Sir Are You Sure This is Your Seat?

I have flown airlines literally thousands of miles throughout my career (domestic and international) and I am old enough to remember the days when air travel was still enjoyable.  There was a time when you were always greeted with a warm smile and sincere welcome when you boarded an aircraft for a flight.  Somewhere in the late 1980s to early 2000s that all changed as through mergers and acquisitions there were fewer choices of airlines.

A few years ago, while I was still on the road most of the time, I booked a flight to Dallas on one of the largest airlines in the country.  This airline had purchased the carrier that I had commonly used for years, and in the process robbed me of several thousands of flight miles.  This oligarch carrier also eliminated several direct flight routes that were offered by my old airline.  But I digress, I booked my flight using their limited availability schedule and without the use of my points.

On the day of my flight, I went through the usual song-and-dance of parking at the airport and going through the police line-up-like security that now rules those facilities.  After finding a decent cup of coffee, I hunkered in for the long wait that we all experience (face it, flights are never on schedule).  Once my number was called, I went and stood in the endless line of passengers waiting for luggage to be loaded in the overhead bins.  Finally, making my way through the gauntlet of always confused passengers, I found my seat.

It’s all downhill from here, nothing to do but sit back and let someone else do the driving.  Well, not exactly, after two minutes of occupying what I knew was my seat (I can read and it was clearly marked on my boarding pass), another passenger steps up and says, “I think you are in my seat”.  After another look at my boarding pass, I looked at him with all the confidence of a President about to make a State of the Union address and said: “no, this is my seat”.  After showing the man my ticket, he was still adamant that it was his seat.

The man stormed off to find a flight attendant, he had the same demeanor my little brother used to have when I wouldn’t share my candy with him.  Upon return, the man found a female flight attendant who wasted little time attacking me.  “Sir are you sure this your seat?”, she asked in a tone that reminded me of my least favorite grade school teacher.  Again, brimming with confidence I replied yes in a very calm voice.  This did not settle well with the flight attendant, she felt that my attitude was bad (Really?  You think this attitude is bad, don’t try taking my cocktail away from me).

Even after offering up my boarding pass, the flight attendant was already looking to have me bodily removed from the cabin.  A person I was traveling with (a lady) told me that this attendant was looking for some balls to bust, and I was next in line.  During the whole process, this flight attendant treated me as if I was a scum stowaway looking to get my hands on the free peanuts.  Her attitude towards me was very toxic, yet, I had done nothing wrong.  She had convicted me of this egregious crime without even looking at the evidence.

Finally, after close examination of the ticket, the flight attendant realized I was in the right seat (forget about the fact that my travel partner had vouched for my seating assignment).  She simply handed my ticket back to me, turned to the man who started this quandary, looked at his ticket and lead him to his proper seating assignment!   She never offered an apology for the misunderstanding, rather she gave me a dirty look and walked away.  Ok, it was 5 agonizing minutes of my life that I will never get back and I was never afforded the decency of an apology for a mistake that clearly wasn’t mine.

This was not an isolated incident, with the constant merger of airlines (for that matter, many businesses) comes the inevitable shitty service that lack of competition brings.  With the stress, distrust, and anger that these mergers can bring to employees, it is no wonder that customer service dies.  It wouldn’t have been so bad if the attendant would have been smiling and nice while this dilemma unfolded, but instead, she was obviously bitter and burned out.  I am noticing that these situations are becoming increasingly normal.

I have conservative/Republican friends who constantly tell me of the virtues of competition such as innovation, value and improved customer service.  On this, we agree.  But tell me why it is then, that we have constant shrinkage of business sectors through mergers and acquisitions in this capitalist system?  And doesn’t that decrease competition because there are fewer companies in those sectors?  I think the questions are easily answered.  With the constant mergers of companies comes the decline in customer service and other benefits promised under this wonderful capitalist system.

The airlines are particularly guilty of these issues, whether through the lack of pay, benefits or just respect to employees.  The flight attendants are the best example of the problem as they have more customer exposure than any other airline employee.  This makes the flight experience less enjoyable than it used to be (isn’t bad enough that they keep cramming seats into coach?).  And with all the new rules and regs brought on by 911, you are no longer a customer but rather a privileged guest.

You pay good money for a seat, a ride, transportation on an airplane, but so much as fart in the wrong direction and they will drag your happy ass down the aisle and off the aircraft like a wet bag of manure.  At some point, to get on the plane, you will have to be shackled like a prisoner transport–complete with a bag over your head.  The 911 issues aside, it is the lack of competition that has transported the airline business into a cattle transport racket.   All we ask for in this ever increasingly depressed world is just a little customer service and smile along the way.

Talk to Ya Later

The Grumpy Old Fart Customer @2109 All Rights Reserved