“Oh my lord, that was so painful. Can I be on your cart for the next service? She’s just so slow…”
This is for all current and future flight attendants. It’s a friendly little reminder in a job where we all have to work as a team. It involves the main service and it’s about how to be the best person possible to work with on the cart. Everyone wants our fellow crew to enjoy working with us and no one want’s be to the subject of negative chit chat. With that said, listen up!
As flight attendants, every shift we work with different crew, and that means a new partner to work with on the service carts. Most of the time, the people we partner with all make the grade. After all, most people know what to do, and how to do it as efficiently as possible.
Every now and then, however, you encounter a crewmember so completely infuriating to work with, that it takes every once of energy not to tear them a new one in the middle of the cabin, in front of the watchful eye of passengers. So how can you be the best crew member possible to work with, and do your best as part of the team? Let these rules be a reminder…
Rule 1 – Don’t Dawdle – Quicker is Better
A quick service is a good service. Working with an especially slow crewmember is probably the biggest frustration you can have with someone on a cart. It’s infuriating for a number of reasons. Firstly, you’ll end up serving the lion’s share of passengers and because of that, you’ll run out of supplies before your partner.
If they are the runner and going back to the galley to grab items to restock the cart, you’ll also be stuck in the cabin with no food/drinks to serve while they are notoriously take their time to return. Whether intentionally or not, doing the disappearing act and taking a long time to come back into the cabin is one the worst things for the person left on the cart by themselves.
Passengers will also notice how slow you are compared to the other side of the cabin. This means more people on your side are unlikely to get their choice of meal and will have to take what is left. Both carts should finish serving passengers at roughly the same time, but if you’re on the slow cart you’ll be stuck in the cabin (likely with only one choice left) while the rest of the crew are back in the galley chatting away, having a drink and generally loving life since the majority of the flight’s work is done.
Not all crew are going to be speedy Gonzalez – that’s fine, and it’s equally as to be patient with your partner. Often they won’t be as quick, or serve as many people as you– this is totally standard. There are, however things you should do to be as efficient as possible. This includes keeping chat to a minimum while serving passengers.
You have the rest of the flight to have chats with passengers but when it’s time for the main meal service there are hundreds of mouths to feed and a slow service isn’t good for anyone.
If you’re inclined to be slower than your partner, you should be the passenger facing the rear of the plane. This means they will do the restocking and running. It also will mean they aren’t continually trapped behind the cart with no one to serve while their partner finishes their row.
Rule 2 – Share What You Have
What’s mine is yours and what’s yours is mine. If your partner asks you for a chicken and rice meal and you only have three left, just give them one. They aren’t asking for themselves but to meet a request from a passenger. It’s particularly enraging when someone won’t give you one of their meals because they are hoarding the most popular option to try to avoid disappointing people in upcoming rows. When you run out, you run out. Sharing is caring. Give what you have.
Also it’s a nice courtesy to the crew on the opposite side of the cabin to share your meals with them should they run out. Don’t be that stingy crewmember that says they have none left when they do, or only hands one over when they have several.
Rule Number 3 – Be Patient and Communicate
If you’ve asked your partner to grab you something from their side of the cart (or from the galley) and they haven’t given it to you yet, it’s probably because they are just finishing off the row of people they are serving. Don’t get frantic or keep asking. Being patient will serve you well as a flight attendant.
Also, on the flip side, it sounds so simple, but if your partner makes a request of you acknowledge it and communicate that you’ve understood, so they know (and the passenger knows) that it’s on the way.
Rule Number 4 – Take Care Pushing the Cart
It’s a courtesy if you are the crewmember pushing the cart up the aisle that you’ll be the eyes for the person walking backwards. If there are any protruding shoulders or limbs it’s much easier for the person walking forwards to see and let the other person know, instead of them having to do an awkward twisting motion while walking backwards.
Also don’t rush when it comes to pushing the cart up the aisle. There’s nothing worse than being the person walking backwards and having the person driving you up the aisle at an insane speed so you feel like you are going to go arse over tit.
One more thing: It’s easier to push than pull so if you are pushing the full cart, you should take the greater share of the weight than the person pulling it backwards. Give it a good push and put your bum into it – it’s alllllll in the hips!
Rule 5 – Be Obliging And Not Too Demanding
If your partner forwards you a request from a passenger for an ad hoc item that’s not on the cart (i.e a herbal tea) it’s good practice to be obliging and get it. Again they aren’t asking for themselves. It’s providing good service to get things for passengers as quickly as possible when we can. Don’t be that crew who always says, “oh come back to them later” when it’s easier to just do it now. But remember: avoid asking your partner to get something that you could get yourself.
That said, if there’s a million requests for items that you don’t have on the cart (such as second drinks when you are collecting rubbish) it’s better to use judgement and come back to them after you finish the task at hand. This is instead of running backwards and forwards every couple of minutes or being demanding of your partner and expecting them to get it each time.
Rule 6 – Watch Your Tone and Put On Your Happy Face
It can feel like you’re being quite demanding when you have to keep asking the person opposite you for something, so be friendly about it. Watch your tone, and use your happy face just as much for your fellow crewmember’s benefit as for the passengers. It’s all about vibes in this job. You’ll be a lot more of a joy to work with if you have good energy. Even if you aren’t the fastest on the cart, or you do other things that are on this list (some of which to be completely honest aren’t the biggest deal in isolation) most can be forgiven if you’ve got decent energy.
If you feel like stabbing your eyes out as we all do sometimes, remember, it’s going to be over shortly. Studies show (and this is from doing the service again and again) when you paste on a smile, and try to enjoy yourself you actually do, and it’s a lot more pleasant for everyone involved.
“I’ll be the runner on the next service if that’s okay with you?”
“Oh I don’t mind doing it, I need the exercise…”
“Oh it’s just that I know where everything is in the galley, no offence, but I’ll be quicker…”
