{"id":274901,"date":"2025-06-05T12:27:42","date_gmt":"2025-06-05T12:27:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/airline\/should-you-complain-about-bad-service-on-a-flight-or-only-after-the-fact\/"},"modified":"2025-06-05T12:27:42","modified_gmt":"2025-06-05T12:27:42","slug":"should-you-complain-about-bad-service-on-a-flight-or-only-after-the-fact","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=274901","title":{"rendered":"Should You Complain About Bad Service On A Flight, Or Only After The Fact?"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

OMAAT reader Paul asked me an interesting question, which I figure could be worth addressing here. Long story short, he was in business class on an overnight transatlantic American flight, in the bulkhead row. After the meal service, the crew continued to be loud in the galley, while most passengers were trying to sleep. Even with headphones on, it impacted his ability to sleep.<\/p>\n

So he politely asked the crew if they could be a little quieter, to which they responded by guilting him, explaining they were just trying to pass the time. Paul asks me if his request was inappropriate, or if the crew was being unreasonable. <\/p>\n

Let\u2019s address the big picture question of when it makes sense to address a crew directly.<\/p>\n

US airlines don\u2019t have onboard supervisors<\/h2>\n

I think part of the reason service is sometimes lackluster on US carriers<\/a> is because the lack of a crew member in a position of authority. At US carriers, the lead flight attendant\u00a0is simply someone who gets paid a few extra dollars per hour to make announcements and do the paperwork. They don\u2019t have the ability to really discipline the crew, so they\u2019re not actually \u201csupervising\u201d the crew.<\/p>\n

Contrast that to foreign carriers, where the purser (or inflight service manager, or customer service director, or whatever they call it) is often actually in a position of authority. Foreign crews sometimes aren\u2019t just scared of being disciplined by management, but also scared of being disciplined by their purser, because they really are an authoritative figure.<\/p>\n

\"\"
US carriers have a different crew structure than other airlines<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When do I address problems onboard?<\/h2>\n

As a general rule of thumb, I\u2019ll address problems onboard if there\u2019s something which can actionably be done to fix it. For example,\u00a0I\u2019d mention something to the crew\u00a0if the cabin is too warm, there\u2019s too much galley noise, the lighting is too bright, etc. After all, you want to give them the chance to fix it.<\/p>\n

However, personally I\u2019d almost never address service problems as such onboard a flight. In other words, I\u2019d almost never tell a flight attendant to their face that I thought they were rude, lazy, etc.<\/p>\n

The one exception would be if I were flying a foreign carrier, and toward the end of the flight, the purser came around to ask how everything was (which is the norm). In theory, I\u2019d have no qualms saying \u201cto be honest the service was really lackluster,\u201d or whatever the problem might have been.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

But I\u2019d never even address it with a purser earlier in the flight. Because even if the purser has a conversation with the crew in an effort to fix it, it would be incredibly awkward to be served by the crew which you just caused to be disciplined.<\/p>\n

In fairness, even at the end of the flight, it can be awkward to provide feedback. For example, in early 2024 I took an Oman Air flight, where the flight attendant serving my section was pretty awful. At the end of the flight, I provided some feedback to the cabin manager, and it just got plain awkward<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The cabin manager ended up telling the flight attendant everything, and then she basically gaslighted me, coming up to me and telling me that she has a passion for service, etc. She basically wanted me to tell her that the service was in fact good, and I was wrong. I guess I learned my lesson there\u2026<\/p>\n

\"\"
Providing feedback onboard can get awkward<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How my approach differs on US carriers<\/h2>\n

All that being said, my approach differs considerably on US carriers. Why?<\/p>\n