Absurdly Driven looks at the world of business with a skeptical eye and a firmly rooted tongue in cheek.
Airlines haven’t had a good year.
Except for the money-making part, that is.
Some of this image negativity is due to staff who slavishly follow supposed rules.
These rules require them to behave like jailers and police officers, rather than customer service staff.
Let’s not forget, however, that some passengers can truly sink below the most basic levels of decency.
One such time happened on a recent flight. An image posted to Reddit by MinecraftThugLife, shows an economy passenger who seems unhappy with the space he’s been given.
So, having nibbled at his meal, he dumps the remains on the floor in the aisle.
And then carries on reading his book.
If you were the Flight Attendant, what would you do?
Try to reason with him? Just give him a look? Or pick it up and decide to pursue another career?
It could be that this passenger was protesting some slowness in having his tray taken away.
That’s still not an excuse for blocking the aisle with his detritus.
Might he have considered, for example, taking his tray to the galley at the back of the plane?
It seems not.
When the image was posted to the famed PassengerShaming Instagram page, some observers did offer fascinating comments.
“Are they shooting the Springer show on a plane now?” offered one observer.
“I would go throw a trash bag on this lap and say here u go sir pick up your mess!!,” said another.
It was moving that I couldn’t find anyone stepping in to defend him.
Many called him (fairly obvious) names. Some even suggested he should be put on the no-fly list.
Perhaps this might offer a tinge of comfort to Flight Attendants on so many airlines who — it seems — don’t seem to enjoy their jobs much anymore.
Just as airline executives have made flying unpleasant for customers, they certainly haven’t made it any better for their own staff.
Unless they’re airline executives lounging in First Class, of course.