From the JetBlue blog site:
It wouldn’t be fair for us to point out absurdities in other corners of the industry without acknowledging when it’s about us. Well, this week’s news certainly falls into that category. Perhaps you heard a little story about one of our flight attendants? While we can’t discuss the details of what is an ongoing investigation, plenty of others have already formed opinions on the matter. Like, the entire Internet. (The reason we’re not commenting is that we respect the privacy of the individual. People can speak on their own behalf; we won’t do it for them.)
So, what story are they talking about? I know that you have heard about it:
But, here is what is interesting. The flight attendant has become a folk hero. In fact, he has become so much of a folk hero that JetBlue is being very careful in how they speak about the flight attendant. But, as a Christian, I found myself wondering about the reasons why public reaction may have been so in favor of the flight attendant.
After all, do we not teach our fellow Christians to turn the other cheek? Should we not rather be questioning his behavior? Instead, he has become a public hero. And, I suspect that we can all guess some of the reasons why. First, we have all had the experience of really wanting to swat someone who has behaved in a wrongful way toward us. Just look at Father Orthoduck’s posting from a couple of days ago that included a video of a priest and a baptism. As much as we are taught that we are supposed to turn the other cheek, there is that inside of us which rejoices when someone gets their well-deserved reward. Yes, yes, I know that Saint Paul says that love, “. . . does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” But–I do not know about you–I have not reached a state of perfect love. Some days I would settle for a state of mediocre love. Some days I am simply happy when I do not metaphorically slap them back in return.
But, if we are at all like our God, we should be in favor of justice. And that is the second reason why we tend to identify with the flight attendant. Everyone agrees that he was wronged by the passenger, but we all know that there would have been no justice whatsoever for the flight attendant. And that is because the predominant attitude by employers for a long long time has been that the customer is always right. And, employers care more about profits than they do about their employees. So, though officially employers would deny it, the reality is that they will not back up their employees. You can see this documented in tales from the 19th century by Charles Dickens, and even much farther back. In fact, it could even be argued that the story of Joseph (the son of Isaac) in the Old Testament, along with his fellow prisoners, has strong overtones of employee mistreatment. It is a very old problem.
One of the constant refrains of the New Testament is God’s call for us to express His love into the world. But, that is not the only call. Saint Paul also expresses a call to masters, to employers. He says, “And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.” As the Body of Christ we need to be calling for both things to be true. On the one hand we need call for all to express God’s love towards each other: in thought, in word, and in deed; on the other hand we need to call for God’s just treatment for employees by employers.
Now be honest, when was the last time you heard a sermon, on practically expressing love, that called upon people to be good customers as a loving expression of God’s care for us? And, when was the last time you heard a sermon, calling upon those in our congregations who are masters, that called for employers or supervisors or chief executives, etc., to promote just, equitable, and yes, loving employee guidelines within their companies, as part of their duty to imitate the God who is also our Lord and our Master?
That is why I smile at cashiers, tip wait staff well and even try to notice if my server is in the weeds and let them know I am fine and to take care of the others–everyone needs a break–One of the ways I try to show a loving god tot he world is to be loving….even when the line is long or the restaurant is crowded and my food got lost in the kitchen–it is a very little thing–but I can remember days when one smallthank you or a smile made my day and kept me from acting out like the flight attendant.
I think a lot of folk initially went “yes!” to the flight attendant because perhaps they’ve worked the service industry and know first hand how rude and mean customers can be at times…and basically it was like vicariously living a fantasy of telling them as that country singer Johnny PayCheck sang “take this job and shove it.” I initially cheered as well, but then of course common sense prevailed. I think Slater will come to regret his rash decision…especially when it comes time to pay the rent, get groceries whatever. Also, call it old fashioned but I’ve always believed that one, no matter what, should try to be graceful under pressure…and that seems to be a lost art these days.
Ain’t just Johnny Paycheck, Sabrina.
There’s already folk songs about Jet Blue Guy.
And monologues.
Taiwanese CGI animation of the incident, AKA “Jet Blue SIMS”.
And it was a Workplace Rage incident that played out as a sitcom situation instead of a body count. Including the detail of grabbing a beer on the way out.
Perhaps he became a hero because he so seemed gay about life or at least kind of happy with it.
Perhaps he is a folk hero because we have a juvenile society that swoons over rejection of authority.
To say we knew he would not get “justice” and that the customer was wrong is a bit skewed. The customer was not “wrong,” just rude… as are many customers. Especially in a hospitality position, the attendant’s job is to be courteous, period. His reaction was childish by every standard, and grabbing the beer topped it off. TVNation loved it, but anyone trying to raise kids should shudder.
It is that expectation that the attendant’s job is to be courteous, period, with which I disagree. I have met all too many stressed out employees because of the incredible pressure from their bosses and from customers who know that they can get away with incredibly bad behavior because the “customer is always right.” I think I would like to see employees given some freedom from the restraints of courtesy and some bosses who are willing to take on the customer and tell them that they are not always right, even at the cost of losing them.
I am starting to see more signs popping up that say that a customer will not be served while on a cell phone. I think we need more of that attitude around.