There is no doubt at all in my mind that when I was Cabin Crew, I was there primarily for the safety of the aircraft and it's occupants. Service is very important, as has been mentioned if the service is poor then the airline will struggle. However, my initial Cabin Crew training involved 4 weeks of Safety Equipment and Procedures (SEP) and only 1 1/2 weeks of Customer Service. We were always trained the safety was our paramount concern and was the reason we were on board that aircraft.
As for first aid (av-med) training, we were trained quite comprehensively in that also being fully trained in the use of a portable defib. We did 3 days of recurrent training each year, not in Customer Service, but in SEP. As crew, you do deal with medical cases (from small cuts to life-threatening situations) on a regular basis, most common was passengers passing out.
Service comes second in my book and always will do. And nobody can tell me any different!
I couldn't agree more with you OzzieO - If you were to ask ANY passenger whether they would prefer the crew to be more highly trained in SEP or Customer Service, I know what they'd say. I always used to say that most passengers don't realise quite how much safety awareness goes into a flight, from the pre-departure security checks to the lost/unidentified baggage check at the other end. Not only is security a major factor to consider, but also things as simple as 'is it safe for me to take this coffee pot into the cabin during this light turbulence'? Put it this way, if I had a passenger ask me to compromise safety for customer service, I wouldn't and neither would any of the crew I operated with. I think that just shows how highly safety is regarded, from the crew to the company Chairman.
One airline in the US had a problem with people like you who didn't realise the value of the customer
Upquicker, you make it sound like you can't have safety as your number one priority and yet still give good customer service. What would you rather, that your gin and tonic was made perfectly or that the door was closed properly before take-off? At what point in any of these posts has anybody said that customer service isn't important? All that has been said it that safety is MORE important - you ask a question, four people who are current or former crew answer you and you then try and say they're wrong? If you already think you know the answer, why ask the question?
As for learning from previous accidents, yes things are safer in many ways than they used to be, because the industry has learnt from past mistakes. I think the people in charge of training are fairly aware of this, because Safety Standards and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) will always be revised if there is something learnt from a previous experience. With regards to being trained more in hijack procedures, crew are also trained comprehensively in this too, however, there is no such thing as a textbook hijacking and so the amount of training you can actually do is fairly limited.
Cabin Crew safety training goes into far greater depth than most people think, I also feel that most passengers would be fairly shocked if they were to do a Cabin Crew training course and see what actually gets taught. It is sad that the public perception is simply that crew are there to serve tea and coffee - it couldn't be further from the truth.
Safe flying y'all, FJ2k
bcf&gloves - you got there just before me with the tea and coffee comment! Couldn't agree with you more
Upquicker - that's four cabin crew now who have unanimously agreed that safety is the most important role, there is a reason for that you know. Consider your question answered.
