On a recent flight from New York City to Houston, the retired CEO of the airline on which we were flying was seated one row over from me. I’d recognized him when he and his wife were escorted to the gate and allowed to pre-board after much bowing and scraping by gate staff. Needless to say, once aboard they were treated like royalty throughout the entire flight.
The couple wanted for nothing. Even the landing seemed smoother than usual. I guess if I was the ex-CEO of one of the world’s largest airlines I’d expect that treatment too.
But here’s the fun part. The same treatment that was offered to the ex-CEO was also extended to the rest of the passengers. The cabin crew were constantly up and down the aisle offering refreshments, the meals were graciously served (instead of simply being dropped on the tray-top) and I was relentlessly asked if I needed anything. In fact, I pulled a snack out of my purse and before I could start eating I was offered a drink and extra napkins.
Instead of engaging in the usual and customary crew practice of camping out behind the front partition and conversing or playing tablet games for the entire flight, the cabin crew, when not filling glasses were cleaning and rearranging the galley and bustling up and down the center aisle giving the appearance of a well-oiled machine. They never sat down once – a phenomenon I’ve never witnessed in all my years of flying.
I was so shocked that I wanted to go outside and check the tail of the plane to make sure I was on the right airline. After we landed in Houston the flight attendant even made an announcement that “If you weren’t satisfied with the in-flight Internet connection (it had been intermittent) please go to www.airlinename.com/internet/refund to request a refund.” I’ve flown well over 1,000,000 miles on airlines around the world and I’ve never heard that announcement before. If I hadn’t been seat-belted into my chair I would have fallen out of it. When the retired CEO left the aircraft the cockpit crew came out to shake his hand and the cabin crew did everything except blow him kisses as he walked up the jetway.
“Airline Quality Rating 2015” reported that airline performance declined in 2014. Fewer flights arrived on time, more baggage was lost and complaints filed by customers were at an all-time high. But on this flight, we experienced the kind of airline service you only see in old issues of Life magazine, when people dressed up to fly instead of wearing flip-flops and yoga pants.
And what was the reason for the good service? Obviously it was the presence of the ex-CEO. Had he not been on the aircraft things probably would have been normal – in other words – bad to non-existent. The cabin crew was doing all the right things (the things they were supposed to do), but for the wrong reason.
As a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant are you doing the right thing for the right reason? Do you do a better job for some attorney-clients than others? Do you perk up and pay attention when a partner or senior attorney is in the room versus when you’re meeting with an associate or paralegal? Do you cut corners when you know better? How do you conduct yourself professionally?
Every Certified Legal Nurse Consultant knows that integrity is doing the right thing when nobody else is looking. Why are you doing the right thing? I hope it’s not because I’m looking over your shoulder – although if imagining me helps you make the right choices, I’m happy to be your conscience. LOL!
I’m Just Sayin’
P.S. Comment and share the best or worse airline service you’ve ever received.
