captains of the opposite persuasion. I've seen guys pick up the tab in Europe for an entire 777 crew (that's 12-14 people) for an evening of drinks and chow. Easily $300+. I'd say 80% of cockpit crews, when dining with female FA's, simply prohibit the women from ever opening their purses the whole evening. There's a lot of generous cockpits out there.

On the other hand, what scenario is more painful than some Capt. who grabs the bill; everyone's thinking "What a guy!", only to have him divide the bill by the number of people and gathering in the cash from a bunch of new-hire flight attendants on probation. Usually, there's too much $$ at the end, and I've seen more than one leave a crappy tip and surreptitiously pocket the rest.

One more painful scenario - out for a bean with 8 to 12 crewmembers, at a modest pub, only to have the Capt. demand "separate checks!" when everyone is ordering fish + chips or some other bar food. You can see the waiter grimace in disgust as his workload is increased exponentially.

 

[English]

As a new hire, I've been continually impressed with the captains at my airline. I've had numerous captains offer to buy me lunch because they say probationary year pilots shouldn't be paying for their own food. I went to sim training last month, and even though our company gives us expense checks before we go, several captains bought drinks and meals. They wouldn't even let me buy a round!

It seems to be a tradition here. I'll be honored to do the same when I upgrade.

 

[A Squared]

So, on the flip side, what about those flight attendants who go along for food and drinks with the absolute expectation that the flight crew will pay for their share, who won't even make a pretense of reaching for their purses, let alone actually buy a round? Yeah, there's no F/a on my plane, but I know enough guys who fly passengers to have heard the stories. Seems to me they are just as contemptible as captains who try to stiff the crew.

 

[mar]

Capt always buys. Always!

AA--There was a similiar thread on pprune about a year ago and the very same point you make was brought up.

Everyone is different so I'm only speaking for myself, but when I fly in the left seat I always buy. I see it as an investment.

Not only that, but the pay disparity between the left seat and the FAs in the back is atrocious. Sure it's kinda tacky to leave your purse or wallet stowed when the Capt whips out his...I mean reaches for his credit card...but it's worth it in the long run.

And not that I've ever flown with flight attendants either but the psychology is the same. The crew works harder for a Capt who shows that he appreciates putting up with the crappy loads and/or the drunk jerk in the back of the plane.

And those FAs who don't pull harder for the team probably wouldn't anyway no matter what.

Let's face it. Who's got the tougher job? The dude up front with his foot on the panel or the FA pushing the cart dealing with the tired, cramped, sweaty, huddled masses.

That's worth a round to me.

 

[A Squared]

mar,

I'm not talking about whether the captain *should* buy the beer. He should, or at least the lion's share of it. I'm talking about whether a f/a should *expect* a captain to buy as a matter of course. That's 2 very different things. When I was an f/o, I had plenty of beer provided for me and more than a couple of meals, too ... sometimes by captains whom I wasn't even flying with. I *never* however, expected it, nor thought less of somone who didn't. Personally, I'd rather have a captain who splits the tab at the bar, but pitches in and does his share of dirty work out on the line. It's pretty easy to slap a couple of twenties down on the bar, it's sometimes a little harder to lean into the harness and pull your share of the weight when you'd really rather be inside sipping coffee and flirting with the girl behind the counter, and I think it's a truer gauge of one's character.

Oh, and just in case anyone's foriming unwarranted assumptions ... the beer in the bar after the flight *is* on me