For the Price of a Smile
Friday, October 5th, 2007How hard can it be to be nice? Especially when it’s your job? The cabin staff on board my Swiss International flight from Boston to Zurich last week made it look really easy – even fun. They smiled, and conversed good-humoredly with passengers as they served a remarkably tasty dinner and breakfast (when they came through offering seconds on the warm croissants, people actually took them instead of grimacing).
Throughout the night attendants were in the cabin, offering cold water and juice to those who were awake, picking up and replacing fallen pillows, reassuring the distraught mother of a crying baby – in short, being hospitable and thoughtful. I fly back and forth between Boston and Milan so frequently that I have become used to the dour, disinterested and superior looks of another airline’s transatlantic flight attendants — on the rare occasions when they are visible in the cabin at all — so last week’s flight got me to thinking.
How hard can it be to smile and be pleasant? And how can airlines put a little of the luxury back into flying without increasing the expense? In this day of stripped-down amenities and services, flying economy class is more often an ordeal to be endured than a pleasant experience, so even the smallest touch is noticeable, and appreciated.
On the return flight, the cheery flight attendants broke up that long groggy afternoon in the air with dishes of good strawberry ice cream (and offered seconds). Maybe that cost the airline 50 cents a passenger, but it bought my decision to fly to Milan via Zurich next time. And the smile was free.
Barbara Rogers is a frequent contributor to Global Traveler.
