Motivated Flight Attendant

What motivated flight attendant, Steven Slater, on Jet Blue to blow his cool, curse out a passenger, grab a beer, open the exit chute and jump ship? Well, maybe his farewell address was telling? (I think it may have been a little sarcastic myself.) Before he left the plane he aparently said over the intercom, ""To the #@!$ing $#@!hole who told me to $#@! off, it's been a good 20 years... I've had it. That's it.”

Having flown many flights in and out of JFK over the years, including many Jet Blue flights, (which I can say is one of my favorite airlines, bye the way) I've seen how abusive and uncooperative these passengers, especially in New York, can be. I can't even begin to imagine having to put up with these idiots day after day, after day, after day. It is bad enough when I have to put up with it when I fly.

Flight attendants are trained to handle pressure situations and chosen because they are good under pressure. Take the reactions of the flight attendants when flight 1549 went down in the Hudson. They were cool as the water they were sitting in. But evidently the pressure of receiving verbal abuse over twenty years seems to have pushed Slater right over the edge. We should all take a lesson when handling employees from this example. We have a situation more commonly known as "going postal." We all know to what that refers. It is when after years and years of complacency somebody finally lets out all that pent up frustration in one final act of violence. We've all seen or worked with a manager who can be abusive. I hope it isn't you. Such things as a reprimand in front of one's peers or customers, verbally belittling someone for a mistake, or name calling, these are not meant for the school yard, let alone in a workplace.

The passengers on that flight should just consider themselves lucky that he chose to exit rather than take a different approach. We should remember when we are flying that these attendants have to put up with idiots like that on a daily basis. Next time how about showing a little patience or, watch out, "I'll go stewardess on your $#@!!"