Originally Posted by
Planetrain
This is what works for me:
At the END of the briefing, if I know we’re supposed to get crew meals, I say, “hey, me and the copilot hadn’t eaten this morning/all day/etc. we see we’re supposed to get crew meals on this flight. Can you check and make sure they’re loaded? When you’re done with service, can we do a break/pass them up/etc.”
Say it with a smile, set the tone, make them aware, say it last (law of recency). 60% of the time it works every time.
And depending on what the meal is, you can just have them bring it up to you when you're done with the preflight briefing. Put it on the floor, eat it later. Works every time.