Should Flight Attendants Be Nicer?

0:35SPEAKER_02:Today we're asking an important question. Should flight attendants be nicer? And then for the next four hours, every time you walk by, she's staring at you like you murdered her dog. Just because you're grunting and groaning doesn't make you more of a man putting your seatbelt on. Like what, sir? Grow up. I think you're just taking this whole episode. I really am. Yeah. And I'm not even necessarily talking about you.

1:00SPEAKER_00:Well, we're living life on the fly. Telling stories of our time in the sky. I'm bored with leaving the cake. It's called two guys on a plane.

1:15SPEAKER_02:We've all heard it before. Flight attends used to be so much nicer. Remember back in the day when blah blah blah blah. In some cases, you might have a point. Maybe we could be a little bit nicer. But the job has changed over the years. Passengers have changed. The industry has changed, and there's so many things that are different now about back then. Sometimes what passengers might interpret as rude is really just a flight attendant enforcing a rule, setting a boundary, or doing the job that we are required to do.

1:45SPEAKER_02:So today we're asking an important question. Should flight attendants be nicer? The short answer, sometimes, yes, maybe. But being nice doesn't always mean us saying yes to everything either.

2:02unknown:Yes.

2:03SPEAKER_02:For sure. But before we get into how nice or not nice we feel like being today, how is flying going for you lately?

2:10SPEAKER_01:Uh, you know, it's going fine. Um I literally had a situation the other day, um, like two days ago, where this happened to me, where this lady went off on me. She we had a maintenance issue. We asked like the issue was with the seat. We knew the seat was gonna come out of service. So we asked the gate agent to pull the seat out of service and like fix the problem before they ever boarded. They didn't. Um, seat ends up coming out of service. So then I it's a family of what I think is three traveling together, and I apologetically explain that someone is gonna have to move.

2:46SPEAKER_01:Well, this lady like storms up to the galley and is like, but we're a family of six and we're all traveling together. What are you gonna do for us? And I was like, I I don't know how to like better explain this. The seat's out of service, it we're already boarded, it's a full flight. Like, they're gonna move one of you. You're gonna have to pick who moves. Right. And she was like, Well, we all need to stay together. And I was like, Physically impossible.

3:11SPEAKER_01:I'll get you a gate agent then if that's what you want. If you can't just singly be reaccommodated into an open seat, right, like you or your husband or your mom or your dad can't separate from the six of you, you all need to be together. I was like, I will get a gate agent, but that comes with the possibility that you get reaccommodated on another flight.

3:33SPEAKER_02:Yeah.

3:34SPEAKER_01:Um, and so you're like trying to explain it to them while they're like screaming about the fact that they can't all sit together and you're the bad guy in all of this. And I'm like, I really just wanted to keep you all on the plane and get you to your vacation. I didn't think this like separation for an hour was gonna cause such a shitstorm.

3:54SPEAKER_02:Yeah.

3:55SPEAKER_01:But here I am being the bad guy for delivering the news that I should have never had to deliver.

4:00SPEAKER_02:Yeah, that's a good point. And it's hard sometimes in those situations because you end up being the bad guy, and it's like, I there I there's nothing I can do. Right.

4:09SPEAKER_01:Like, what am I supposed to do in this situation? Right. And for some reason, people think when flight attendants say we have to get an agent, they're like threatening to remove you from the airplane. I don't think people realize what lack of control we have over what goes on. If the door is open, it's an agent's job to like take care of those things. It's not my job to reseat people. That's not that is not like I half the time I don't even know what seats are open.

4:33SPEAKER_01:Right. All of these like tablets and things, the systems glitch out all the time. Yeah, it is ultimately the agents like telling you I'm getting an agent does not mean you're being pulled from the flight. They're the ones that are required, like its job to handle the situation is. And I think as soon as people hear we're getting an agent, you're just automatically trying to remove them from the airplane. No, I'm I'm trying to get the actual thing that I need done done.

4:57SPEAKER_01:Like, believe it or not, I actually do want to help you. Correct. Um, and the agent is the one that helps you.

5:03SPEAKER_02:Like, I don't I don't want you to be miserable for the next three hours or whatever.

5:08SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I don't want you to sit and stare and glare at me every time I walk by because you think I harmed you.

5:14SPEAKER_02:Those passengers are my favorite though. When they get like when you tell them to do like one basic thing, like stow your purse in the bulkhead, and then for the next four hours, every time you walk by, she's staring at you like you murdered her dog and she's mad. Like some of these passengers hold a grudge over small things until the end of eternity. Oh yeah. And like I just know at Thanksgiving this year they're gonna talk about me. Oh, I'm definitely gonna talk about it.

5:40SPEAKER_02:Cracks me up. Like, yeah, I can't wait to be a topic of conversation at your Thanksgiving dinner because you did something stupid.

5:48SPEAKER_01:I can't wait for your family to side with me, honestly. Right. Well, you are a little that seems a little Well, you did kind of they did say What about your house flying been for you recently?

6:02SPEAKER_02:Um, flying for me lately has been pretty good. I've been flying with um some crew members that are a little No, that's not good for you. You don't seem to know what the word I'm gonna say.

6:18SPEAKER_01:I was like, it doesn't sound good.

6:19SPEAKER_02:Racist and when you're working certain flights, um that's more of a problem than other flights. And I've been working flights where it's become a problem. Yeah. Because passenger or flight attendants have I've been working with a couple people that have just made some generalizations about people in destinations and people of a certain, you know, race and whatever. And it's like when you call these people out on their bullshit, they double down. And like that's the most frustrating part, is like, you know, what you just said is a little offensive and a little racist and a little rude, and they're like, oh, your generation's so sensitive.

7:02SPEAKER_02:And it's like, oh my god, do you hear yourself? And so with as exhausting as this job is on a day-to-day basis, it's even more exhausting when you're now having to put out fires because of a crew member who is rude to people because of the way they look. Like it's it's frustrating. And I'm like, this is why we have trainings, this is why we get those modules, this is why there's things you can and cannot say to people, and you're the reason why we have these trainings all the time.

7:35SPEAKER_02:Like, anyways, that's my rant for today is like I'm really tired of working with coworkers who I think they can say whatever they want, and I don't see any problem with it.

7:47SPEAKER_01:I this always surprises me uh that this is an actual problem in aviation. Um, and maybe it's me being naive, but I just feel like as someone who is traveled, it's really hard to like not see the beauty in other people's cultures. And like I don't understand, I I don't understand how as flight attendants who like travel, like you don't you're not better. No, you're not a better person.

8:17SPEAKER_02:Same here. I just I I remember when I joined aviation thinking to myself, how great is it that I can exist in a world without judgment because it's okay to be queer, it's okay to be whatever, it's okay to be who you are in in this industry as a flight attendant. And then slowly over the years you start seeing it unravel, and you're like, Oh, there's actually closed-minded people here too. There's people that you know aren't great people that we work with sometimes.

8:46SPEAKER_02:Anyways, that's my rant for today.

8:49SPEAKER_01:I love most of my co-workers, but there's a few out there that they could be doing a little bit better, which is And expecting somebody to be better doesn't mean you don't love them. I mean, it is a form of love. It is a form of love. See somebody and see that they are not achieving their full potential and believing that they can be a better person than they are.

9:08SPEAKER_02:That's very true and very beautiful.

9:09SPEAKER_01:So I think you love all of your co-workers.

9:12unknown:Okay.

9:13SPEAKER_01:All right, I'm I'm into it.

9:15SPEAKER_02:I like this, yeah. Um, and that's a good segue for our episode today because should flight attendants be nicer? Yeah. Maybe. Should could they be doing a little bit better to take care of people? Yeah, maybe. Your face immediately says says no. But I'm gonna say first and foremost, don't you agree that there are some flight attendants that are a little grumpy?

9:43SPEAKER_01:Yes, I do. I I just feel like though, that like the external factors outweigh the internal factors on most work days at this point. Okay. And I just I try to give a lot of grace to grumpy flight attendants because I don't know what their situation is. Um, I don't know how many passengers they've had yell at them today. I don't know how many delays they hit yesterday. I don't know what their min rest was. Like I just I I feel like there was a point in aviation where flight attendants were there to cater to um and make aviation look or feel cooler than it is.

10:34SPEAKER_01:Um I think we hearken back to that image a lot and we just we really don't take into uh like account that the world has changed and what flight attendants are dealing with has changed and they're not rude, but it's a job.

10:52SPEAKER_02:Yeah. No, I I mean I think that's a I think that's a really good point. Um but I also feel like sometimes passengers are just our frustrations as crew members are taken out on them unnecessarily. And I think there's some of it is understandable and some of it is like, okay, you don't know where somebody's been in that day. You gotta give, you know, people grace. But I also think to some degree it's our job to be there to answer questions, to explain things to people that we've explained a thousand times over.

11:30SPEAKER_02:And sometimes I think the lack of patience and the lack of empathy is um it goes too far.

11:42SPEAKER_01:Yeah. I I agree, but I guess I guess I think that street walks both ways.

11:49SPEAKER_02:It does in many ways.

11:52SPEAKER_01:Um and I think people expect a level of service, but they aren't willing to behave in a manner to get that willing of that that manner of service. Well, you walk onto the plane and you ignore the flight attendants, you throw your arm out into the aisle to stop them, so you end up punching them in the gut, and then you're annoyed that they tell you not to touch them and when you're asking them to take your trash. Like you the the series of events that led up to me being exasperated with you all could have been avoided if you would have behaved like a normal human.

12:27SPEAKER_01:But now I'm the mean one.

12:28SPEAKER_02:No, but see, in that case, I think that's warranted. Like if you've had X amount of interactions with this person and they've continually treated you with disrespect and a lack of just general social adequacy, like I think that that's warranted. I think that at that point you meeting them with attitude is kind of justified. Yeah, I think there's a lot of cases where you know it our attitude and our judgment and whatever is warranted because you meet me with that level of disrespect, like as a human being, which people forget that we are sometimes most of the time.

13:06SPEAKER_02:I'm gonna shut down. Yeah, I'm not gonna do that. And I as much as we have a job where we're customer facing and doing customer service, like there is a line because I am a human being. Right. There is a a breaking point.

13:21SPEAKER_01:Yeah.

13:21SPEAKER_02:And I think, especially in the summer, when all hell breaks loose, I think we all kind of reach that breaking point.

13:27SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Like, I mean, you know, I normally fly lead. I like to be at the front of the aircraft, I like to set a tone, I like to smile and say good morning and like interact with people. Uh, but you can only be ignored by a hundred people before 101 is gonna get a rude flight attendant. It wasn't their fault, it was the hundred people before them who like pretended like you didn't exist. And now I didn't mean to be rude to you, but I'm just I'm over all of it.

13:54SPEAKER_01:I have a captain yelling at me, I have rampers yelling at me, and I have a hundred people ignoring me, and at this point, just get on and sit down. She's spent she's burnt out. Yeah, no, I get it. And that was within the first flight of the day because I'm not saying this one passenger didn't know how to react, but like as as a as humans, we've we fail to we've we've forgotten how to how to act with people.

14:19SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I I I agree with that, and I think that that goes back to what I was saying about like it being warranted. Yeah, you know, sometimes I think I think it's fair. Um and those situations are so dehumanizing. Like people don't realize, you know, okay, sure, it's my job to tell 200 people hello and welcome aboard. Well, if every tenth person says anything back or even looks at me or even smiles, it's like, well then why I'm just talking to myself at this point, like what's the point?

14:54SPEAKER_02:And so, you know, I've had we've had people in the comments say this a few times where they're like, Oh yeah, you know, I got on the plane and and my flight attendants didn't say a word to me. And it's like, you were probably in that section of people where we've already been ignored and we were done, we were done being ignored. Like, because I definitely get to a point during boarding where I'm like, okay, if someone makes eye contact with me, I'm gonna say hello to them.

15:17SPEAKER_02:But if they're already staring at the phone, already know whatever, they don't get a greeting. Like, I'm sorry, yeah, you're gonna ignore me anyway. I'm not wasting my breath. I have a long day ahead of me and I get it.

15:29SPEAKER_01:Yes. I mean, and I work the aisle position sometimes, not a lot. I don't like to be out there and put me in a galley. I do not like to be in an aisle position, but when I do have to work it, like I don't know. I just I feel like it like some of the policies that we have, or you know, the way we can actually help you is not what you want.

15:52SPEAKER_02:Yeah.

15:53SPEAKER_01:Um, so like you came on with a party of five, and you want me to sit you all together. It's a full flight. I cannot do it. Like, I can't. Right. So I give you what I can give you. I give you the help that I can give you, and then immediately there's attitude. Right. It's not good enough for that. It's not good enough. The answer wasn't yes, so you're now the bad guy.

16:14SPEAKER_02:Right. Just because you're saying no doesn't mean that you're being I didn't even say no.

16:18SPEAKER_01:Right. Here's how you can accommodate your here's how you can fix the situation. Or, you know, I you you have a uh a old uh not old man, but you have a gentleman come on and is like, I can't put my bag up. If you can't put it up, I can't put it up either. Here are what we can do to help you. We can tag it to baggage claimer, but it's not like immediate what they want in the situation, and you are immediately the bad guy, no matter how polite you're trying to be to them.

16:47SPEAKER_02:Yeah, that's so true. Because it's not what they want to hear, they equate that with being rude.

16:53SPEAKER_01:Yeah.

16:54SPEAKER_02:When in reality, you're not being rude, it's just policies are policies.

16:58SPEAKER_01:Correct.

16:59SPEAKER_02:Things are in place in a certain way. It's like you can't do anything about that. It's like the same thing with that lady in the bulkhead who's mad at you the whole flight that you made her put her purse up. It's like I wasn't being rude to you, but when I tell you you're in a bulkhead and you have to put your bag up, and you say, but it's my purse, and I say, but it's still a bag, and you're now back and forth with me and you're arguing with me over something that is literally a federal aviation regulation.

17:26SPEAKER_02:Like I have no say in the matter. You're now mad at me, and you think I'm rude when you're the one who can't listen and can't follow the rules.

17:35SPEAKER_01:Right. Because I don't have these interactions with people when I walk up and I'm like, Oh, could you put your seatbelt on, please? You put your seatbelt on. I'm done with you. Right. I said please and thank you, and I walked away. Because that's a rule the same way the bag being said. It's like if you follow the rules, I don't walk up to you and like hit your seat back until you push it forward. Like that, I I'm not rude. I'm not that's not how I behave.

17:59SPEAKER_01:Oh, yeah, same. I don't even accuse somebody of putting the seat back back. It looks like your seatback is back. Well, I didn't put it back. I didn't say you did. Right. I just said it needed to come forward. It appears back. Can you bring it forward?

18:12SPEAKER_02:I didn't do it.

18:13SPEAKER_01:And so there's this whole back and forth about me accusing you of putting your seat back back. I I don't I could have done it when I was sitting there between flights. Right. I have no idea. I'm just saying it is. Bring it forward. That's all.

18:26SPEAKER_02:I think at the end of the day, it comes down to grown adults don't want to be told what to do.

18:31SPEAKER_01:Then don't get on an airplane. Right.

18:33SPEAKER_02:I mean, or just do what you're supposed to do. Like double check your seat, put your tray up, put your bag away, put your seatbelts on.

18:40SPEAKER_01:I've been a flight attendant for over 20 years, and the the the rules haven't changed enough for people to be this confused about how to be on an airplane.

18:50SPEAKER_02:Right. I think it's funny though when you like tell a grown man to put his seatbelt on after this like demo, like after you've you've had plenty of chances to do it at this point, and they just look like so like you can just tell they're feeling so emasculated by this interaction. They're like, oh, yeah, and they're all like they're moving around to get it, and they're like, oh, oh, and then it's like just because you're grunting and groaning doesn't make you more of a man putting your seatbelt on.

19:17SPEAKER_02:Like what, sir? Grow up, like I just just do it. I don't you're you're not less of a man because you put a seatbelt on and a grown adult just told you to do it.

19:28SPEAKER_01:Like, get a grip. Also, we get that you're busy. That's why we're there to remind you. Like, you sat down, you got to doing other things, you thought you put it on, you forgot. I'm not judging you. Yeah, I'm just it looks off. If you could put it on for me, that'd be great. I know often people apologize.

19:42SPEAKER_02:Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I'm like, that's what I'm here for. You don't have to be sorry about anything. Like, yeah, I'm here to remind everyone how and when and what ways to stay safe. That's literally my job.

19:52SPEAKER_01:It's also really funny to me because there's the flip side of that where I think they think by being overly friendly is gonna get you to ignore what they're doing. I'm I'm not the policy doesn't change whether you're nice to me, whether you're nice to me about it or not. Apologize all you want, but can you still put your seatbelt on, please? Nice.

20:10SPEAKER_02:They won't. They won't do it. No. But I mean, at least the friendly people are trying. I don't know. I'll take friendly and a little clueless over always arrogant and mean for no reason whatsoever. Those people wear me out. Um, but yeah, I just I don't know, it it frustrates me because it just because we're telling you what to do and trying to enforce policies that we were hired to enforce, like, doesn't mean we're bad people.

20:42SPEAKER_01:No swear and it doesn't mean that we're mean.

20:45SPEAKER_02:No. Some of us are mean though.

20:49SPEAKER_01:I Yes, some of us are. Some of us have been doing this for a very long time. Some of us And I'm not talking about these like show off kind of jaded and immediately jump to bad conclusions and exactly I I know those flight attendants exist. Are you that flight attendant? No, I I really let me rephrase. I hope that I'm not. Um I don't know how I I do know how I'm perceived. I don't know how I'm always perceived, but I feel like my intent is not to fight with people.

21:24SPEAKER_01:Um I my intent is to be kind and enforce policy. Like that's what I am supposed to do. And I am not a flight attendant who just gives away the farm to everyone. We have rules for a reason, and I'll politely inform you about them, or I'll try to politely explain what's going on. But I also have been doing this too long where if you come back with attitude, I don't have it. I we're not I I I'm not doing it. I'm not doing it.

21:57SPEAKER_02:I just I think less about those moments with rules and and interactions like that, and more so like for the unassuming passenger who's asking a simple question about where the bathroom is. Yeah. Or who comes to the back alley and asks for a cup of water, and they're just met with like disdain from this flight attendant of like, ow, how dare you! And it's those flight attendants that really irk me because I'm like, this person flies maybe once every other year.

22:31SPEAKER_02:Yeah. And they don't know what a a 319 versus a

22:35SPEAKER_01:737 is but this is what I'm talking about, right? The the lavatory specifically. When you come up and you start looking around, my response to you is the door that says lavatory.

22:46SPEAKER_02:Smart ass.

22:48SPEAKER_01:Why? Why is why am I a smart ass? I mean I'm telling you, you're looking for a bathroom. You're looking for a door that says bathroom or restroom or something like that. I'm trying to help you in the future. It's the door that says lavatory. Yeah. I mean, you're not wrong. I think I'm being polite. I think I'm being nice and kind, and everyone else thinks I'm being a smart ass.

23:09SPEAKER_02:I mean, sometimes the way you say things does come out a little smartassy.

23:13SPEAKER_01:But I don't mean for them to, but it's the perception of it, right? Because internally, um, you know, I post logic or autism or whatever going on up here. I think I'm being nice to you by giving you the information that you need to do this on your own in the future. And however it's delivered, people think I'm being a smart ass. And that's not my intent at all.

23:39SPEAKER_02:But just because it's not your intent doesn't mean that's not what's coming out, you know?

23:44SPEAKER_01:Right.

23:46SPEAKER_02:Well, I'm aware. It's hard. I mean, it is hard because we're doing this all day, every single day, and people are exhausting, and I get that, but I just feel bad for passengers sometimes because I think they do get our frustrations and things taken out on them that they don't deserve. Um, some of them deserve it, don't get me wrong. Some of them deserve that and and and more, but you know, there's certain people where I'm like, okay, this like sweet little lady, she's so awkward and she like can't figure anything out.

24:23SPEAKER_02:And it's like, you know, my heart goes out to them because I'm like, well, you're lost in this big world. And I want to take a look at it.

24:31SPEAKER_01:And I'll walk you to your seat and I'll tell you six times that yes, E is the middle seat. Right. Yes, that one. Yep, that one right there. E. Yep. But it says, yeah, it does say, yeah. Yeah, yeah. The middle seat is I I mean, I I do actually try to be that flight attendant, but I I think that's where when if the question is, do we need to be nicer? I get offended by that. Because I feel like I am nice. You just didn't like that I said lavator.

25:53SPEAKER_02:I think you're just taking this whole episode. I really am. Yeah. And I'm not even necessarily talking about you. I know. I know you've flown with these people that I'm talking about. Yeah. Where they just come on and they hate passengers and they hate people and they hate traveling. And it's like, why do you do this job anymore? You miserable, miserable human being.

26:14SPEAKER_01:But yeah, I but that's the thing. I think the perception is that there are people out there that aren't those people that are like grouped in because of like so many external forces that lead to it. But yes, those people get a grip. You're are ruining people's days. Stop. There's no reason.

26:35SPEAKER_02:Right. Same with the gate agents, too. Like, some of them, I'm like, you are just screaming at people.

26:40SPEAKER_01:There's no reason you couldn't pour that person another cup of water. You do not, you do not have to do that.

26:45SPEAKER_02:The way they get out, I'm so exasperated in the oh a water, and I'm like, God, you act like this is from your personal collection. That like, what is your problem? Yeah, I just I get frustrated sometimes because I I know we all have bad days, I know we all get frustrated, but there's some people who it's like right out of the gate before boarding even begins, they're like ready to pick a fight with somebody. And I'm like, it you come in it with that attitude.

27:15SPEAKER_02:Of course, that's what you're gonna get back from passengers.

27:17SPEAKER_01:Always gonna be met with a fight.

27:18SPEAKER_02:You're always gonna be met with a fight because you're looking for one, yeah, you're expecting one. You assume that everybody on the airplane is annoying and awful, so they're gonna be annoying and awful because that's what you put into the universe. That's what you're gonna get back. Yeah, I agree. Half the time, setting the tone during boarding and being nice to people, they're nice right back. Correct. But yeah, you walk on the I mean I'm the same way, like I'm so sensitive to that sort of stuff.

27:44SPEAKER_02:If I walk on and I say good morning to the crew or whatever, and they ignore me or they're rude to me, I'm like, oh, I'm done with you too. Like, I get it, you know. And so I think I always put myself in that position, especially when we non-rev. I'm always like, okay, I want to be not like that flight attendant, like you know the ones I'm talking about. We've non-revved a few times with some nasty crew members. I remember one time we brought um treats for a crew going to Hawaii.

28:11SPEAKER_02:I will never forget this flight. And oh yeah, remember, and we got sat in premium economy, we were so comfortable, we were so happy, we wanted for nothing, but we did bring the treats for the crew. And this flight attendant came over like half through the fight and was like, Are you the ones who brought us candy? And I'm thinking to myself, Well, yeah, like, oh, it's nice. She's gonna say thank you. And she goes, Think you can just brick bring free bring stuff and get free stuff from us and like get special treatment.

28:41SPEAKER_02:And I'm like, Whoa, why are you popping off on us? Like, what I didn't ask for anything extra, we didn't like go looking for something sitting in a premium cabin anyway.

28:51SPEAKER_01:That's what they said. Yeah, we were right, right. I was like, We only got one drink for a nine-hour flight.

28:58SPEAKER_02:Yeah, it was like seven hours to Hawaii, and we got one drink service to the point where everyone in the same cabin as us was ringing their call bill, being like, Do we uh is anyone coming back? No one even came to pick up trash, like we were handed like our little snack and our little drink, and then didn't see anybody for like seven hours, except that one lady who came to tell us that we shouldn't have brought candy because we didn't we didn't deserve anything.

29:24SPEAKER_01:Yeah, no, not I'm not that person. Those are who I'm talking about. I know, like, but I also that's my point. Like, I feel like some of us don't start out the day that way, but just like we carry the memory of like passengers who have wronged us, they carry the memory of flight attendants who are wronged them. So that's true. Obviously, you're the bad guy here. No, I said, please just put your seatbelt on. We don't have to fight about this. Yeah, but the flight attendant on my last flight limit.

29:52SPEAKER_02:Yeah, well, they were either wrong or you're wrong, and you don't know how anything works. I'm aware. Yeah, I mean, I just think I think the bottom line is if everyone on the airplane gave each other a little more grace, passengers, crew, like people were just nicer to each other. No, I agree. Half of these problems wouldn't exist.

30:18SPEAKER_01:And people at the back of the airplane stop pretending they were the first ones to get off.

30:22SPEAKER_02:That drives me nuts.

30:24SPEAKER_01:Isn't it insane behaving?

30:26SPEAKER_02:They get it 36 and they run up and they're like, I'm getting off the plane. Everyone is getting off the plane, you dimmo it. I can't. Where are you going? You're rude. Wait your turn.

30:37SPEAKER_01:It's just rude. You sit down and wait.

30:42SPEAKER_02:I'll be nicer. Maybe you know what?

30:47SPEAKER_01:I have a six-day stretch coming up, and I'm gonna be nicer this week. Okay. Gonna resolve to be a nicer person.

30:53SPEAKER_02:This episode really was not designed to do that. Oh, I know it's not.

30:57SPEAKER_01:No. We talk about this a lot though. I this isn't this isn't I'm not taking it personally. I'm just saying, like, I don't think people are intending to be rude. So, A, if you find that your flight attendant is being rude, think, huh, wonder what happened to them today. Or if putting on your seatbelt exasperates a situation, maybe stop and think, do they mean to be rude? Right. Are they just tired and overworked and on a long day and really tired of telling 200 people to put their seatbelt on?

31:34SPEAKER_02:Sometimes it the job gets the best of you, and you your attitude is short for sure. Yeah.

31:40SPEAKER_01:I I think what So if you're asking me to be nicer, I'm asking you to be nicer. Right. Everyone should just be nice. Correct. Period. Yes. Problem solved. It would help a lot. We fixed it. Smile. And someone smiles and says good morning. Smile and say good morning back. But no, I think that was the glamour of flying back in the 60s where everybody thought flight attendants were super nice. Because people just were more courteous. Because people were more courteous.

32:07SPEAKER_01:You could sit down and share a newspaper and a cigarette on an airplane, and everybody was just fine. I don't know.

32:15SPEAKER_02:Is that your solution? No.

32:16SPEAKER_01:Bring back cigarettes and newspapers to airplanes. Newspapers, yes. Cigarettes, no. No, I don't want to smell it all day.

32:23unknown:No.

32:24SPEAKER_02:But yeah, I think what made me think about this too is um we were on Latam recently, and I remember we were sitting in the exit row, and the flight attendants on that flight, I mean it's a one-hour flight from Lima to Cusco, could not have been nicer. Oh, they were so nice. And this woman sitting across from us could not have been dumber. Like, I know this is so rude, but she was being absolutely clueless. And I all I could think was this flight attendant is being so sweet to this person who has clearly never left their home, like just lost in every way, shape, and form.

33:02SPEAKER_02:Couldn't find her seat, couldn't figure out a story bag, couldn't do a seatbelt. She buckled her seatbelt for her. Yeah. Literally, I mean, she basically had to spoon feed the pretzels to her, too. Like it was wild. And I just was like, I wish I could be like this all day, every day. I wish I had the patience to be this nice, the way this woman is being so nice to this passenger right now, because she's being so sweet, and I would have rolled my eyes 87 times and walked away from the situation.

33:32SPEAKER_02:So that's what really got me thinking about it. Is I'm like, you know what? To some degree, I do wish that we were a little bit nicer as flight attendants to our passengers. Sometimes maybe.

33:45SPEAKER_01:Should we do a mess up before we go? We should.

33:54SPEAKER_02:Alright, today's story in our galley gossip segment where we share fun stories from our audience about heartfelt, wild, and wonderful moments. This is from Brannon root unknown. They did not remember where they were flying. This should be interesting. I don't remember a lot of things, so you don't blame them. I was on a long haul flight that was scheduled to land in about an hour. The man in front of me got up and started fumbling in his overhead compartment.

34:24SPEAKER_02:Next thing I know, I hear a buzzing sound and I look up to my horror, discovering that this man is standing in the middle of the aisle using his electric shaver. Now, as a fastidious Lady Virgo, the mere thought of a billion hair follicles shedding all over me and throughout the aisle made me want to gag. Thanks for the sound effects. It's really nice. This happened probably 20 years ago, and it's one of the strangest, most clueless things I've witnessed.

34:53SPEAKER_02:Because what the actual fuck. Um, that is insane. Hopefully, everyone on the plane keeps their personal hygiene products safely stowed. Um I've had somebody do this on a plane before.

35:06SPEAKER_01:Not their beard, shaving their whole fucking head with their electric razor. Why? Why would you do this? That is a bathroom thing. That is not a public thing. That is a bathroom thing.

35:18SPEAKER_02:Also, I just want to say I didn't plan this, but the episode being, should flight attendants be nicer? No. I now say no. Because people are out here doing things like this and it's disgusting.

35:31SPEAKER_01:Yeah. I had somebody the other day foot up on the tray table, clipping their toenails. I those are bathroom things, those aren't public things. I when did we lose the ability to differentiate between bathroom things and public things?

35:43SPEAKER_02:Public and private activities. Yes, agreed. I have no idea. Never mind. Scrap the episode. Plug it and shouldn't be nicer. It's all warranted. I was wrong. Yeah. Yes. Oh my goodness. Keep sending us your galley gossip stories. Love them. We never fail to be surprised, even though we've both been doing this for a really long time. Go to two guys on a plane.com slash podcasts and submit your galley gossip stories so we can read them out loud on our show.

36:13SPEAKER_02:And make sure to go to Patreon for more exclusive behind the scenes content, bonus footage, early access to new episodes, and exclusive merch. Go to patreon.com slash two guys on a plane to support our show and become official members of our galley gang.

36:29SPEAKER_01:Join us next time for more humor, heart, and stories from our beverage cart.