Is it a wonder why many here will not fly anymore? I hate to say it, he may end up a cult hero for those that have had enough of a course society.
We need a personal magic carpet that is easy to fly to put this madness behind us....
Posted on 08/10/2010 3:22:50 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Most of us will probably never pull a Steven Slater: curse out a customer, grab a drink and leave our place of employment in a blaze of glory.
But let’s face it, we’ve all had the urge.
Slater, a flight attendant on JetBlue, instantly became a folk hero in many people’s eyes Monday after he grabbed a microphone and ranted at a passenger who had refused to apologize for hitting Slater with some luggage. Slater then grabbed a beer from the galley and fled the plane via the emergency exit chute.
“How many of us can honestly say we haven’t wanted to do the same thing? Steve is a working class hero!” one reader, Aaron Steele, commented on msnbc.com.
“Maybe not the best way to quit your job but hey, sometimes enough is enough,” said another, usa1967. Workplace experts say that while most of us probably don’t have the chutzpah to do what Slater did, many have felt enough workplace stress to at least fantasize about telling everyone to take this job and shove it.
“I think that’s why we all secretly hold him up as a hero. I know he did the wrong thing and he even probably broke the law, but I get it,” said Tim Besse, co-founder of Glassdoor.com, a website that allows employees and employers to post anonymous information about their workplaces.
That’s especially true with airline travel, which is full of the kind of hassles and stress that can inspire rage and fury in even the most mild-mannered people. In fact, many readers said an outburst such as Slater’s dramatic exit was inevitable given how flight attendants and other people in customer service are treated these days.
“Can’t blame him for snapping. Unbelievable how rude people are — no apology for clocking him in the head with a bag? I’d snap too!” wrote VTPeach.
To some, it was the passenger who prompted Slater’s rant, rather than Slater himself, who was at fault.
“What about the passenger who refused to apologize? I would call him the real IDIOT!!!!” wrote whatever-2167628.
Besse, of Glassdoor.com, said companies often get high marks for valuing customer satisfaction. But that can turn into a negative if employees come to feel like they have taken the idea that the customer is always right too far, to the point that customers are treated better than employees.
“Steve Slater, who’d been doing this basically all his life, on this day in New York basically decided the customer wasn’t right,” Besse said.
Some may see Slater as a hero because they know they don’t have the luxury to speak out like that in their own lives. While Slater may have felt great after finally letting loose in such a public way, the fact is that most of us need our jobs more than we need that release. And most of us realize that such a dramatic move can carry heavy consequences, such as the felony charges that Slater is currently facing.
That’s especially true these days, with the unemployment rate hovering at 9.5 percent, nearly 15 million Americans looking for work, and many who are working being asked to do more work for the same or even less money. “It’s about time workers start to flip out!” wrote one reader, Jimi-2167680.
Of course, not everyone is thrilled with the way Slater decided to handle his workplace frustration (including legal authorities, who are holding him on charges of criminal mischief, reckless endangerment and trespassing).
More than 40 percent of msnbc.com readers voting in an online poll called him a hero, but around 35 percent felt he was “just plain crazy.”
“Sounds like we are safer that he is now on the ground,” wrote Bruce-308647.
“Gotta love it. … Finally, a flight attendant standing up to a RUDE passenger. Seen it a million times. Could have handled it better, though!” wrote another, Da Llama-2167553.
I don’t understand how he can be accused of ‘criminal mischief, reckless endangerment and trespassing’. He simply removed himself from a place where he was supposed to be, separated himself from a volatile situation, before take-off.
He obviously lost his composure - which would have been treated as a human resource problem, not a crime, in any other profession.
I walked off the job in a huff - was hired back. Did it again - was hired back and finally stormed out for good. Third time was the charm. Drama queen:)
..it is not comforting to hear about this strange steward.
When I have to take a plane, I want everything orderly and normal...and if the passenger gets out of line, I especially want the flight attendant to be professional.
It's not fun sitting cramped & nervous in the first place....
..normalcy from the flight crew is tops on my list!
At the water cooler today:
“I won’t go Postal, but I might go Jet Blue.”
“One more like that and I’m poppin’ the chute.”
I understand frustration with trying to enforce some one else’s law (I believe the stay in seat rule is an FAA rule) and be quality customer service, however, I think he could have had the passenger arrested rather than do something that reckless.
When you walked off, did you pull an emergency exit door and deploy an inflatible slide on an airliner, thereby stranding the plane on the tarmac, delaying passengers’ exit making some miss connections and grounding the plane for several days?
He did.
This guy is an inconsiderate little self-centered egomanical twerp.
JetBlue is a fine airline. Fly them out of Long Beach all the time. Planes are comfy, despite being Airbus.
But they pay their staff (pilots included) less than the other heavily unionized airlines, which can have drawbacks.
I wouldn’t describe him as a hero, but exiting with two beers through the emergency landing chute was sure funny as all get out.
If you’re going to go out, go out with a bang (a bang that doesn’t hurt anybody). He pulled it off, and the mental image I have from my many years of air travel is too funny for words.
Is it a wonder why many here will not fly anymore? I hate to say it, he may end up a cult hero for those that have had enough of a course society.
We need a personal magic carpet that is easy to fly to put this madness behind us....
Oh, and BTW, in his little hissy fit, he also endangered the lives of everyone on the plane and of everyone on the tarmac. If a good gust ripped away the slide, people very well could have died.
But yeah, he’s a hero. /hurl
It's probably the chute. That's kind of a big deal. If he just took the beer and stormed off the plane back up the boarding tunnel, even after chewing out the passengers, I don't think there'd be any legal repercussions pending. I don't see the reckless endangerment or trespassing at all under the circumstances. Maybe they tacked those off to bargain with later. I do think there should be some "destruction of property" charge because of the large cost associated with the chute and deplaning/replaning all the pax.
People are tightly wound nowadays...And some just no longer GAF. I suggested people start keeping their mouths shut and start treating the help a bit nicer.
The chute stunt,I'll wager,is his biggest problem.Most likely a violation of a dozen different Federal laws...at least some of which would be felonies.
Oh, that’s very true. Have plenty of friends who deal with the general public on a daily basis. Frankly don’t understand how they can handle it.
That said, endangering people’s lives and seriously inconveniencing other people - some of who also fall into “the help” category (for example, at least the other flight attendants) - is too much. WAY too much.
If it were up to me, he’s definitely do some jail time.
I love it. Speaking for myself I’ve always wanted to do that at points in my life I hated work. Just tell everyone to f off, grab some beer, and slide down the giant inflatable slide, and go home. Can’t beat that.
I heard somewhere that Slater had some serious family issues he was dealing with which may have contributed to his snapping. I also heard he made it all the way home before getting arrested. Good for him.
Ya drop a bag on the wrong persons head nowadays, and then mouth off to them, ya better expect the worse nowadays...
I did not call him a hero.
But thank God the plane was on the ground when he lost his mind.
We are surrounded by stressed out people.....as sometimes evidenced by FReepers’ comments (some of the most sane, thoughtful people on earth).
Some stressed out folk are driving very fast on the highway - angry and distracted, or standing in your line at the WalMart, or fixing your food in the restaurant or they may be on the next elevator you enter.
True. That’s why I (1) try to be respectful to everyone (unless they REALLY give me cause not to) and (2) am almost always armed. BTW, if (2), then always (1) even if they do give me cause not to.
What was reckless about it?
if you haven’t flown in five years, be prepared, NOT for a steward losing it, but your fellow passengers. It has gotten horrific to fly. On all airlines. There are always nice, polite passengers, but some of them should get an eject button at 30K feet. And give yourself at least an hour to get thru the airport with security.
I'm leaning more toward your assessment. "Brat" was the word that came to mind, and when I heard he was gay, I thought "figures."
I remember reading a story about a boss who would take potential employees to lunch and see how they dealt with waiters. They would be hired or not depending on how they dealt with people who took “lesser” jobs.
A quote I heard somewhere “you can always tell the measure of a man by the way he treats people who can do nothing for him.”
People could have died????
The plane was on the tarmac!
It’s all about the chute. The wreckless endangerment probably is because the plane can’t taxi with the chute deployed, meaning (1) the passengers and other crew had to deplane on the active tarmac (dangerous) and (2) the plane was now a stuck-in-place large obstacle for other planes (dangerous). That’s not even getting into sticking a big sail on the side of a full airplane.
The trespassing probably is for going onto the active part of the tarmac. Flight attendants generally aren’t cleared for that. That’s also potentially dangerous for others.
My bet is that he does some time, possibly federal, unless (or maybe even if) he cuts a very nice plea deal.
I flew from Baltimore to Dallas this morning and I sat next to a real nice guy, Marco from Italy....He talked the whole way but it mad the trip go a lot faster.....he has been here on a tourist Visa and it is time to go home.....
When he first flew here he meant to fly into Dulles to stay with friends in VA but due to communication problems he flew he made his reservation for Dallas....he managed to find a way to VA but he now has to return home via Dallas.....
Agree.
If the feds have any sense, they will drop charges against this guy.
The guy is not a criminal....he lost it dealing with extremely rude passengers. IMO, the passenger is the one who violated the law and should be charged.
The sad part is these passengers are rarely, if ever, charged. So their behavior only gets worse.
Although this guy is a typical homosexual who can’t control himself, I do feel bad for him in this situation. The passenger in question sure sounds like a first class jerk.
How strong of a wind would need to come by to yank the plane around and kill people? Is that wind possible on a tarmac?
Yeah, I agree. When I wrote that I thought they were seating the passengers before a flight when this happened, so the plane would still be at the gate. If this happened on a taxiway, I see the endangerment as well as the trespassing.
The sad part is these passengers are rarely, if ever, charged. So their behavior only gets worse.
The guy that pays writes the check should always be treated like the boss. With the security garbage and now the fee after fee, it’s a wonder that more passengers don’t blow up.
But let’s face it, we’ve all had the urge.
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I have also had the urge many times in my life to punch someone in the face, but I have never done it.
No, I do not admire this guy and his gay little hissy fit.
Admittedly, I do not fly very often, but IMO most airline passengers are very compliant and are appreciative of the crew. I am sure that there are a few who are real pains in the joebiden, but that is no excuse for this drama queen to act the way he did.
Too bad he’s not a black guy....he could claim the passenger was racist and get his job back.....
I suggested people start keeping their mouths shut and start treating the help a bit nicer.
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Something I always do. People providing a service to you are to be treated with respect, as should all people.
After not flying for 5 years, I flew 2 weeks ago on JetBlue (my first time for that airline)
It was a more comfortable flight than other airlines & on the way home the pilot did well to fly away from turbulence.
I use to be OK with flying, but not anymore.
A lot of people are crazy, unwashed and rude....
..I would just as soon not fly.
When I ran a customer service department (ok, I was the only person in the department) back in the 1980’s I had fantasies of doing hat this guy did.
I guess I’m blessed because I actually like my job now.
If my destination is within an 8 hour drive, and I have time, I drive (or take bus/train) rather than fly. It used to be such a great way to travel (fear notwithstanding).
I even remember when people would get dressed up for a flight. And dinner in First Class was served on plates, with real glasses, heavy stainless flatware and linen napkins! Now, half the passengers look like they couldn’t be bothered with so much as a shower, or using a comb. And the bag of peanuts just doesn’t do much for me.
The novelty of flying JetBlue the first time was enhanced by the wonderful aroma of coffee & finding out they serve Dunkin Donuts coffee in Dunkin Donuts cups, LOL-(it doesn't take much for me)....
...also my destination was 2-1/2 days away by car....so I flew.
bump
“
JetBlue is a fine airline. Fly them out of Long Beach all the time.
“
I drove a former boss (and spouse) to Long Beach a couple of times
so they could catch Jet Blue flights.
I haven’t researched it, but it’s my understanding is that the LB airport
was the one seen in the classic movie “Casablanca”. The terminal did
have that 1930s look.
They are supposed to be able to withstand 35 knot winds with 52 knot gusts IIRC. However, that’s just not that incredibly rare on an airport tarmac. After all, tarmacs are big flat areas with little to slow down the wind. Also, you can get some weird spot winds and vortices from other planes, esp big ones, landing and taking off.
Likely? Nope. Possible? Yup. Any chance Mr. I’m More Important knew what the wind speeds were or cared? Not much, hence reckless endangerment.
PS Replacing or reloading the exit slide isn’t a simple process. The kind of fittings needed to withstand the forces involved aren’t trivial. The slide also has to be certified. That means the plane will be grounded for a bit.
Oops, I didn’t read you post carefully enough, and my choice of the term “big sails” could have been better.
The risk isn’t that the plane will get yanked around. (At least I don’t think that’s a big risk. May be wrong.)
The big risk is that the slide will get torn off and sail into an engine on that plane or another plane. Or that it will sail into another plane with the full force of the wind behind it. It’s literally like getting hit by a truck. (Had a 20’x20’ tarp blow off a construction site into my car one day, maybe a 20 mph wind behind it. Cracked the hood, shattered the windshield - thank God for safety glass - and almost knocked my car off the road. There’s a LOT of force there!)
Sorry, I should have directed my snark about the “hero” tag to the article, not you.
“If my destination is within an 8 hour drive, and I have time, I drive (or take bus/train) rather than fly.”
Me too! If it’s nice out and a trip that won’t last too long (say 3 day stay), I ride my Honda Shadow 750. Talk about a way to travel.
“I remember reading a story about a boss who would take potential employees to lunch and see how they dealt with waiters. They would be hired or not depending on how they dealt with people who took ‘lesser’ jobs.”
A company I worked for did that, and I was on the interview team. More than a few people blew job offers by treating the wait staff poorly.
We took it a step farther: I was usually assigned the job of showing them the town. If they didn’t drink, that was fine. If they drank and behaved, OK. If they drank and became instant jerks, bye bye job offer. That happened more than once, too.
“,,, I ride my Honda Shadow 750. Talk about a way to travel.”
Probably even beats Greyhound ;)
I see him as a stereotypical flight attendant flamer.
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