Former airline guy here, but avoiding the pax is THE reason earbuds are a bad idea. You wear a uniform, you represent that company; "avoiding" the pax is poor service or a lack of interest. You want avoid pax, fly freight.

GF

I'm surprised that a company's policy would allow the wearing of headphones in uniform - especially if the purpose was to avoid interacting with passengers. The issue with backpacks is not the backpack itself is it but rather the carrying of the backpack by slinging it over your shoulder in uniform?

I see your point, but I'm not a customer service rep. You want me to wear that hat, then pay for my time. Its like going up to a guy in a store while he's on his lunch break and asking if he can help you. And furthermore, I only wear then while commuting in or out, when I really am on my own time.

Maybe I'm old fashioned, but if you're wearing the uniform, you represent your employer. He's paying your salary, he deserves your best efforts.

GF

I was buying a Christmas Tree at Wal-Mart a few weeks ago. The trees were on display but to buy one they had to be fetched from under a tarp on their patio by one of their employees. I found one sitting outside near the trees. He was late 30's maybe early 40's. I preceded to ask him about getting the tree I wanted and he replied with "I'm on my lunch break."
"Oh." I said. "Can you call someone who isn't on their..."
He cut me off. "Bro. What do you not get about 'I'm on my lunch break?'"

Maybe he was having a bad day? Maybe he is bitter that he is around 40 and not in an advancement level at Wal-Mart? Maybe Wal-Mart just doesn't pay him enough to care?

Either way, I'm sure he will continue to go far in life.

Wearing headphones to avoid questions from passengers isn't about being a pilot who isn't being paid at that moment, it's about avoiding being a human being. Christ, what is wrong with you?

I agree. I hated working for a former company, but they were paying my paychecks, and I did have a job, which is more than a lot of people can these days.

Other people complained, but they didn't try to find something better. I kept my mouth shut, did my work, and was willing to take on more work. It kept me safe through 3 layoffs.

Patience and persistence prevailed. I now work for a job that pays twice as much, pays for half my fight training through tuition reimbursement, and I even get half the month off because it is shift work. 12 hour work days, but I have so many off days that I book my lessons sometimes twice a day.

Life is treating me well right now, and I definitely dress sharp. You never know when I'll be talking to the next big wig that has a connection.

Earbuds? Really?
 

Lets be honest here, the Iphone/mobile-computing-device has become a staple of modern life. When you walk down the terminal 90 percent of everybody at any given time has their earbuds in. Thats doctors, businessmen, families, students, sports professionals, professional musicians, EVERYBODY. It has become the cultural norm and isn't looked down upon like perhaps when the first ipod came out. No to mention most modern smart phones are as unergonmic as ever to hold to your ear to make a call. If you are walking up to the gate of the flight you're working, or on the plane or jet bridge, its go-time. But for most regionals, duty rigs don't exist, so literally your time between flights is your own time. I am a firm believer that if you are not getting compensated for your time, you can do whatever the hell you want because you are no longer costing or responsible for making the company money/they are not responsible for for paying you. In any given airport there are hundreds of crewmembers cruising around at any given time, and from what I've noticed people realize that the airport environment is your living room, and cultural norms already dictate that it is socially acceptable for any professional or pleasure traveler to utilize modern technology of the smart phone to pass otherwise boring time because it is a brilliant invention and everybody knows it. I feel that most people who have a problem with such modern cultural norms are perhaps older and stuck in the ways of the past, much like people who dont accept interacial relationships or say homosexuality....or for the older people, those who were against Elvis and The Beatles. Social norms change. Get over it.

+1^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Really? Really?

Again, this is a SERVICE industry. You should never, repeat NEVER, miss a chance to help (serve) your customers. That means directing them to bathrooms, helping them find their gates or (God forbid!) answering any questions they might have about the weather, routing or flying in general.

Wear your uniform correctly, save the earbuds for the commute home and act like a PROFESSIONAL for a change. Its no wonder this profession is going to the dogs.

P.S. You might want to try breaking up your rant with paragraphs occasionally. Makes your selfish, entitlement attitude easier to read if not easier to digest.