Perkin, I agree entirely with F3G. If it happened again, do not feel ashamed or scared to call the CC again.
I for once do not take any of this and I have been known to frighten people with go-arounds, diversions, etc etc. if they do not comply there & then.
Once a Skipper asked me to take the mobile phone off the offending pax and I did it. The whole aircraft is watching in a situation like this and chances are they comply without creating further problems.
In my present airline and role it's much easier to be assertive, but where I worked before was another story. Maybe because of the colour of the uniform that made us look like stupid Barbies, maybe because of the holiday nature of the flights,maybe because people were occasional flyers, I do not know what but it was a constant challenge. I learnt to be tough there.
Do not worry, if there are no spare seats chances are the CC would move you to a spare crew seat, if necessary. You should not be treated like that regardless, nobody should be sworn at on a plane, whatever the reason.
Safety is everyone's responsibility and I always make sure that my pax know that this means it's theirs too and not just mine, that they can count on me for anything anytime but that I might need their help too at times!!
Glad it all went well for you in the end anyway....
FBW
