Collecting in trays??

[Trixy the Fairy]

Hi to you all out there just a quick question to you all.
Can you wear gloves when collecting in dirty trays at your airline,or do you know of any airlines that does?
How big is the risk of pick up anything nasty off them?
Do you get any jabs of the doc to protect you as per company policy?
Thanks
Trixy


:) :)

[hapzim]

Here at Monarch all are provided with gloves for tray collection etc.

[Balboy]

We have them at BY.

I believe AIH will have them soon if not already.

[cabin lad]

Yeh, AIH have them too :)

[f40]

Trixy,
We have them as well, and some of the FA's use them when collecting used hot towels.

Personally I have never felt the need for them, not when colllecting towels and not at all when collecting trays! :eek:

No we don't get any special "jabs" and I don't think I've picked up anything nasty from the job during the past 20 years. :)

The human skin is very very good at keeping out nasties, and as long as you do not have an open wound on your hands there is absolutely nothing to worry about in the normal course of your job.
The above according to my old man, who's a medical doctor.

May The way I see it, the unprotected activities engaged in on stop-overs by a segment of the flying population, are far more risky for long term health than is collecting food trays barehanded.

And of course Biscuit Chuckers advice on wiping your hands is GOOD!

[flyblue]

We do have gloves too but nobody uses it for collecting trays. But we use a lot of antiseptic wipes, also provided by the Company.

[Trixy the Fairy]

Thanks for the quick responses and keep them comimg.
Well we're told we are not allowed to wear gloves when collecting in and we're not provided with any wipes.The only time we can wear gloves is when you are cleaning or re-stocking the toilets or when dealing with sick pax.
I would much prefer the gloves as you don't have to touch anything.
We are trying to build a case at the moment,based on the fact that other airlines wear them.
Thanks
Trixy :D

[rekcarc]

I have noticed that Virgin Atlantic crews nearly always seem to wear gloves when clearing in even from drinks aswell as meals.

:rolleyes: ;)

[NORDIC]

At Scandic, gloves are provided too. Very good idea considering some of the things which are handed to you.

[five percent]

An interesting topic and think I would go along the sames view as f40.

As crew myself when I travelled on an airline using plastic gloves to clear in I felt insulted as a passenger and it has never been an issue for discussion in my airline.

Passengers do not get the same respect when handed trays of open food by crew, when they cannot be assured of their standards of cleanliness!

Lets face it - this is a customer service industry although crew are there primarily for the safety of passengers. Ads for cabin crew do tend to state the importance of experience in customer service, as opposed to knowledge of first aid, safety training and levels of hygiene.

How would the crew using plastic gloves feel if they went into a restaurant down route to find the staff clearing their plates away wearing plastic gloves?

[Mr Pax]

From a regular passenger point of view I have never been insulted by having my meal tray cleared by a F/A wearing plastic gloves,considering the trays are usually overflowing with messy plastic dishes, half full of uneaten food I think it is a good idea, if only to keep your selves clean. :)

When it comes to things like sick bags I think you should definitely wear them! :D

Keep up the good work, I think you all do an excellent job! :p

[ 11 August 2001: Message edited by: Mr Pax ]

[taba]

Certainly out in the Gulf region we don't...but we do when scrubbing the bogs!!!

[spannerhead]

I had a great experience whilst flying with VAA to Barbados. The cabin crew came up with a cunning plan??? They started a competition with the kids on board. What the kids had to do was try to make their families meal trays look just like they did when they were given to them.(minus the food). Most of the pax I could see had kids with them and they were all trying for the prize.
The result was that most trays were easily slid into the trollies and the job was done in no time...they certainly didn't need gloves.
All the kids were given a bag of sweets for their efforts..I'm sure thats a small price to pay!!!

[GalleyWench]

Trixy, We are not supposed to wear gloves while collecting trays, yet some do anyways. If the trays were handed back not resembling the leaning tower of pisa it would not be an issue !! The most discreet way of using the gloves I have seen is to wear one, on the hand that does the squashing and rearranging. The other hand that the pax sees as you grab the tray is glove-free. The easiest solution of all is to carry a small bottle of anti-bacterial hand wash with you to clean up all the gunk when you are back in the galley.

[kfly]

BA are very good at providing barriers for crew. Gloves for clearing in, sanitising packs containing hand sanitizer, gloves, granuels etc for clearing up for those nasty jobs we get occassionally! Tongs are providing for dispensing and collecting hot towels. Antiseptic wipes etc are all available.

They also cover food handling and hygiene in depth during training and refresher courses.

You would be surprised what bacteria lurks on a hot towel!

F40 I can not believe you collect in towels without gloves or tongs!

:eek: