PAX letters of complaint/appreciation

[T_richard]

I am an infrequent flier but an active consumer eg;I buy lots of stuff. In the past I have sent letters of thanks to airlines when I received exceptional service, especially if I am traveling with my small children. If I receive less than reasonable service (giving the benefit of the doubt to the employee) I vote with my wallet. There is one airline I do not luv! My question is, do the letters make a difference for the FA's and gate people I am praising? What is the impact on the employees? Please note that I do include names and flight numbers.
It is interesting to see the look on their faces when I ask for their names, a moment of panic followed by a smile when I explain that I'm a happy customer.

[Deep Cover Gecko]

With the first airline that I worked for, if somebody wrote in complimentary letter about the crew then they received a copy, along with a letter from their manager thanking them for their efforts. As to the other airlines, either they didn't do the same, or the passengers weren't as impressed with the crew!! ;)

[Slaaag]

Same as Deep Cover really, but, it doesn't make any difference as to the way in which we are treated. but, thanks for sending them in we really do appreciate it. At last someone likes us!!!! :D

[kbf1]

If your company does pass on letters of appreciation then perhaps you should mention which airlines they are. I have watched FAs put up with some appalling pax, and yet still keep a smile on their face. If I wanted to send a vote of thanks I would at least like to know which airlines bother to pass it on. Quite often though, I will make my appreciation known by saying thanks to the FA as I dis-embark.

[PAXboy]

I understand that easyJet does make sure that the letter gets through. I wrote to them earlier this year and later received an acknowledgement of my comments. Although I was commenting on the in-flight mag as well as the staff.

[deepvainpain]

Ive had letters forwarded to me from the company from pax that have written in about me and I have to say I loved it. Not many people seem to do it but I wish they would as it really makes you feel good and appreciated.
We also have a form onboard the aircraft that pax can fill in if they feel that we have done a good job. The only problem is that not many people know about it and I feel embaressed when they ask for one!

[T_richard]

Hi DVP Embarresed about what. You are asking your customer to let you know if you are meeting his/her expectations. If they still look at you funny, tell them you believe in being proactive, fixing small problems before they become big problems. You aren't asking for a compliment you are asking pax to help you do your job better

[radeng]

American Airlines certainly used to (they may still) give frequent flyer Platinum card holders some little forms called 'You're someone special' with which pax could show their appreciation to staff. I believe that if the staff collected so many, they got some sort of reward - free flight or something.

I don't fly enough now to have a Platinum card, so I can't say if the system is still there.

[emma.harris]

Monarch send you a copy of complimentary letters but these days they are few and far between, it is really nice to receive them as you get so many complaints these days after working your butt off for hours on end.

[rex]

Hi

I was shown a great time by Airtours this year, flight deck ride from start to finish, on a couple of occasions too. I wrote a letter of thanks and I do hope all the crew got a pat on the back. They deserved it.

The cabin staff do put up with a lot. I do wish some PAX would shut up.

REX :D

[pilots pal]

I thinks its great that pax take the time to appreciate cabin crews hard work. The company I work for always pass on letters written about the crew (good and bad),if the letter mentions your name the company rewards the effert with a £50 bonus :). This encourages the crew to work hard and enjoy it and also boosts moral,it makes it all worth while. So keep those letters coming!!! ;)

[DX Wombat]

I have written several letters of thanks to the airlines concerned when I have really appreciated something. On each occasion I have been told that this will be passed on to the crew members concerned. I am pleased to say that on only one occasion has it been necssary to write a letter of complaint and this was not about the cabin crew ( or flight deck for that matter). On this occasion I received an apology and the assurance that my comments would be passed on to the heads of the departments concerned. I would be delighted to think that those who have been so pleasant to fly with were rewarded in some way there is far too much in the way of petty criticism and selfish attitudes around. :)
*********, please could you email me? Your email link isn't working.

[ 13 December 2001: Message edited by: DX Wombat ]

[Cart_tart]

With the Airline I work for if a pax sends in a complimentary letter about us we receive a copy of that letter along with a letter from the airline thanking us for our hard work and how they wouldn't be where they are if it wasn't for FA's like us & blah blah blah. If the letter is about the whole crew then everyone who crewed the flight receives the letter from the company. These letters are kept in our personal files. When a pax writes a letter of complaint we are contacted by telephone told what is in the letter & asked to put in a formal report - if we haven't already done so. "Apparentally" these ones don't go in our personal file but I don't believe that for a second! Thank god I have only ever received one of the latter from an extremely rude and abusive pax who kicked a massive stink because we were in the middle of a full cabin service & we didn't answer his call bell quickly enough to get him another drink! PLEASE! Luckily the company was on our side on that one!
I have also sent a letter to a particular airline commending them on the excellent crew and great food (yes it was fab & believe me I've seen it all too!). I received a letter from the Airline in return thanking me & sucking up some more hoping that I will fly with them again - It must've worked because I have and I will keep doing so!
SO if you're going to send in letters .... we LOVE complimentary ones - they help us in our career advancement too. On the other hand if you're going to send in a complaint if it is for something trivial like I mentioned above don't bother. It's not fair on the crew who are already trying their hardest to keep the pax happy and we generally end up having a pretty bad day when we have a phone call from our manager asking us to explain ourselves. Besides, you wouldn't like to be on a flight with us on a bad day!
;)

[lc22]

It's great to hear that we are appreciated at times. Working for a small airline our manager informs us when (on the rare occasion) we have received a letter of compliment it is also put in our personal file. It is always great to hear from passengers that you have done a good job and for me makes me put a buit more in next time. Passengers are so quick to complain about the smallest things and kick up hell that even one passenger who says a genuine thank you cheers me up.

[PAXboy]

I have just returned from a seven sector trip, I am contemplating writing to LH as the long haul C service was fab (the food was grot!)

LH = 4
SA = 2
SA Airlink = 1

As I said the Luft was good, the SAA for two internal flights in Y were as one would have expected. But I was surprised that the attendent in the ERJ 135 of SA Airlink gave a very poor attitude. My nephew who flies for Airlink said that the ERJ crews often do Zambia routes and the PAX attitude has toughened them up so much that the FA probably forgot that she was on a domestic!

I think that I will write to Lufty, if only to tell them that their food does not really cater for international tongue!

[snowbound]

B.A. will let you know when a complimentary letter is recieved praising you etc..which is genuinely rewarding.The logistics of actually keeping hundreds of people happy whilst flying above the atlantic in a tin can at over 500 mph is a near impossibility these days due to the ridiculous expectations of some passengers.

Basically the rude,arrogant bastards who grace our airline will get NOTHING from me, however the nice ones will have me jumping through hoops and i will do anything for them to have a pleasant flight.

[DX Wombat]

Snowbound, you have just given me the answer I wanted! I emailed Pilot's Pal to ask her the same thing but she probably didn't get it as my computer has been having a prolonged sulk. The replies I have had from BA have always said that the crew concerned would be informed but I have had no way of verifying this. Now that I know this is so I shall continue to write when I feel it is warranted. :) :) :)

[ttp]

American Airways still issue SOS (SomeOne Special) certificates to 'eletes'. I understand that when a member of staff collects 3 it gets them an upgrade & 5 a free flight.

They can be given to any employee, I have given them to booking staff as well as cabin crew.

[T_richard]

I started this thread out of curiosity about the process that an airline uses when they get what we call a TYL letter. Now, I know that those letters do matter on some airlines. I don't fly alot, but please do your best and smile when I ask you for your name, because the TYL will go out within a week. I urge all PAX to do the same

[flapsforty]

T_richard, what a nice thread! <img src="smile.gif" border="0">

KLM gives us a copy of the letter + a friendly note from management. . .Knowing that a passsenger has actually gone through all the bother of writing about the service confirms the fact that we are in the right job, and that all the hard work is appreciated.. .After 20 years of flying, it's still a great feeling getting a compliment letter!

:)

[DX Wombat]

From my lowly perch in Peasant Class I have to say that I agree with Snowbound about unreasonable expectations of fellow peasants who not only want something yesterday but at times are just too bone idle to get up and go and fetch it for themselves. Before anyone has a fit at this point I should make it clear that I am talking about something like a drink of water. Talk about fetch me, carry me, peel me a grape! Some of them even seem to want it eaten for them as well! <img src="mad.gif" border="0">

[Catherine Dell]

we dont hesitate to give pax comment cards when they are v complementary... but unfortunatly never any feedback! my drop file stays as dry as ghandi s slipper!!.

[overfly]

...go & get a drink yourself ? Good grief, I tried that on Korean a couple of months ago and was gently bollocked by the plentiful and charming cabin crew who told me it was their job. This was in the middle of a SEL-LON job, how they all kept going for so long I just don't know....

[skypryncess]

T_Richard,. .what your doing is lovely, most people only take time to write complaints. A letter of commendation that our managers will see is the only way to stand out and get any credit in a thankless job. This is especially crew in the case of solo fa's where no-one but their passengers get to see thier work.

Eastern Australia Airlines Flight Attendant

[T_richard]

SkyPryncess If truth be told, I have a soft spot for two groups of females; f/a's, and nurses. I have loved women od both professions in my time and still consider them the most worthy of that love. Patience, humor, intelligence, resourcefulness, and an internal/external beauty that is easy to spot a mile away.

Additionally, I do believe that we should be complimented when we do our jobe REALLY right just as quickly as we should be slapped when we screw it up big time. As you stated, most times you only see the back end. :l :l