It's not our fault you missed your flight...

You have no idea how many people miss their flights and blame it on us.

People simply want to absolve themselves of all responsibility, and blame the airline for everything. Today, for example, at the ticket counter, a person walked up to the kiosk to check in, and after I told him he was late, he began cursing and swearing, saying all sorts of stuff, and all the while, trying to blame me for HIS error.

For entitlement, people also say some of the craziest things. If a flight is delayed due to reasons beyond the airline's control, no compensation is provided. Why? It wasn't our fault. Simple as that. If, let's say, an airplane had a mechanical delay, then if the situation applies (i.e., delayed more than 4 hours, compensation is provided in the form of vouchers for free food), compensation is provided. But if it's anything else, forget it. Today, a woman, younger than me by a year, with her newborn child, demanded to receive compensation for a delayed flight. The delay was caused by air traffic; responsibility falls on the FAA on that one, since it affect not just every airline, but general aviation as well. And even then, this was not caused by congestion. It was caused by inclement weather. The supervisor told her "no" to compensation. It was not our responsibility. She then demanded to check a bag free (I do not work for Southwest Airlines). I told her no.

A few months ago (and this one riled me up, since I was paying off some medical bills), a hospital director/surgeon (not sure if he was bluffing), flying to Greensboro, North Carolina, asked to fly only to Charlotte, North Carolina (he was connecting in Charlotte, then onto Greensboro). I told him he could do it, but would cost him a change fee plus difference in fare. He didn't understand the concept, since he figured we could simply change the bag tag (he checked two bags) to say that he was flying only to Charlotte. He got upset, needless to say. He didn't want to pay the change fee, nor the difference in fare. A supervisor got involved with the madman, and waived the difference in fare, which was well over $400 US, but nothing. He went on to Charlotte, no-showed for the Greensboro flight, and the bags went as tagged to Greensboro. They were sent back to Charlotte for the doctor to pick up. If he couldn't afford to pay the ticket reissue, I certainly hope he could afford the minimal gas that he had to put in to his Aston Martin.

Why did this one rile me up so much? I had to get three months worth of medication for a skin and nail infection. Each bottle was a month's worth. A month's worth of pills, and a month's worth of pay. Each bottle was about $500. And that is AFTER benefits. If I could pay for those pills with the chicken scratch pay I get, he, a doctor, a self-proclaimed hospital administrator, could most certainly pay for the difference in fare and change fee! Hell, he could even buy the tickets first class the entire way there! But, no! Because he wasn't getting his way, he had to make a big stink about it. Well, guess what, doc? Tough luck! I had to suck it up when I paid for those pills. And you don't see me yelling at the pharmacist because the pills are way out of my budget. Yes, it's life and death, just as it was in his case (he was supposedly operating on a patient the following morning).

The days of the airlines treating passengers like royalty went away with deregulation in 1978. The consumer was helped out with lower ticket prices at the expense of airline operability, finance, pay, and safety. So don't even bother. We, as employees, are suffering as much as you are. You refuse to pay the right price for tickets. And guess where that bites us employees: IN OUR PAYCHECKS! Thank you, paying customer.

Part "Één"...A first post

Working at the airport, you see a lot of things. You get to meet a lot of people, and you get to indirectly learn about psychology. You see extremes at the airport terminal. Ticket counter, gates, baggage, I've worked all three.

I work for a major airline, as you can see in my profile text. Just recently, I had my two-year anniversary with my airline. And so far, I'm satisfied with my job. Every day, I encounter different people, and have made some sort of effect in their lives, which I find satisfying, and enjoyable.

This first post I'll take to relate some of the things I have seen people do at the airport.

My first day on the job was okay. I was very nervous, and rightly so. I had no idea of what I had to do, and I was practically thrown to the wolves.

My second day on the job, I was yelled at for the first time as an airline employee. The customer's bag was a few pounds overweight. First thing I did was look to my supervisor who was next to me, who then said, "You need to take some weight out of that bag". They replied "That's how it came down". The supervisor said, "Well, at that weight, the bag will cost $50." He moved the weight, I took over, and he said "your #### airline sucks, m#########", and walked off. My supervisor saw what happened, and simply smiled and said, "Welcome to the airline industry, Gil!".

I have seen the strangest things in my life. The nearly 700 days I have been employed by my airline, I have seen many things that I will tell my grandchildren, and that you will now know.

Have you ever seen a woman, a mother, walking around in a polo shirt? I'm sure we all have. Have you seen one with all her shirt buttons undone? Or how about one with a breast hanging out (covered only by her bra)? One with her breast hanging out of the shirt neck, undone, and not even notice? I think not!

It is customary to show your ID to the agent tagging your bag. What happens when you do not have one?

Well, I had an interesting encounter with a man who claims he lives in a nudist colony not far from the airport (his shirt said so...ironic he had one on). This man was looking for his wallet after I asked him for his ID. Now mind you, this man is a good 80 years old. His daughter is in her 60s. After about a minute of the old man searching for his missing wallet, his daughter pulls out a magazine. She asked me if I could see his picture in a magazine. Before I could finish saying that I had to see a government-issued ID, she opens the magazine to show the same old man without so much as a thread of fabric on his body. They caught me off-guard. This made me the laughing stock of the ticket counter, and where even other employees of the same airline in other cities knew about my encounter of the naked kind. He ended up finding a wallet in a pocket in his cargo shorts (apparently, he didn't know how to use them).

I have also seen an old lady, standing across the hall from our ticket counter, drop her rolling bag, open it, and promptly change in front of everyone, and not even noticing that people are around her, staring in disbelief.

Another thing that I have noted is people's sense of entitlement. Especially when they pay a dirt-cheap fare. They pay for McDonalds and are expecting Cordon Bleu service. On top of that, the way people get so riled up about even the smallest things shows just how ridiculous people can become.

But that's just what I'll post for now. More funny things later!

Happy flying!