Goodbye Singapore, we will meet again in 2016. A journey of a lifetime awaits for me as I begin to board the plane heading west.
As a Singaporean living in Singapore, most of us are fortunate for the excellent services in technology, education, transport and customer services.
I pondered about every step from Changi Airport to my destination in USA. I observed many gestures and methods of service during my journey.
Emirates, being the top 5 airlines in the world, created a system alongside other top airlines to provide quality services to its passengers for a pleasant journey. I asked myself a question. How was the system invented, maintained and improvised ? Most of us do not have such thoughts regarding these kind of services and at times we use it without appreciating since we “claim” that we paid for it. We should be thankful to the people who spend their time to create such a service for other users to enjoy. It can be debated that those who created it are already successful and living a wealthy lifestyle. On the other hand, they deserve to be praised for the quality of that certain system.
Apart from pilots who play an important role such as being responsible for the safety of all the passengers and staff on-board, the air stewardesses also contributes a huge portion to the rating of the airline. I observed many things from them and I had nothing else to do but to ponder during the long flight. It takes various procedures to qualify for the job. They had been put through with many scenarios and case studies to ensure that they can handle the pressure coming from passengers or unforeseen circumstances.
It is true that their gestures and character are of a certain high standard but it might not portray their true identity as a person. They are not being fake, they are just doing their job. If that is the case, can we call them robots? I am sure it is possible to program and make a robot to meet the standards of the air stewardess since most of them behave the same way towards passengers. I am very curious about the sources and content of their training and how people think of such implementations which are based on mind psychology and human behavior which are very simple yet important
For example, I was told that 1 out of the 3 dishes were unavailable due to its popular demand. I can choose to complain because I did not get that certain dish due to my seat location and say that it is unfair and so on. I chose plan B, which is to accept the dish which was available. What would happen if I chose to complain. It is something that they have to anticipate since they are a well known airline. Later in the flight I heard a passenger asking for the dish that was unavailable and the air steward politely said that he will find out if the dish is available on the other aisle. It might be a small detail which I observed but it is definitely crucial to an airline.
The plane was slightly delayed due to a bag which dropped on an air stewardess. It hit her head and I felt pity for her but after ten minutes everything was alright. I am sure they went through other challenges and setbacks during their daily routine. It was an experience which I would remember.
Towards the end of my journey, an air steward walks down the aisle followed closely by another stewardess. It was dark in the plane due to the windows being covered as it was daytime. One of the passengers opened her window slightly to look at the view. The air steward then acted in pain due to the sunlight which entered the plane. some of the passengers giggled and the air stewardess asked if he was a vampire. A small gesture such as making us laugh could really go a long way and I am very thankful for the people who establish such an organisation with systematic procedures.
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