Capot vs Gunky Tom
Capot did not say that the announcement should not be made, just that he does not have to pretend to paying attention when he knows the routine by heart. I fly a to CDG every two weeks on the same type of aircraft and carrier for the last 3+ years. I could do the presentation myself, without error. Cabin Staff vary in their response to customers. I have seen some get irritated with SLF who don't pay attention but were not in any way disruptive. One passenger ahead of me was looking out of the window and the CC came over and asked him to pay attention. I think that is OTT, she had no idea if he did the flight daily. On the other hand, passengers who talk through the safety demo should be corrected, as they could be interfering with another passengers ability to hear the presentation. There is no law saying a passenger must listen, just one that says that the briefing takes place. Furthermore, any CC who says that their attention has not drifted during a training session is just a liar, so why get so high and mighty with a passenger who has seen and heard the presentation dozens or even hundreds of times?
I once commented to a pilot friend of mine at EZ that I couldn't understand why EZ allowed the programme to show, because it often showed their staff in a poor light. I remember one episode with a scouser of oriental origin who was literally goading a passenger who was upset and seemed to be trying to provoke her. It was astounding the stroppy attitude she had towards a passenger who was in the wrong, (late as usual), but obviously distressed and very anxious. His reply was that EZ regarded the programme as a valuable tool for lowering passenger expectations and educating them about the rules and expectations of low cost travel. In that respect the show was useful for them.
Only snag with this, is that if you watch the show often enough you will find the staff apply the rules erratically, are often wrong themselves and don't know how to handle it when they are. They often become belligerant or disappear when they get it wrong. The other day the same scouse "customer service agent" was denying boarding to a group of Somali travellers to Switzerland becuase they didn't have the right documentation. She was rude, hostile and aggressive. She was also wrong. When she was told she was wrong, she was less than apologetic and instead started justifying herself. Pathetic.