I was chatting with a friend and co-worker the other day, about how we vowed that we would never become one of those flight attendants...
I remember thinking to myself when I first got my wings, I was really going to make a difference in my passengers travel expearience. I didn't want to be one of those seemingly cold and indifferent flight attendants that everyone complains about. I wanted to make everyone happy, and glad that they were on my plane. My friend and I agreed that we had the same dream. So what happeneds when reality hits?
The truth is, you can not please everyone. Sometimes you can't please anyone, no matter how hard you try, especially passengers. One can go out of their way to please someone, only to be slapped in the face with ingradititude so long before they realize that all their hard work is in vain. Getting blamed for weather delays, yelled at for this that and the other, threatened, over worked and under paid, and sleep deprivation takes its toll.
I asked my friend how long her "new flight attendant feeling" lasted. She told me right up untill the first passenger yelled at her for something trivial that she had no control over. That's pretty much the same feeling from most flight attendants that I talk to.
A hard lesson that I have learned is that you do not have to give every inch of your soul, to make someone happy. Besides getting done with work on-time with no delays, the greatest joy for me is seeing someone walking towards me to leave with a smile on their face. Knowing that I made someone smile is the best. Working with as many new hire flight attendants as I have recently, I have been reminded of when I started flying almost six years ago. I see the look in their eyes and the joy in their voices because they are flying. It keeps me in perspective to why I am still here...
