I just erased my longest blog ever. It was the story of airline abuse like you would not believe. It was a story of stupidity and absurdity like none other. Except that isn’t true. If you fly at all, you know exactly what I’m talking about. You have a story just as bad or maybe worse. So it wasn’t worth taking you down the path of bad service from an airline because you have been there. So here is a slightly altered rant, with a moral to the story.
When I leave my house in Paradise Valley in Arizona to fly to an engagement, I know that by the time I return, I will be disappointed, abused, talked down to, talked back to, ignored, belittled, poorly served and more by a group of people who honestly don’t give a crap about me or any of their other customers: airline employees. The airline industry sucks. Poor service runs rampant. Airline employees for the most part are the worst employees in America. I recently told an American Airlines flight attendant that the only thing being Executive Platinum and flying first class did was get me on the plane earlier so they could be rude to me longer! She didn’t think I was funny. But the others sitting around me did! So that’s why I erased my long boring bitchy blog: same ol’ story that you could just as easily have told me.
Now before all of you airline employees write me defending yourselves, know that I am not indicting all of you, but I indicting many of you. There are some very nice people who work for the airlines and still care about the customer – I appreciate all of you nice people who help me so often. However, in the story I wrote and erased I kept track of how many employees I talked to about the fiasco I will call a trip – the number was over twenty. I had only one person say they were sorry that my flight was canceled – that there was a four hour delay – that their own agent accidentally erased my return record when I had to change my connecting flight due to the cancellation. No apology when my bags were lost – so lost they didn’t even show up as lost in the system and after being lost for two days. I later found out they sent them to the wrong city – not because the tag was wrong but because a baggage handler wasn’t paying attention. I am pretty used to getting bad service from airlines as I am a professional traveler. And even though all travel sucks, it is much more palatable when someone says, “i’m sorry.” Out of twenty who could have said those simple words, one did.
In fact, many of you airline employees know what I am talking about because you have told me your own horror stories about traveling. Travel is stressful for all of us – travelers and employees. But employees are paid to take it – the rest of us have to pay to get it! By the way, I want to go ahead and post a comment about the employees of US Airways in Philadelphia. These people are the worst group of employees of any company in any city on the planet – bar none! Sorry guys, you suck like no one else sucks. Ask anyone who has ever flown through your city. You are rude, horrible people and if I ruled the world, everyone of you would be working at McDonald’s saying, “Want fries with that?” (I feel so much better now.) By the way, I did a poll of all people before saying this and everyone I asked just laughed when I asked about Philadelphia airline employees – to a person they all said you were the worst! And if your response to that comment is, “That’s not fair.” Okay, it’s not. I am sure that there are also good employees in Philadelphia – so where are you hiding them?
The point of this whole rant is this: When I finally got to my destination of Williamsport, PA and was standing in line to report my lost bags along with several other people, I met some of the nicest folks ever. My bags were lost. The car scheduled to pick me up didn’t show. There isn’t much for taxi service in Williamsport and the wait was going to be long. But a nice couple who recognized me and had also been the victim of much of the same airline abuse I had been, came over to me and asked if I needed a ride to my hotel. I was incredulous. What a deal!!!! Just plain old good folks being nice to another human being for no other reason except they could be. Cindy and Carl. In a hurry to get home I’m sure. Other things to do, I’m sure. But they saw another human being in distress and came to the rescue. My faith in humanity was restored. About the time I am ready to give up on the human race, and some nice folks like Cindy and Carl show up to save the day.
It was a reminder for me. I am a jerk, no question about it. I am loud and obnoxious and outspoken as you have probably noticed. But, believe it or not, I try to be a nice guy and come to the rescue from time to time when i can. Just to prove to myself I have not fallen victim to the rudeness and stupidity that most of our world has become. I must admit that I do it for selfish reasons. The person I do my little bit for is helped, but I am helped much more because I have reminded myself I am fighting back against the giant tug to become one more rude, uncaring person that is quickly filling up our society. I need that reminder. I need to know I am still a caring person. I suggest you be selfish too. Go out and do some little nice thing for someone just to remind yourself you are better than the herd. it doesn’t take much.
By the way…. Thanks Cindy. Thanks Carl.
Hey Larry,
Come to Canada. Fly WestJet. No I’m not an employee or related to one but last November I had a great flight from Montreal to Vancouver (return). Actually I flew out on Halloween and some of the staff were in costume. Everyone was friendly and smiling. Boarding gate service was fast and efficient, on flight service was super too.
“Sorry guys, you suck like no one else sucks. Ask anyone who has ever flown through your city. You are rude, horrible people and if I ruled the world, everyone of you would be working at McDonald’s saying, “Want fries with that?” (I feel so much better now.)”
Oh God, that has to be the funniest thing I’ve read in months!! Larry, I SO wish you ruled the world.
Larry, I do SO love your blog! You rant like no other and say things I often think. There is simply no excuse for some people’s behavior; there should be no climbing over other humans to get to the top of the heap. We’re all in this together, and by “this” I mean life. We all came into the world the same way (or a variation of same) and we will all end up the same way, i.e., drawing our last breath.
Keep up the commonsense, and, Larry, keep on ranting!
Hey Larry, just saw you in a Hyundai commercial! I wasn’t even watching, I just thought I heard your voice and looked up to see if I was imagining things. And there you were!
Yep, doing the Hyundai commercial – more things like that to come. Thanks to all for your comments about the blog. I appreciate them more than you know. I will keep ranting about all the things I see that just don’t make sense to me.
Here’s my rant: Can’t you do one blog a day??? 🙂
I know you are probably super busy, so I understand you probably can’t do one every day, I just wish I could hear more ranting, I always get a good laugh out of it! Have a great week!
Larry,
Hey! I just caught you on the ‘Today Show’, I loved what I heard! Thanks for telling it like it is. I can’t wait to get my hands on your new book.
Dena Atkins
Hello Larry, Your critique of the American airline industry employees are understandable. When I travel to other counties, especially Asia, I get much better service with respect. As easy as it is to kick an industry below the belt, I think the bigger problem needs to be highlighted: American workers can be lazy! There is little to no work ethic at all in this country. Rarely does anyone in the service industry give a crap… and that reflects in their attitude towards the customer. But on the flip side, most of us who are privileged usually forget how hard it can be to deal with people complaining all the time. I have traveled in first class several times and am truly amazed at the arrogance of some rich folks. I am not implying you are one of them, but I have witnessed many snooty wealthy jerks that make working in the service industry look unbearable: a borderline master/slave expectation. I probably do not complain off the cuff to the service employee in front of my face as much as I should. But if I do receive treatment that is truly unjust, I complain to the upper management, write a letter to the appropriate department at corporate, and never give them my business again. I will never ever rent from Hertz again… and that incident happened 20 years ago.
Airline service keeps getting worse. But, my biggest gripe is that they don;t clean the plane between flights. Trash is in the seats, under the seats, and in the jackets. It makes me wonder how long it has been since the trays have been cleaned. It’s disgusting.
Larry – I just had to write to share this one with you. It doesn’t have anything to do with the airline industry but I thought of you immediately after the following happened to me.
I went to a Babies R Us store the other day. I was looking for some mini animal crackers for my toddler’s Easter basket and the only place I’ve ever seen them are in the R Us stores (Babies or Toys). Anyway, while I was there I thought I’d browse a bit to see if there was anything else I might need/want. I picked up a couple items and then went to the checkout counter. I hadn’t found the item that I went there for, and there were none on the endcaps or the shelves by the registers. So I asked the girl working there if they had any of those mini animal crackers. She looked at me with no expression and said, I think we’re fresh out. (I got the distinct impression she didn’t even know what the item was – but she responded with that anyway). So I set my other items on the counter and (now remember this is within 10 seconds of my other question to her), and she looks at me and says, “Did you find everything alright?”. I said excuse me? And she said, did you find everything you were looking for? I replied, Well, no I didn’t. Don’t you remember I just asked you for an item and you said you didn’t have it? She didn’t say anything – just started ringing up my stuff. So I couldn’t stop there. I said, “Don’t you think that’s kind of humorous – that you just got done telling me you don’t have an item that I want, and then you follow that reply up with a question asking me if I got everything I was looking for?!”. She either didn’t get it or didn’t know how to respond – I don’t know. But she proceeded with the transaction, and I left – still laughing to myself about how ridiculous some of the people in the retail industry can be.
Thought I’d pass that one on to you. Saw you at a conference in Florida a couple years ago and thought you were hilarious and that you say what most of us would LOVE to say!
Have a great day.
Larry, I also live in the Phoenix area and fly out of Sky Harbor. When I fly for my private business or pleasure, I have some control over which airline I choose. However, when I fly on military status as an Air Force Reserve officer (which is several times a year), I have no choice…I have to fly the government contract carrier. For the route I usually fly, that contract carrier is US Air, in partnership with America West. I have to tell you, it is the WORST service I have ever received in nearly 20 years of flying. And it ticks me off that in addition to the regular airline subsidies, the American taxpayer is footing the bill for this crappy service through its government contract. Besides just being plain rude, at one point they even tried bumping me off the flight until I put my foot down, pulled out my military orders and they admitted they were not allowed to involuntarily bump someone on military orders. So then they turned to the 80-year-old grandma behind me in line at the gate and bumped her. I felt like crap.
On the other hand, I get great service through Southwest out of Sky Harbor the vast majority of time.
Thanks for letting me vent!
Oh Larry…. from one loud, obnioxious, outspoken, selfish jerk with compassionate tendencies to another – life is too short to become another rude, ugly bag of mostly water (human), but I am also quietly holding my breath and praying that some of these people are NOT procreating!
Larry
I think the US Air employees must be trained by the US Air staff in Dallas my home airport. I don’t think anyone can be worse than that group. I fly at least every week and sometimes more avoiding US Air as much as possible. Southwest is my favorite.
Hey Larry, I’ll be at Dukes on the beach in Waikiki last 2 weeks in April, I’ll buy you the best grilled tuna sandwich in the world and all the drink you can drink.
Oh, and yes, I will be flying Westjet!
Larry, as little Webster on TV used to say “What you gonna do about it”? First I want to thank Brad C. whom you know well, for having introduced me and our region to you and your books and CD’s.
Heard your voice first on the Hyandai ad and saw you on the Today show. How much of that was taped and edited or was that live? It didn’t come across as Larry Winget would!
I have travelled the world and unfortunately, most USA airlines have not fared well in my book of pleasant experiences. In Canada we have WestJet who are very enjoyable to fly with, similar to Southwest Air. During one flight to Winnipeg from Vancouver, very few passengers missed the pre-flight safety speel. The crew made it comical and set the tone for the flight, plus they enjoyed doing it as well. Unfortunately, Air Canada has gone the same route as some American airlines. Poor service, attitude and crappy food, if you can call that food.
WestJet is making money as well and has one of the best on time departure records.
I have travelled extensively and right now the Asian airlines (Singapore and Thai) are among the best. Unfortunately it has to come from the top down with a major shakeup. Most Westjet employees are shareholders (thus owners) and therefore they care. The pilot comes on from time to time to provide updates or tells us if there is something special to see out. Unions and associations are definitely handcuffing the industry as well.
Larry, how come as a frequent flier, you have not approached the top brass of the airlines you frequent? Most of these employees are beyond having fun at their jobs and should quit and find something else. Why don’t they…it’s because of the union pension and seniority!
Bring decent food back and raise the price accordingly. Or at least allow passengers to order this in advance via the internet. What is lunch in a restaurant? $20? Dinner $35 or more, including taxes and gratuities! We all remember the days when we had china, steel cutlery and glass? At least the long haul flights had this. The crew were friendly and passengers satisfied.
Everyone in economy should pay the same and if you book less than 7 days before the flight, you should pay more! That way the airlines can plan costs and passenger load. No need to bump. Perhaps provide better deals for frequent fliers. When you take a bus from point A to point B, there is a flat fee. No one pays less, no one pays more and no one gets a better deal sitting at the front or back of the bus. Out of a 100 air passengers, I am sure there are 50 or more who will not have paid the same price for a seat!
We Canadians are too nice and polite. Unfortunately, Americans have become know as the opposite. Many American travellers are sewing Canadian flags on their luggage, when they travel abroad? That may tell you what is happening to US employee and public attitudes, including airline staff!
Keep it up and trust we will meet one day through Brad? I’m still having fun!
Cheers
Ian
Ok Larry,
I have to point out the obvious here…the people in Philly through snowballs at Santa Clause during Eagles games.
I am a New Yorker who worked in Philly for 2 yrs and flew out of there on US Airways into Charlotte often. All I can say is I couldn’t wait to get back to NY where the people kind, considerate and joyful (well compared to Philly. lol)
Hi Larry,
you travel so much. this should be one of the area you treat yourself. you should really consider a private jet service. like a NetJets http://www.netjets.com a fractional ownership. you will be taken great care of and you will never have to be frustrated or stressed from air travel again.
best of luck to you!
Larry,
I fly interisland in Hawaii quite frequently and while much of flying is the hassle you portray it to be, our two primary carriers – Hawaiian and Aloha – go out of their way to make your trip a pleasant one. They always rank high nationally in on-time departures and arrivals. This helps mitigate some of the unpleasantness associated with flying today. Love your blog.
Rant on, Larry!
I have several horror stories myself — and I only fly a few times a year! But this ain’t my blog, so I won’t take up 22 pages telling stories.
But last year we had lots of geniuses: that moron who worked for AirTran kicked off the three year old (I know, many of you applaud that — get the FULL story first and you’ll see it was another example of airline abuse), the bozo at Southwest who humilated the woman who was dressed “too sexy” (yes, when she sat down in the skirt on Today you could see her undies, but, umm… after working in hospitality in my early 20’s — without implicating myself with details, trust me, the flight attendants I knew were not appropriate judges of morality), the TSA idiots who perpetrated the sippy-cup incident at Reagan National.
I went off on a blog calling airline workers glorified fast-food clerks with lower levels of customer service, and the retort I received was “we’re professionals, highly trained to save your life in an accident, blah, blah, blah”. I did the research and replied with, “OK. a glorified fast food worker with two weeks’ paid training in safety.” She responded by wishing death on me next time I fly. I may have called her an overpaid moron, but I didn’t wish death on her.
But that just shows the mentality we’re dealing with here: since 9/11, they no longer see themselves as customer service, but rather as “protectors”. Not like they protected much on 9/11. . . Their motto is “screw you and do what we say so you don’t get hurt”. And the sad fact is if we DON’T comply, we are guilty of a federal crime. . .
Anytime you fly on an airplane and get to your destination safe, it is a miracle!
Think about it. You have the privledge to ride on a multimillion dolar plane with highly trained pilots and crew guided by air-traffic controllers. It’s amazing you get all that for a feww hundred bucks! You can travel hundreds or even thousands of miles in mere hours!!! Try walking. driving, taking a train….There is nothing faster, safer and more convenient than flying. Yes, you’ll encounter a few bad employees…DEAL WITH IT!
Oh, Andrew… what would we do without our resident anti-Larry poster? If he said the sun came up this morning, you’d find a way to argue with him. LOL. Every blog has its grumpy, contrary curmudgeon… and you’re ours.
thanks Laurie.
Hey Larry,
Your rant is well timed as always! Just got back from a trip to Florida – outbound flight with Delta was okay but…… return flight with Air Tran was a complete nightmare. I’ll spare you the details, but let me say this – I have never been treated so poorly by an airline. They were rude, disrespectful, bumped us and sold our seats to someone else. They totally threw us under the bus all for the almighty dollar – of course! The sad thing is, most of the people who were abused right along with me will continue to use this airline if they can save a buck. And when they book thru Air Tran the next time, they are saying “it’s okay that you treated me like crap. I’m happy to give you an opportunity to abuse me again…. and I’ll even pay ya for it!” IDIOTS! I am a big believer in boycotts. If someone gives me poor service, I don’t return. If I don’t agree with the politics or business practices of a company, I don’t shop there or give them my money – no matter how low the prices are. Unfortuately, too many people sell themselves cheap!
Thanks for speaking out, Larry. YOU ROCK! Cheers – Jackie
Right back atcha, Larry.
You know Larry…you write books about how they call it work for a reason and tell people not to whine and complain about their jobs. You even tell people they shouldn’t expect to like their jobs…and then YOU complain about YOUR job and how YOU have to deal with airlines. I’m not trying to argue…but how about you practice what you preach? You make millions doing speeches around the country. In order to do that you have to fly. Oh well! If pointing that out makes me a “grumpy, contrary curmudgeon”, so be it.
You just get more adorable with every post, Andrew. Bless your little cotton socks.
But Larry wasn’t complaining about his job, or even about flying. He was complaining about people who don’t feel they have a personal responsibility to do their jobs well. If there’s one thing Larry stands for, it’s personal responsibility. So he is indeed practicing what he preaches… you are responsible for what you choose to do and how you choose to do it, and if you choose to do it badly, expect there to be consequences.