But..as someone who is frequently asked where the toilets are...which bus goes to the Holiday Inn...where can I claim back my VAT...where's the gate for "British Air" etc...I find you have to take it in your stride, regardless of how pushed for time you may be or focussed in the interest of 'your customers' safety and security'; members of the public, by and large find airports somewhat stressful environments and will ask questions of anyone they manage to identify in a uniform, and as a uniform wearing ambassador for your company, I would expect that.
I had an FR pax ask how to use the check-in machine at STN the other morning (I work for another airline), had 2 minutes spare so showed them.
A little politeness goes a long way sometimes, and if I have time I'll always try to make 2 minutes to answer a question properly if I know the answer.
I have also experienced a similar high standard of customer service as experienced by deptrai at both IAD and ORD with UAL in recent years following tight connections off of long-haul sectors. Couldn't have done more for me and left me both a little surprised but also delighted - they went out of their way when they didn't have to and that made a big difference to me.
Would it make you use UAL again?
This is why the above applies for me, for the airline I work for. It pays the bills after all.