“Don’t call me sweetheart”
This portion of an article is of particular interest to the Aviation Industry. I would be interested to hear peoples views on the subject. Thanks Bableton.
“Don’t call me sweetheart”
This is an account of the growing problem of ‘silly girls in positions of power’. When I say ‘silly girls’, I mean females who whilst probably intelligent people cannot help but to resort to stereotypical traits of what I would define as ‘silly girl syndrome’ and loose whatever respect they have probably earned by genuine hard work.
It could also be said of men, in a similar manor, who cannot help showing inherent signs of the need for an adrenaline rush ‘Boys and their toys’, ‘The hunter / Provider issue’. My concern however is the effect on society both men and women as a result of the later phenomena being that of ‘Silly Girls In Positions Of Power’ and it is with this in mind that I would like to look closely at two industries in particular that I have had the opportunity to investigate recently, that is of the Aviation Industry and the Medical Industry or particularly NHS.
In the Airline industry the majority of Cabin Crew are women or gay men with feminine traits and upon achieving a position as cabin crew member they soon realise that their job is an extremely demanding one and a position of responsibility. Since large amounts of people look to these cabin crew members as leaders, merely because they have the local knowledge and the sheer amount of people needing to be organised safely in a strange and restricted environment, requires a leader. Thus we see the Power inherent with this position and it is this power that needs to be used with respect and discipline.
I have noticed all to often that when dealing with people especially in large numbers and quick turnover it is easy to forget that these people are individuals with opinions and concerns and also people are of varied intelligence one may be a cleaner and the next person in line a high court judge. All these people have opinions of how one should be treated and in close contact you might imagine that a comment to a Supermarket Cashier might be taken differently to a Neurosurgeon.
There is a need for people like cabin crew with this so called ‘Power’ to adopt a technique, a method of communicating with people in a manor that gives respect and allows set methods of response when that respect is not returned such that misunderstanding and confrontation may be avoided whenever possible.
Just being a leader who tells people where to sit or how to use a seatbelt doesn’t necessarily give a great deal of power, however when you consider that coupled with the fact that a confrontation with that leader could mean you are expelled from the Aircraft, miss your holiday or business engagement and in most cases loose a large sum of money. The fact that you have very little chance of defending yourself in a dispute since the Captain will always side with his crew member, his word is final putting the authorities on the side of the crew member and you know that the flight will be long gone before you even get a chance to put your case forward. The subsequent closing of ranks amongst staff, the safety issue associated with disputes on Aircraft and the current high profile of this environment render you the passenger accepting and thus giving this High Level of Power to the lets say ’19 Year Old Girl’ who possibly still has disputes with her parents over not keeping her room tidy. It would be unfair to categorise all cabin crew like this but it is this extreme situation that interests me and it is more often this or a similar type of character who when finding themselves with this Power over people fail to use it with discipline and as such many confrontations occur and the only people who suffer are the innocent passengers standing up for their principles, the airline and the other many respected hard working cabin crew members who are able to use their ability and this Power to give comfort and enjoyment to others and gain a rewarding life at work for themselves.
I would like to look at a few examples of situations that have actually occurred and explore whether or not they could have been avoided.
12 men arrive at a UK Airport for a Golf Trip, being excited and keen to enjoy themselves they as a group feel a kind of confidence and need to involve others in their joy. This consists of laughing aloud, minor use of alcohol and humorous contact with others, possibly female passengers or members of staff. These being a method of advertising their group’s enjoyment in a friendly way, needing others to either acknowledge their happy state, or in a small way partake of their humour.
When boarding the Aircraft which was ‘ticket less’ and as a group they found themselves in close proximity and near the rear of the Aircraft. It wasn’t long before these men had organised a sing song at the back of the Aircraft and whilst inappropriate and probably unacceptable to other passengers was not a cause for major concern. However certainly was something that needed addressing and a form of toning down of their merriness was needed?
This is where the need for people skills is essential to avoid a situation and had the Cabin Crew member (a young girl of about 20 years) used the correct approach this matter would have ended there and then.
However what actually happened was as follows; The Cabin Crew Member feeling that her authority was being abused; her ego at stake and needing to exercise her Power approached one of the male golfers who was sitting in an isle seat and partaking of the singing. Whilst pointing her finger strictly at the middle aged mans chest she said “If you don’t stop this behaviour, I will have you removed from this Aircraft”. This man happened to be a partner in a firm of solicitors, a wealthy family man, layer and employer and well respected business man. Faced with the fact that he knew perhaps that this girl had a genuine claim but unable to accept the disrespectful way in which he was approached decided to stand by his principles and remark upon her comments. “Fine my love, we are just having a bit of fun, but don’t you ever speak to me in that manor again. Who do you think you are talking too?”
One threat is met by another and now faced with a further attack on her authority and a slight embarrassment amongst her colleagues and other passengers the Cabin Crew Girl remarked. “I am responsible for the safety of these passengers and this aircraft and I am not expected to put up with people like you.”
This man branded as a trouble maker, categorised as a person unfit to fly with this airline and forced to engage in a verbal dispute is faced with two options; to allow this Girl her Power by apologising and thereby accepting her judgement of his character or continue to stand by his principles and say “I strongly object to your use of ‘people like you’, when you are clearly implying that I am a person of bad character this is unacceptable, of course I will stop singing but I demand an apology.”
Following a trip to the cockpit, a few tears to the Captain and a word with the Handling Agent the gentleman was removed from the Aircraft. A small attempt to defend their golf buddy left the other members of the party faced with the same dilemma. Shut up and sit down or leave the aircraft. They chose to accept that there would be no reasoning with the crew and decided to salvage what was left of their trip. Unfortunately the situation didn’t end there. Once the Aircraft was underway the other members of the golf party who whilst feeling unjustly treated and angered by the abuse of power shown by the Cabin Crew member decided to make life difficult for the rest of the Cabin Crew. At this point we should be aware that these golfers were all in-fact well respected businessmen of between 35-50 years of age and there were more than 3 millionaires amongst them.
First one would press the call button, “Can I have a drink? ” DING. “Can I have some Ice.” DING. “Can I have a Pillow?” DING. “I feel sick?” DING .. DING.. DING..
This was childish behaviour but a kind of mutiny against the crew for their earlier actions. When approaching the destination one member had a genuine call, a carton of fruit juice was leaking. Unfortunately the request for assistance was unanswered and the only option left to the gentleman was to put the carton into a Sick Bag and wipe up the mess as best he could. It was then left on the seat and everybody was pleased to commence disembarkation.
During the cleaning of the cabin a crew member came across the Sick Bag containing an apple juice of some kind and assumed is was urine. Unwilling to store it, smell it or confirm other than an arms length view and waving it around a bit, it was assumed to be urine and then disposed of with the down route agent.
A report was made by the crew and the Golf Party were accused of abusive behaviour, damaging Airline property and urinating on the seat, in the seat-back and in a Sick Bag.
The Airline decided to blacklist the members of the party as they had all booked under one payment and were easy to identify.
Upon return to the Airport two weeks later the Golf Party were informed at check-in that they would not be allowed to travel due to their behaviour on the outbound leg. There were protests and the UK press were informed but upon contacting the Airline were given the Airlines view of the situation and this became a good news item.
The men were forced to purchase tickets with another airline but could only fly to Scandinavia and not the UK, they would have to get a connecting flight. When in Scandinavia the original airline tried to contact the new carrier and persuade them not to allow these men to travel. (I wonder how they expected these men to ever return). This attempt was futile as the airline accepted them and they returned to their original point of departure. They were amazed to be met by TV cameras and questioned about urinating on aircraft seats.
What a Mess!! This was a situation that should never have arisen and could have been resolved so easily by better training within the airline. There will always be passengers acting in a manor inappropriate for airline travel after all they may feel that they are causing no harm and genuinely feel that things are acceptable. The onus in on the airline staff to inform passengers of what they consider acceptable but during this activity it is imperative that staff use the correct communication techniques when dealing with people of whom they have no knowledge of the views, opinions or principles.
I believe that had the first comment been “Sir, unfortunately we cannot allow singing on the aircraft as we have to be able to perform a demonstration shortly and at all times need to be able to communicate with other crew and passengers in a calm environment. I’m sorry but I’m sure you understand”.
This most certainly would have ended this particular situation but others may not be so easy to diffuse. A method of ascertaining a level of tolerance requires skill and intelligence this should be available in Cabin Crew members but are immature Girls capable of handling this Power?