[doogiekd]

Flight: 669
Date: 14AUG09
Austin to Seattle


Beverage service. I ask Scott, our flight attendant for two Margaritas for me and my partner. I have ordered this drink on other flights (not Alaska) and thought it was a simple request. Scott sarcatically snaps back, “You want that blended, with salt around the rim too?” Getting the hint that we were not getting Margaritas, we ordered beer instead. Scott, our skinny little unhappy flight attendant. Maybe the wound covered by the band aid on your left cheek was hurting that day. The Alaska Airlines beverage menu includes Jose Cuervo Tequila. There must be mixer for it somewhere on the cart, you were just too busy acting important to notice.


It's time for airlines to include visible employee numbers below the name tag with clear instructions in every seat pocket for reporting rude flight attendants. It is time they be accountable for their behavior.

[PHXFlyer]

Actually Alaska doesn't serve Margaritas. Not even in first class. The margaritas offered on other airlines are almost always pre-mixed and, in my opinion, aren't very tasty anyway. Was his remark simply an attempt at humor? Of course what was said matters as much as how it was said. In the end, it is an airplane, not a bar.

And just why was the fact he had a Band-Aid significant? He might have cut himself shaving. Including that jab in your post makes me wonder what frame of mind you were in when this "incident" occurred.

[doogiekd]

Again, the beverage menu on the Alaska Airlines website includes Jose Cuervo Tequila.

There must be some sort of mixer for it (Margarita) - unless they want us to do shots...

As for the Band Aid, I included that for identifying information in my complaint letter to Alaska and to make a point that when initiating a complaint about a flight attendant, the passenger only has a name tag with a first name on it. (How easy is that to change?)

I believe it would be more appropriate for flight attendants to wear a picture identification badge that includes a clearly visible employee number. Perhaps then they would be less likely to perform their duties in an anonymous manner and feel more accountable for their actions.

As for my state of mind, we were just two people on vacation, having a drink (one drink, the first and only of the day), on the way home.

[PHXFlyer]

Originally Posted by doogiekd

Again, the beverage menu on the Alaska Airlines website includes Jose Cuervo Tequila.

There must be some sort of mixer for it (Margarita) - unless they want us to do shots...

Exactly. The beverage menu has Jose Cuervo. It did not specifically say Margaritas. As I mentioned most of the time the margaritas offered on planes is a pre-mixed product in a can. When they pour it over ice it still tastes like the can. You really weren't missing out on anything. Some people drink Cuervo and Coke. Actually tequila and Fresca/Squirt is very popular with the locals in Mexico. Tequila wasn't created exclusively for Margaritas. In fact, the Margarita is a fairly recent concoction (said to have been invented in the late '30s or early '40s) while tequila has been distilled for centuries.

Did you at least try the Alaskan Amber they serve?

Originally Posted by doogiekd

As for the Band Aid, I included that for identifying information in my complaint letter to Alaska and to make a point that when initiating a complaint about a flight attendant, the passenger only has a name tag with a first name on it. (How easy is that to change?)

I believe it would be more appropriate for flight attendants to wear a picture identification badge that includes a clearly visible employee number. Perhaps then they would be less likely to perform their duties in an anonymous manner and feel more accountable for their actions.

As for my state of mind, we were just two people on vacation, having a drink (one drink, the first and only of the day), on the way home.

Performing their duties in an anonymous manner? You're joking, right? You know the date, flight number and his first name. What more identifying information do you need? Was there more than one flight attendant named Scott on your flight? Believe it or not the airlines are required to keep meticulous records which include the names of the crew members on each and every flight. It won't be difficult at all to determine the crew member with the information you have.

[doogiekd]

Given that Margaritas are the most popular tequila drink, you would think a mixer would be included in the drink cart.

Again, the point is really not the drink order, the point was the flight attendants rude response to my order.

Instead of:

"Do you want that blended, with salt around the rim too?

How about,

"I'm sorry, we don't have Margaritas, I could offer you Jose Cuervo with..."

This response reflects the minimal level of service and courtesy one should receive in the context of two purchased tickets of several hundred dollars.

[airhead]

A shot of Patron in my favorite beer is an excellent choice for a boost. Not bad with Coors but better with Dos XX.

[justme]

Originally Posted by doogiekd

Instead of:

"Do you want that blended, with salt around the rim too?

How about,

"I'm sorry, we don't have Margaritas, I could offer you Jose Cuervo with..."

Agreed. Even if it was an attempt at humor, what is funny to one person, may not be to another. He should have stuck to simple, nicely put facts.

Originally Posted by doogiekd

the passenger only has a name tag with a first name on it. (How easy is that to change?)

I believe it would be more appropriate for flight attendants to wear a picture identification badge that includes a clearly visible employee number.

Originally Posted by Butch Cassidy Slept Here

If flight attendants had to wear some kind of badge with a numeric code, in 2-inch tall font, identifying that crew member, I'm certain you'd seen a lot of power drunkeness, and general nasty attitudes left at the gate.

As for the previous two quotes, I totally disagree. Do you wear a shirt with huge print that says your name and drivers license number on it? No, you don't, and you don't for a reason. That's also why none of us put our real names on this site, to avoid personal attacks by people who may disagree and have some ill intentions. Identities are increasingly easy to "thieve and plunder" these days. As for employees being able to easily change the name on their name tag, it would actually be VERY hard. Name tags are ordered using when the employee is hired using their LEGAL GIVEN NAME on their application and employee files. And when they need replacements, they are ENGRAVED using the same info. Unless you change your name, you can't change your name tag. Unless of course they are handwritten like they are at the local steak house, in which case would be enough of a deterrent for me to not fly that airline.

[Butch Cassidy Slept Here]

In the relatively care-free regulated days of air travel there were jokes about "programmed" flight attendents. Some comedians suggested they had to start their pre-flight announcements over again if they skipped one line. So, even today, unless you place an order for something EXACTLY as it appears on the in-flight menu, the flight attendant is apt to react as if you're speaking Martian.

Since this is Alaska Air, I'll toss the flight attendant about two inches of slack: Some years ago, I was in FC on an Alaska Air flight. The flight attendant was doing sort of a nightclub comedy routine as part of the pre-flight announcements. So, maybe, just maybe, that was part of Alaska Air's unofficial in-flight comedy caberet. On the other hand, based on the tone of the comment, you may have run into a ****** queen!

As to wearing id, ABSOLUTELY, I agree: If flight attendants had to wear some kind of badge with a numeric code, in 2-inch tall font, identifying that crew member, I'm certain you'd seen a lot of power drunkeness, and general nasty attitudes left at the gate.

[mars6423]

maybe scott was just trying to make a joke, lighten up his day and the passengers, it seems like a pretty harmless and appears to be an attempt to be humulus/funny......unless he said it in a serious tone but it all depends on the way he said it, and from all of my experiences flying most of the flight attendants i have witnessed always try to make jokes here and there to try to make the flying experience a tad better

besides if you knew what they served before hand than why did you ask for something that they didnt have or show up on their online menu or wherever you found their drink list

[Gromit801]

Is life so bad, that one needs to be upset with the lack of a specific drink on an airliner? I won't comment on the FA, as I personally didn't hear his tone of voice. But if you really feel the need to write up a complaint to Alaska Air, his first name, flight number, and date of flight is all you need.

If I had my way, alcohol would be banned from flights and airports. Historically, they cause more trouble than it's worth.

[oh my]

I agree with the OP. Sounds like the f/a was rude, and he shouldn't have been.

The employee number is so incredibly impersonal and so easy to get wrong. The WalMart check out people have their first names on their IDs. Should they have their employee numbers, also? How about doctors. Should their coats say Dr. Jones, or 046859? I'm only guessing here, but knowing "Scott" on flight 699 from AUS to SEA on 14 Aug, will determine exactly who you are complaining about. Besides, you might write down the number wrong, or miss a number... what then? don't you think "scott" works better? Regardless, the OP has enough information to complain about the incident, without the employee number. So what's the problem? The f/a's employee number won't change how Alaska Air handles the letter.

[Butch Cassidy Slept Here]

The employee number is so incredibly impersonal and so easy to get wrong.

Impersonal? Absolutely. I still think it’s better than first names. Again, badge numbers have been used by police for years. And judging from the pay-outs some cities have made on lawsuit settlements it sounds like badge numbers are copied-down correctly. Also, a number is a better device to use in a scenario where flight attendants would be licensed by the DOT. A flight attendant might work for two, three or more airlines during his/her career. At least some do to my understanding. A single DOT-assigned number would enable the tracking of complaints, against a given flight attendant, from one airline to the next.

The status quo of first names, or no names and just appearances (the lady with the big wart on her forehead!), is probably ok in the absence of DOT licensing. Again, under the current state of affairs, after drug trafficking, setting the plane afire, and feeding a 4-year old passenger vodka, are considered, it seems there is little in the way of bad behavior, on the part of a flight attendant, that would, in the view of most US-based airlines, be a basis for termination.

As to the concept of flight attendants being on board only for safe evacuations and other safety issues: I think that’s a GREAT idea! If you just want to check on customers who are smoking; those who won’t sit-down; and those who are commiting “potty crime” (crapping outside your ticketed class)—NO PROBLEM. I think I can, somehow, get by without a lukewarm “Budget Gormet” tv dinner for lunch. I’ll take my chances with Chick-A-Fill, or Cinabun in the terminal concourse. It would be a great flight—I wouldn’t have to look at your face, and vice versa.

The problem is flight attendants are NOT just safety officers. Too many customers are painfully aware of that. Flight attendants are baby police: If you’re 6 years old, and say “bye, bye plane” too many times, you and Mommy are history! Flight attendants are literary police: Have a t-shirt on with anything written in Arabic? You’re dead meat! Wearing a t-shirt with a political statement—assuming it’s not favoring a politician to whom the airline donated money? You’re walking! Kissing may, or may not, be allowed. Flight attendants check for the “correct” gender combination as part of their “safety” duties, of course!

[getoutthere]

Patron in beer? I'm going to have to try that one.

[jojodougherty]

Absolutely right!!!

[Marco Grob]

People_ Get Their Names_ And Get The Fired....honestly Thats The Only Freaking Way To Get A Bit Culture Back....

[Gromit801]

Marco, no one is going to get fired over an unverifiable complaint. Sheesh.