When dealing with angry passengers, "you need to empathize and kill them
with kindness," says Jean Lahey. She is an airline ticket agent in Denver.
"You are constantly dealing with others and communication is not the same
with all people," she adds.
Often, a passenger gets upset that his flight is delayed. He has no control.
The airline ticket agent has no control. Yet the passenger places blame on
the airline employees.
Soon he believes the airline ticket agents are just giving him a hard time
or allowing co-workers to bump him from the flight.
"A big stereotype we deal with is that airline ticket agents make things
up, such as fares, restrictions, full flights or flight delays," says Ileanna
Martinez. She is a reservation agent from Aurora, Colorado.
Another big stereotype in the industry is that airline employees get to
fly for free. Though most airline give employees great deals on airline flights,
"we do fly standby," says Savory.
Flying standby means waiting for an extra seat on a flight, or for a passenger
cancellation that is not filled by another regular passenger. "Flying standby
is great, but if you don't make it back for your next shift, you may
get suspended," adds Savory.
One of the most difficult and frustrating things about being an airline
ticket agent is the customer's unreal expectations of bad weather problems.
That's according to Laura Nadin-Young. She is a reservation and customer
service trainer for an airline.
"They seem to believe that planes can land in any weather. They can't.
They also act as if all answers are a keystroke away. People make decisions,
not computers," she says.
"One must come to this profession with a great deal of patience and perseverance.
When the weather is nice and all flights depart on time, everything is wonderful,"
says Brooks Hester. He is a station agent for an airline in Tennessee.
"But when the weather turns, passengers get angry and yell at ticket agents
as if we were meteorological controllers."
Airline ticket agents may have no control or influence over the skies.
But they do have control over how they deal with passengers. They can exert
a great deal of positive influence over angry passengers, too.
"When I am dealing with an irate passenger, I try to take every situation
and turn it around. I want that passenger to leave with a positive impression
of [my airline]," says Hester.
"Sometimes," adds Nadin-Young, "you need to take time to walk away from
the problem and look at it in a different perspective."
Putting yourself in the passenger's shoes and trying to see through
their eyes can help immensely. Is it the passenger's fault that they
are late? Perhaps it is and they just need to yell themselves out. Is it a
legitimate complaint? If so, what can you do to make them feel they are somehow
being compensated?
"I try to understand the passenger's problem and restate their complaint
to them so they realize that I do understand what they are saying," says Hester.
"I have often put my power to solve their problems at their disposal by
asking them, 'What is it that I can do for you to make this situation
right?'"
Sometimes the requests are outlandish. But sometimes they are reasonable.
Hester says he is pleased when he is able to make things right with an unhappy
passenger.
"If a passenger is reasonable and understanding, there is nothing that
I would not do, give or provide for them to make their experience better,"
he adds.
Savory agrees. "You must treat people as you would want to be treated."
It's like the old adage about gathering more flies with honey than
with vinegar. "You need to set examples and live by them," Savory adds.
Any customer service-oriented job can be stressful. "The customer is always
right" is an adage many customers take advantage of, pushing employees to
a breaking point.
A good employee must realize that positive experiences outweigh the negative
experiences.
"For instance, when passengers and baggage arrive at the right place at
the right time," says Savory. "Or at the end of the day when you feel you
have really helped others."
The positives can be very small and easy to overlook. Or they can be very
large and unforgettable.
An unforgettable positive once happened to Hester. He was once required
to help and watch over an unaccompanied minor who missed a connecting flight.
"We contacted his parents, who were very stressed, and provided a hotel
and meal accommodations for him so he had no worries," says Hester.
"I stayed with him and took care of his every need. I made sure he was
on the first flight the following morning to hook up with a joyous pair of
parents!"