Do you have a name for this management person in charge who is full of rainbows and unicorns?

There’s a VERY fine line between apologizing and empathizing. IMO, it’s appropriate to say something along the lines of “we understand how inconvenient the situation is, and we are doing all we can to find a solution for the obstacle we are facing”. That’s actually quite a bit different than “I’m sorry we did this to you.”

Apologizing for things you didn’t cause…..just makes you a target for the frustration that you didn’t cause. Having said that…..the mindset of “I did my job, I’ll keep the temp down and sit on my hands” is pretty poor from a professional standpoint. We aren’t JUST plane-flying chimps…..there IS a customer service aspect to what we do. Again…..just my opinion.

One thing I do agree with….is that we aren’t airport managers.

That would be like someone working the toll booth in California apologizing to pedestrians for road inefficiency’s in their system resulting in a 20 minute commute taking over 2 hours.

You can be professional without apologizing. Id say the best update announcement would be something along the lines of your pax forgetting the day after they even had to sit and wait 30 mins for their gate to open.

No, it's not. The customers were inconvenienced by your company. You represent your company. Should a restaurant manager not apologize when the cook messes up your order? "I didn't cook your food!"

As far as the customer is concerned, you definitely owe them an apology... Which you can do easily while also reminding them that we're in the same boat.

I have a feeling none of you "I won't apologize" people let even a breathe of that attitude through during your HR interview. Unprofessional and unbelievable.

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Well said, valid point

[QUOTE=ReadOnly7;3432548]There’s a VERY fine line between apologizing and empathizing. IMO, it’s appropriate to say something along the lines of “we understand how inconvenient the situation is, and we are doing all we can to find a solution for the obstacle we are facing”. That’s actually quite a bit different than “I’m sorry we did this to you.”

Apologizing for things you didn’t cause…..just makes you a target for the frustration that you didn’t cause. Having said that…..the mindset of “I did my job, I’ll keep the temp down and sit on my hands” is pretty poor from a professional standpoint. We aren’t JUST plane-flying chimps…..there IS a customer service aspect to what we do. Again…..just my opinion.

One thing I do agree with….is that we aren’t airport managers.[/QUOTE

Someone need to sit in on another PPD class 😂😂

I believe you just made the point that all of us “naysayers” have been saying. The restaurant MANAGER will apologize for the mishap. When the goat rope that is EWR falls apart and the train derails, that is something we (the pilots) had absolutely nothing to do with. SK and his entourage can come down and apologize to the customers for their own mismanagement. I have more self respect than that. Place the blame where it belongs. But you keep drinking that Kool Aid.

[QUOTE=idlethrust;3432817]At this point the secret is out, if a pax buys a Ticket that goes to and/or connects in Newark, well that's on them.

It's like going to a pro sporting event and complaining about the price of beer being more than $5 a pint.

Agreed. The guidance I've seen over the years at different airlines is to apologize once, and then in subsequent PAs, tactfully keep the guests appraised of the situation.

I guess the communication and psychology experts have determined that the sincerity of the apology will seem less genuine if repeated too many times when you're stuck in the situation.

Ok, replace his “manager” with “server.” If the food sucks or comes out late, and it isn’t the fault of the server, you would still expect the server to be apologetic as the representative of the company with whom you are interacting, and who is the one delivering the product to you. And then at some point a nice gesture would be for the manager to come by and also apologize and ensure all attempts to make the customer whole have been made. I hear the same refusal to apologize at my airline, and I’m certainly no koolaid guy, but I just don’t see the hang up with it. Just because you didn’t personally cause a delay or cancelation doesn’t mean you can’t apologize on behalf of the company you are entrusted and paid to represent. I tend to say “thanks for your patience” and don’t really say “sorry” a whole lot, but I don’t see an issue with either.