Knotcher

Scab side? Who exactly would that be? Be specific...that is if you have the stones to say it....

Photoflier

Honestly, the only person that I’ve seen on here that’s been denigrating is Captain Ass Hat

Photoflier

That is ridiculous. And that Captain is weird.

Photoflier

Fantastic! So for the field layover, it looks like the FO would be within his/her rights to secure a cab and her reimbursed. That would be absolutely fine with me if I felt the desire or need to stay until the end but the FO wanted to head to the hotel.

Photoflier

Last thing I’ll say on the subject: Of the big 4 airlines, who has the worst reputation with the traveling public? United. Hands down. United breaks guitars, Dao, Blossom, yoga pants. Why is that? We fly the same equipment on largely the same routes at largely the same price. It’s because (fairly or not) we as an airline are perceived to be horrendous at customer service and uncaring. Is that the pilots fault? Certainly not. But if a Captain wants to try to move the needle in the right direction and manages to make ONE customer feel good at the end of the flight by warmly thanking them for their business, why in God’s Green Earth are we arguing that they shouldn’t??

Dave Fitzgerald

Maybe because we are sick and tired of management doing a horrible job, not to mention all the pilot bashing they do. Bankruptcy? Take the retirement? I used to stay, not so much any more. I work when I get paid. Sometimes I stay, sometimes not, but I certainly don't stand in the way.

Itsajob

I understand what you say, but going the extra mile isn’t against the contract. The other day we were asked if we were willing to extend our CCO to fly from DEN to EWR after a 2.5 hour maintenance delay. The plane was fixed and both of us were not fatigued in any way. We couldn’t see screwing the passengers simply because we could or to simply enforce the contract. We both agreed to extend. We did the job we’re paid to do, and we got the passengers to their destination in the best time that we could given our circumstances. I know many will disagree with our decision, but we couldn’t in good conscience strand 170 people for the night or even several more hours waiting on another crew when legality or safety were not in question. Call us what you will, but I personally find it difficult to stick it to a crowd of people simply because I can or because I’m mad at what my employer has done to me in the past. Those darn Midwest values keep getting in the way.

sleeves

Being a "mentor"...or the "professional"...like using the phrase "scab side". Both sides had scabs, get over yourself already.

baronbvp

I for one try to do my part to help improve the company culture and standards wherever I am, in whatever way I can. Customer service is huge in this industry, like it is in many if not most industries that face the public.

Each airline has its own perceived culture:

Delta: You’re clearly number one and the company everyone is trying to be like now.

United: You’re lucky to be #2 but your customer service sucks sometimes and you’re on YouTube too often for some sort of buffoonery involving passengers.

American: You’re #3 and still living off your faded glory days, the largest airline who thinks of themselves as the modern day Pan Am. But many Americans seek to fly someone else because their experience doesn’t match your self-image. And you taxi too slowly.

Southwest: You’re a bunch of cowboys who are always looking for shortcuts to save a few pounds of gas, and you can’t seem to stay on the prepared surface. Fun to fly, but not the tightest safety culture.

Obviously these are gross exaggerations, but if I was the CEO of any airline but Delta I’d be doing everything I could to improve performance and customer satisfaction in order to replace #1 with my company. Images and reputations are made slowly over time and broken easily in moments.

Retaining customers is a key service metric. As some have said, if I can have an effect on even one or a few people at my level than that’s good business. Fly the folks around and let them see a face of the company when you can and it makes sense.

Onfinal

How a person, company, organization makes you feel. This is what creates customer loyalty.

It's either in you, or it's not.