Extra Effort by a Flight Attendant
None of us like rushing off of an aircraft to make a connecting flight. Today I witnessed a United Airlines flight attendant exercise some initiative and make a positive difference for her passengers. My flight from Seattle-Tacoma airport to San Francisco had a number of people on board that were making connecting flights close to our arrival time. The flight attendant had everyone that had an immediate connecting flight press their call button. After sizing up how many people pressed their call buttons, and their location on the aircraft, she announced her plan. It went something like this:
“Please remain seated so we can get all the people with connecting flights out first. That should only take about 4 minutes. When you see Ralph, the tall red-headed gentleman in the gray shirt walk down the aisle, you will know that he is the last of the folks with connecting flights and you can then exit the plane in the usual manner.”
It all went as planned. She gave a time estimate of 4 minutes to set expectations, and by my estimate, she pulled it off in 3 minutes. Basically, she:
- Exercised initiative
- Exercised leadership
- Took a little risk to try something in the best interest of her customers
- Prioritized
- Enabled her customers to help themselves and involved them in the solution
I was not one of the people with a connection to make but the next time I do have a connecting flight, I hope I have someone like this looking out for me.
