Kudos to the Crew!

Being a flight attendant can often be a thankless job. We do our best to rearrange bags so that your precious gifts won't have to be sent to baggage claim at Christmas.  We ask people to switch seats during the already hectic boarding process so that your 5 year old doesn't have to sit with a stranger.  We are smiling (sometimes) after a 14 hour day, complete with delays & cancelations, and no time to get off the airplane all day to use a real bathroom, and greet you with a warm smile as if it were our first flight of the day.

We do all of this because it's our job (Ok. Most of us do this). I know most of the readers here at UPGRD.com are frequent fliers who undoubtedly fly more than me in a month (especially this month) so you are all too familiar with the few unfortunate miserable airline employees.  You've all seen your fare share of passengers unleashing their frustrations onto gate agents or flight attendants- you've seen employees fuel the fire & you've seen us put the fires out.

Yesterday was my first day back after a relaxing week off and I was working First Class when I recieved a [Insert Frequent Flyer Program Name Here] Compliment Card from a passenger. He told me he appreciated my politeness and was happy that I didn't bark orders like other Flight Attendants.  Not to toot my own horn or anything, but he also said that my airline needs more like me.

Have you ever took the time to write in & applaud the employee for a job well done? Do you know what happens when you do?

While my airline doesn't reward me with cash, extra vaction hours, or anything with monetary value- getting one of these cards is the highlight of my week! I am reminded that passengers DO pay attention to us and appreciate our professionalism. My supervisor makes a photo-copy and posts each compliment to a board in our crew lounge to let everyone know who gets complimented. I put the original in an envelope next to my passport for those days where I just want to "pop a slide" like Steven Slater.

I asked some other Flight Attendants about similar programs at their airlines. Most said that their airline doesn't have a reward program, but they do spotlight the comments on an internal company website for everyone to see.  The consensus among everyone is that the reward from the company means far less to flight attendants than the fact that a customer took the time to write in a compliment. But we can all agree that a little recognition does wonders for morale!

If you want to brighten up our day, just tell us how we've made your day. You don't have to be a frequent flyer to compliment the flight attendant. Nearly all airlines have a spot on their website where you can contact the airline. Companies recieve so many complaints, that it's always nice to hear that they are doing something right!