Romeok...really? You need to fly with a few Brits to truly experience anal retention.
JC This tends to depend to a large degree on your experience. 'Bully' style captains tend to pick on the very innexperienced because they generally don't know enough, or don't have the self confidence/life experience to effectively stand up for themselves without unduly upsetting the captain concerned.
There are two scenarios.
1/. The advice is within SOPs and merely a technique thing.
2/. The advice is NON SOP.
In the first instance perhaps you just need to relax and accept that the captain may just have some insight that you don't have. In this case just smile and say "Gee thanks, I had never thought of that/doing it that way, I'll wrk on it." Try what he is suggesting and either incorporate it if it is better and works or don't...if you don't next time he asks why you are not doing it simply suggest the way you're doing it seems to work better
for you.
In the second you must first realise that SOPs change. They are merely the preferences of the current fleet C&Ting management. If the captain has been with the company a long time chances are good that he was taught a completely different SOP many years before and sees no reason to change just because the ops management has decided to put their stamp on things. Probability is high that if he has been with the company a VERY long time he has seen sundry SOPs go full circle at least once....that is the way he does things has gone from in favour to out of favour and back in favour again...there are not that many ways of flying an aeroplane.
In this instance perhaps ask him to show you the reference in the company OPs manual so that "you don't cock it up at your next recurrent...because it seems different to what you have been taught". Be very sure of your ground before you do this...one good thing about flying with ******** captains is it keep you in the books, or it should, so you know absolutely what SOP actually is...we all fall into bad habits. If he consistantly cannot back up his BS with cold hard fact sooner or later he'll stop. If he ackowledges that it is non SOP but in his view it is 'better' I would tend to agree with him
BUT point out that you, as an FO, don't get the leeway he enjoys and must follow SOPs irrespective if you ever hope to make it to the LHS one day "when it is my turn". This lets him believe that you think he is really clever and would happily do it his way if the C&Ting department would just realise their mistake and incorporate his 'clever idea' into the manual. 9 times out of 10 these individuals have been passed over repeatedly for training positions
because they are so non standard but are not sufficiently non standard to cause the training department to take direct action. 9 times out of 10 the training department knows exactly what they are like but as it doesn't effect them they do nothing...so what if he annoys the **** out of the FOs?
Don't get into a pissing competition...you'll almost certainly lose...there is a reason he is the captain...although sometimes it is difficult to comprehend a good reason.
At the end of the day if
you fly standard and make no waves you
will be noticed and not have to fly with the crunt anymore...because you will be a captain.