Putting aside the actual difference in severity between the front and the rear of an aircraft in turbulence..........could the differing perception of pilots and cabin crew sometimes be due to something else quite simple??
The pilots are sat down and safely strapped in and, in total contrast, the cabin crew can experience turbulence unexpectedly whilst standing up, maybe with the trollies out, dealing with hot meals and beverages and with passengers milling around the cabin.
It is scary, let me tell you!! Many years ago I had a turbulent incident when we were unloading the hot meals from the ovens. They were expecting light turbulence so the pax were strapped in but we got the go-ahead from the FD to serve the meal. Suddenly it became extremely rough and the contents of the meals, peas and all, were plastered around the galley and one of the cabin crew hit the ceiling and was knocked out. The cabin was a disaster zone with drinks splattered up the sidewalls and people's belongings thrown many rows away from where they were sitting. The captain was fairly laid-back about it and even a bit surprised at the chaos caused. The cabin crew may well disagree and be inclined to describe such turbulence as 'severe' in those circumstances!!
