Yesterday, toward the end of a particularly long flight, another flight attendant and I were in the galley FINALLY getting a chance to eat our dinner.
Our crew meals aren't any great shakes, but it had been a long day on the airplane, we had gone through all the healthy snacks that we typically bring, and we were starving.
During the flight we had already served a meal, two beverage services, and an additional time through the cabin with coffee. Most passengers had settled in, sleeping, reading, or otherwise occupying themselves.
Just as we sat down on the jumpseat, a passenger came back to the galley, stepped in front of where we were sitting to eat, and said: "I don't mean to interrupt your dinner, but. . . ."
". . . but you're going to, aren't you?" I silently finished. Ten minutes later I finally got back to my dinner.
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7 comments:
You'd think that they would know better, right!?! Me and C. had a pax come up to the galley last night on our flight after we had finished all of our services and tell us that (after he had already had 2 cups) his coffee was weak and he was a pilot for ____ airlines and his flight attendants brew the coffee with two bags and we should do that too because our coffee was horrible. I wanted to punch the guy! He was a freakin' nonrev for crying out loud! I felt better after C. made a joke though (after he went and sat back down of course) saying 'at least our coffee wasn't as weak as his retirement will be.' hehehehe. That put us both back in a better mood! People can be so rude!
The nerve! What happened to the rule of being a well-behaved non-rev. Oh well, you will unfortunately have the last laugh.
As for the two-bagger, we occasionally do that when we want stronger (faux espresso)coffee. But this is for crew consumption, not the entire plane. And certainly not for an ill-behaved non-rev pilot!
lol...no doubt! My dad was pilot so I grew up non-reving and there were rules to this...you sit down, you shut up, you don't ask for anything special, etc. To be able to non-rev is a privilage...especially when you riding on an airline that's not your own!
I'm not sure I understand what the big deal is. By that I don't mean that you do not deserve a break, because you do, but I can't tell if you're upset with the customer. If there was a way for customers to know that a flight attendant was off-duty, that would be great.
Now, the problem with that is that you can really only have a break if you're somewhere that customers can't find you, because a sign on your uniform that says, 'Hey, I'm on a break. There are plenty of other folks on this flight who can help you, can you ask them?' is a sure way to get someone to interrupt you. So you're sort of stuck, and that's got to be frustrated.
I guess you could hide in the toilet, but you've made it clear that you stay away from the toilet unless you can't help it.
So I guess I'm not sure what you're saying in this post -- I think you're not complaining about the customer, maybe you're just sighing about the inability to get a break.
Anonymous: We may joke about it, but we're really not quite that bad. But that's how I act when I travel. Any courtesy is greatly appreciated, but I know that the food, drink and attention should go first to those who are paying for it.
On the other hand, any non-rev who is nice, courteous, and appreciative is someone who we will bend over backwards to help. The old golden rule to treat others how you would like to be treated.
Robert: Flight attendants don't actually get "breaks." We just have to try to eat, use the lavatory, etc., where there is a break in the service or passenger demands. So, to finally sit down and have dinner is a big deal.
I wasn't complaining about this passenger, merely musing about the irony of someone saying that didn't want to interupt something and then going ahead and doing just that. She didn't want or need anything -- except to talk because she was bored. So we had to entertain someone for 10 minutes while our meal got cold and our stomachs continued to rumble.
We couldn't get a break -- neither figuratively nor literally.
Thanks for the clarification. I wasn't unsympathetic, I just didn't get it. Anyway, bye!
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