Zach Honig is former editor now editor at large for The Points Guy. I’ve had the good fortune to know Zach, he’s a good egg though perhaps a bit of a United partisan.
United introduced the old fashioned as a cocktail on its premium transcon flights this spring. Zach was naturally excited to order one while flying San Francisco – Newark on United’s Saturday 2:50 p.m. departure flight UA2044. He was refused.
First “premium domestic” (biz) flight since @United started serving an Old Fashioned. I was looking forward to having one, so that’s what I asked for. Flight attendant promptly said “no,” and when I asked why he insisted that “we don’t have that” until I showed him the menu. 😔🥃 pic.twitter.com/lNuho5iJrd
— Zach Honig (@ZachHonig) June 16, 2018
Fortunately the flight attendant ‘found’ it. But without the candied orange peel.
— Zach Honig (@ZachHonig) June 16, 2018
It turns out that the flight crew had kept the orange peels for themselves, but a bit of prodding got them to release one to Zach.
Asked for one more, this time specifically requested the candied orange peel skewer. It’s delicious! I can definitely see why the crew wanted to keep these for themselves… pic.twitter.com/x3enN1pXXN
— Zach Honig (@ZachHonig) June 17, 2018
The flight attendant getting drinks for Zach was wearing headphones.
He’s also working the cabin while wearing headphones around his neck. New uniform addition, @United?
— Zach Honig (@ZachHonig) June 16, 2018
Another flight attendant ate a business class salad during boarding.
And another flight attendant is hanging out and eating a biz-class salad during boarding… snapped a pic when she stepped away. pic.twitter.com/5oBH25ettL
— Zach Honig (@ZachHonig) June 16, 2018
Spinach, watermelon and feta. I see delicious-looking chunks of watermelon.
— Zach Honig (@ZachHonig) June 16, 2018
That’s disappointing of course, but a good reminder for me that as much as I criticize American crews — and as reasonably good experiences as I’ve had with United’s crews over the last 18 months or so – they suffer the same failings.
There’s little to no consequence for poor service, which means United can invest all it wants in their premium seats and amenities but those are ultimately delivered by people who may only care because it’s in their nature — institutionally the airline doesn’t incentivize good service, they don’t provide disincentives for poor service, and indeed they’ve even been looking to cut costs on performance bonuses.
United 757 in San Francisco
All of this might have disappeared into the Twitterverse, but United flight attendant @gianna1809 chimed in. (She denied being a United flight attendant in the twitter thread but Airliners.net has photos of her in uniform.)
First she defended the crew, there really was only one old fashioned to offer. That’s obviously wrong because Zach got seconds.
United Airlines only boards 1 in each liquor cart. It’s a new item so any complaints should be directed to the company. Crews don’t get to decide what is catered aboard..
— Gianna (@gianna1809) June 17, 2018
She rolled her eyes about alcohol and emphasized that United flight attendants aren’t really in the service business.
Let’s see…customer upset because of alcohol?? Yeah… let’s get right on that. 🤣🤣🤣 NOT.
— Gianna (@gianna1809) June 17, 2018
Food service is just a perk…they are trained safety professionals to evacuate customers in a burning crash…even the drunks!🤣🤣🤣
— Gianna (@gianna1809) June 18, 2018
Our hero even seems to suggest Zach is a drunk (I’ve had more to drink whenever we’ve been at the same event).
Always the drunks causing the issues. Free alcoholic…they drink like camels.
— Gianna (@gianna1809) June 17, 2018
She defends crew eating in the galley during boarding suggesting they were doing passengers a favor, they could have chosen not to work and blow off the flight, with passengers either delayed or cancelled. Thanks for the favor!
I sure hope I don’t get @gianna1809 on my next flight, both for her outstanding attitude towards her job — and for her lovely take on current events.
Something tells me you won’t have to worry about seeing this particular trained safety professional on a future flight. . .
Racist. Why is a retweet to two blacks “a lovely take” on current affairs?
The scariest thing about the Trump era is that people are empowered on a massive scale to just blatantly lie. No surprise that this dirtbag flight attendant is retweeting propaganda justifying the extremely inhuman detainment and separation of children from their parents.
Looks like @Gianna1809 won’t be honoring us with her Twitter presence no more.
A United employee publicly and falsely calling Zach a drunk? Hope he has a good lawyer to get a quick, juicy settlement for libel!
@Ray. I agree with the sentiment, but I don’t think we can blame Trump for people lieing on Twitter – they’ve been doing that for quite a while now. He may well have joined in, but it’s Twitter and FB etc. who should hold the can for the behavior which they publish and disseminate.
Ray,
How about Bill Clinton’s era?
Poor cupcake Zach…..all of that gushing about United Airlines got him nowhere. The little baby wants his VIP service.
Maybe he should have quit after he flew on United’s final domestic 747 flight to Hawaii and took the Saks Fifth Avenue bedding off the plane. He loved United back then.
https://twitter.com/gianna1809
“Sorry, that page doesn’t exist!”
Gone but not forgotten…
So no one who voted for Trump or supports Trump should work on an airplane? Why is that relevant to the discussion whatsoever?
You inject your political views into so many of your posts, and then have the nerve to lambast others for promoting theirs on their own personal twitter feed.
I know domestic flying among US carriers seems to be a race to the bottom and the world seems to be filled with entitled snow flakes but where has any semblance of customer service gone. It’s amazing how simple kindness by a FA can make things better for every one (and I honestly observed a AA FA helping a customer with a tight connection get their bag from the back after the head FA refused). So they are out there, but I actually worry, that instead of rewarding the good behavior her coworkers will eventually beat her down to the point where she because just another “safety enforcer”
I dunno, everybody in this saga seems like a baby to me. Yeah some people suck at their jobs and steal treats from their employer as a micro-rebellion, some people want to complain about their drink not being perfect and others go way overboard in online comments when they think they are anonymous. Whatever. If they all think these are productive things to do with their time, then so be it. I am too busy for such nonsense. Now excuse me I have more important blog comments to make.
Maybe she just slipped an Ambien?
Both sides sound like spoiled children
Dealing with bad FAs is tough because if you call them out during a flight then they can make things tough for you. I’ve had issues where they seem to be asking for permission but if I say no, then I don’t think they will be happy and my next 4-8+ hrs on a flight may be very unpleasant.
For instance on a United flight about 10 yrs ago first class was empty except for myself and one other guy and the FAs wanted to use it for rest. I have no idea whether they are supposed to use it or not but asked me in a way that I didn’t think I could have said no. It wasn’t a big deal but if they are allowed to use it, why ask me? And if they aren’t, why ask me? If I say no do I get no service the rest of the flight?
Another time in Europe (maybe Brussels?) we were going through security and were entitled to the priority lane and had to use a pass to get through a gate. Some FAs were trying to use it and kept telling us it wasn’t working and/or we needed to go to another line. Anyhow our pass worked fine and they were annoyed.
Then they tried to pass us instead of waiting in line. It was amusing as the security guy kept pinging her for not doing things properly. Of course my luck being as it was, at least one of them were on our flight and they kept trying to play the “this toilet can’t be used” game with one of the toilets.
Sometimes if you get in a job you really hate, you really need to move onto another job. It isn’t as if you are giving up a huge salary.
Of course my last flight out to PHX (bwi-phx) we had a wonderful FA on AA in first class and he was great. I sent in an email complimenting him. On my return flight (PHX-BWI) we had a lady that spent much of the flight sitting down talking to other flight attendants instead of doing anything. It was a real contrast.
How is her tweet about illegal immigration policy remotely relevant to a travel blog. Oh I know you just wanted to bring up trump for clickbait when he has nothing to do with this story. I grow tired of your political views being constantly injected in what was supposed to be a blog about travel and in this article they aren’t even applicable!
It’s the same negative attitude that is extremely pervasive on United. Maybe we can merge the TSA and United since they’re both there “only for our safety”…. United seems to always blame the passenger just like with the ‘put your dog in the overhead bin’ situation. It’s an example of union mentality, you can’t fire me so I’ll just act like a big baby.
I’m guessing this was a 16 seat 752.
There’s literally nothing defending Trump only criticizing Clinton. Click bait titles are pretty low, I expect better from this blog it’s pretty shameful to stoop that far down.
@Blair the tweet is meant to create an equivalence for today’s immigration policy separating children from their families in order to defend the administration’s policy.
The biggest issue here is that a product purchased specifically for and advertised on behalf of the customer is actually being consumed by the company employees, who are denying the product exists.
It is analogous to Starbucks running a promotion for the seasonal Pumpkin Spice latte with cinnamon-favored whipped cream, and the customer first being told the beverage doesn’t exist, when, in fact, it is already being brewed and ready to serve, and then being told by the Starbuck’s barista that there is no whipped cream–while the barista is standing there, whipped cream in hand, and making him/herself a drink with it!
İt may seem a small gesture, but the very blatant lying to a customer is NOT the way to maintain a positive corporate culture.
@gary You mean the same immigration policy that the Bush and Obama White House implemented? Remember when Federal Agents took Elian Gonzalez back to Cuba at gunpoint as directed by Janet Reno in the Clinton administration? How about the State of the Union comments Obama and Clinton that called for much tougher enforcement of existing immigration laws?
Liberals have such a short, selective memory. If they are for it, its good public policy. if Trump is for it, he’s a Nazi. Congress can fix this by passing legisaltion….but Congress is the worst of all. All talk…no action.
Zach Honig is a TRAVEL blogger…that is HIS JOB. I read a lot of his reviews and posts and have noted that he is quick to lavish on praise for good service. His style of writing IS his personality, which accounts for his tens of thousands of followers; he is never mean or vindictive and his observations are always objective. I am also a big fan of United Airlines and as such I always try to give the requested feedback after every flight. I do I believe that it’s just as important to let them know when crew members go beyond the call of duty as it is to let them know when service expectations are not met (just as I appreciate that in my own job). To their credit, even with my lowly status United management has always acknowledged and been responsive to all my feedback, both positive and negative.
I leave you with this recent press release from United:
United Airlines Names John Slater Senior Vice President of Inflight Services
June 04, 2018
CHICAGO, June 4, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — United Airlines today announced John Slater has been named senior vice president of inflight services, overseeing United’s 24,000 flight attendants. John previously served as vice president of United’s inflight team and brings with him decades of experience and a deep commitment to providing excellent customer service on board United’s flights.
“John has the experience and passion to lead our Inflight team, and he brings with him a first-hand view of what it takes to deliver great service to our customers,” said Greg Hart, chief operations officer at United. “His understanding and appreciation that we are a people business are clear, and I am excited to have him supporting our dedicated flight attendants.”
John, who at the beginning of his career served as a flight attendant for People Express Airlines, previously served as vice president of United’s O’Hare hub. Under his tenure in that position, O’Hare delivered its best operational performance ever, and consistently topped the competition in the market. He also spent several years with the United sales group, last serving as vice president of the Americas region.
His first day in this new role will be Monday, June 11th”
Good luck, John Slater and the rest of United!
Why are you attacking her for defending the immigration policy that was passed in 1997 by Clinton, but is being enforced by Trump. Was there ANY reason to include this in the story?? She has a right to her opinions, whether you agree with them or not. I thought this was supposed to be a travel site.
@rjb Maybe you don’t recognize that enforcement of the legislation is an executive matter. So therefore the administration has some leeway to enforce the laws as long as it isn’t contrary to the law itself. I’m not saying that asylum seekers who don’t follow the correct procedure haven’t violated any laws, but the enforcement of it can be carried out with latitude.
Of course, Congress which is controlled by the Republicans could change the law to forbid such type of enforcement as well.
It’s not about comparing prior situations to now, it’s how to deal with the current situation. If something happened, the same people should’ve expressed their outrage back then as well.
United sucks. Its front-line employees especially suck. And they lie. Repeatedly. Shamelessly. Without repercussion. Have for decades.
Of course, all the other airlines are the same. Just a matter of degree and which specific deficiencies bother you more than others.
Nothing ever happens to these slackers. Ever. Anyone who thinks otherwise or expects matters to improve is living in a dream world.
@Gary. Get over it. The pantsuit lost the election. Here’s an idea: if you don’t want to be separated from your kids, don’t come to the border.
Agree this is a loaded Bad taste travel post!
There are way too many unrelated connections your trying to push!!
So her retweeting the two black lady’s? You show some true value there! Lol!
@Jose yup plain and simple.
The “I’m a victim of gangs” is a falsity.
Think:If your in gang city Chicago or LA is it not possible to move to another city??? It is! Plain and simple. I’ve lived in Honduras and it’s just not true that gangs are everywhere. It’s like US certain cities.
Sadly, I personally know handfuls of immigrants who spoke these word for asylum and it was all a lie among many other narratives they have come up with! I’ve heard it and it is sadly true!
She needs to get laid. It won’t ever happen on a flight, 95% of the blokes bat for the other side. Maybe she could get some in the cockpit?
More justification for me avoiding UA (and AA, similar problems).
did she delete her twitter account?
Jose and DI, u and the KKK agree
Why am I not surprised that the lying troll defending her slovenly, bully ways turns out to be another fat racist Trumpanzee.
Get this clear slobbos: There is no place on this earth that wants you disgusting, immoral, pussy-grabber defending, hideously bloated traitorous hypocrite rednecks. You fit in nowhere except in this freakshow Russia put into office led by the most hated man on earth, a grotesque psychopath who bleeds his flabby dementia daily as the world watches in utter horror.
We get that you want your revenge on modernity, women and everything else that spurned and left you behind. But you’re about to be smashed by the biggest correction wave in history. Your Nazi marches in the street days are severely limited and soon you’ll be back in your basement nursing your 500 pounds.
United FAs are a belligerent bunch aren’t they
Well said Greg!
Can we all just get along!
Remove politics from the equation. FAs are there for two purposes, safety and customer service. If they can’t serve their purpose then they need to be let go. Most of us are flying somewhere to go and do our jobs and not flying around on a lark. Whether I am in coach, I’ve been provided the rare complimentary upgrade or have paid out of my personal pocket to upgrade, I expect good and friendly customer service. It is the FA’s job!
The author should be ashamed of this post. It represents malicious manipulation for the sake of clicks. That’s blogger malpractice.
FAs political views have absolutely nothing to do with her role as a UA FA. Any intelligent person will see right through the fallacy of conflating.
Its very simple. Flight attendants treat customers the way the company treats them.
@Kacee unfortunately, this flight was operated on a 28 seat 757. Which was a bigger disappointment.
ROFL @ “blogger malpractice”
Interesting read right up to the point you injected politics into your post. I don’t read your blog for your political view and don’t even care what it is.
You do this so often I read your blog less and less. To bad, because your travel writing is great.
LOL. The left’s hate and TDS MO on full display today. Void of any ideas, nothing but more juvenile insults and name calling.
Is this going to become yet another extreme left-wing blog? The stewardess said nothing about Trump – why was he mentioned? If you don’t like the way illegals are separated from their children try looking at the last administration who had 8 years to do something about it.
Wow, the Russian trolls have invaded even this comment section.
Russian trolls and their mindless human clones in the US. Its amazing how fast small minded folk line up to support fascism. I bet its all a few overweight men, sitting in their basements, crying about why life is unfair to them since they cannot just do nothing and get a great paying job.
Thank you for proving my point once again… Void of any ideas, nothing but more juvenile insults and name calling from the left.
You only need to look at a Trump rally to see who they are. Fat rednecks.
Thank you for proving my point once again… Void of any ideas, nothing but more juvenile insults and name calling from the left.
There is about a dozen examples on this page of Trumpanzees hurling insults and decrying the Gary’s post in general, yet you claim that the people calling you out are “void of any ideas, nothing but…juvenile insults and name calling.”
Projection much?
Also, why is disagreeing with Trump’s immigration policy mean this blog is becoming “another extreme left blah blah blah”. So now disagreeing with the president means you’re extreme leftist? Did disagreeing with Obama mean you were an extreme right-winger? These caricatures are truly ridiculous.
@ JJ this blog is supposed to be about travel – not politics. Try looking at why these issues with illegals weren’t address in the 8 years of the previous administration. And yes – I have often been accused of being an “extreme right winger.”
MAGA
Actually Jim, Gary has stated many times that this is his site is about more than just travel. Perhaps you’d know that if you’d been here long enough? If you have a problem with that then maybe you should find a safe space, snowflake.
JJ – still name calling? Stick to the issue. Still waiting to hear why the past administration didn’t fix something in eight years that the current administration is being blamed for.
MAGA
@JJ
Ha, talk about projecting…Liberals own the snowflake label, the rest of us don’t need safe spaces.
This is a travel blog, it’s in boardingarea, which is a travel blog network. To assert that it is not is just willful ignorance. As a liberal, I’m sure you are on board with the whole “CO2 is evil and will cause the earth to die” stupidity, so why are you even interested in travel anyway? How about be a good little SJW, get off the grid, and live a subsistence lifestyle.
On the topic at hand: There is only one reason to explain poor service on US airlines: Unions. The only fully legal extortion racket left. And guess who loves unions? Liberals.
How shitty do our airlines have to get before we start to address the real problem and highlight issues like this wide enough so they have to get better?
Good post Fly the Friendly Skies indeed.
“…bit of a United partisan”? The only entity Honig is a bigger shill for is Chase, along with TPG himself.
Because the right led by the Orange Baboon and talk radio for 25 years are such a good example!
The RIGHT is the most hated worldwide. You are the ones who cause suffering, poverty, war, everything the world hates about YOU. The left fights the right to establish and protect HUMAN values against the greatest inhumanity the world has seen in decades. This is on YOU, and we are not playing nice and tolerant liberals any longer to be your chumps. You’re already exposed worldwide as fat bullies, and we know how hard and fast bullies fall.
My God, torturing little children in camps. What else? Have you people no shame at all? You’re exposed for all the world to see and the world unites in calling and putting you OUT!
There is a real middle management problem at United – far worse than many people realize. Flew UA 1073 DTW-DEN on 11 June in F (paid – not an upgrade) with my wife. After we’re airborne, the FA comes to each F PAX and tells them that an equipment change (news to me) resulted in the aircraft not being catered, and there was no meal in F. The FA was truly professional about a bad situation — offered each PAX an ETC based on Mileage Plus status ($100 for my wife, who had no status, and $150 for me as a Silver Premier) or bonus miles (5K for her, 7500 for me). Also, offered what they had in the way of snack boxes (very few – this apparently was miscatered, too). And many apologies – I felt that the FA was truly embarrassed.
The reason I believe this is a management fail is that it should have been the responsibility of the chief of station or his/her delegate in Detroit to get the catering truck to the new equipment immediately after the decision on equipment change was implemented. Instead, it dropped on the floor. This isn’t news — equipment changes are routine.
So, gianna1809’s attitude reflects her management above her. It appears to me that management lack of concern for the PAX is endemic at UA. And it also appears that no one’s executive bonus is tied to customer satisfaction scores (as my wife’s and my bonuses were). So things will continue to flounder at UA. What gets measured gets done – and conversely.
We compare and contrast our experience with our return flight on Delta today – DL 1511 DEN-DTW. Everything on that flight ran like clockwork, except for the failure of the FA to offer pre-departure beverage in F. (Not a management issue.)
In short, from my wife’s and my perspective, with a combined 59 years in corporate management up to and including senior management, the transition from the top of the house to the customer-facing personnel lies in the hands of the middle managers. They can do their jobs well or poorly, and the effect on the organization will show every time.
This was a trial run for my wife and me on UA. She wasn’t impressed. Guess which airline we will not fly across the pond to Scandinavia next month in J/C.
@ Greg LOL!!! Seriously – I Laughed Out Loud!!! Thank you for admitting the left is the party of hate; something we have known all along. I loved your comment “tolerant liberals” BWAHAHAHAHA!!!! Hilarious!!! Yes; these poor little illegal darling were “tortured” for the entire eight years of the last administration and it is up to Trump to once again fix the mess that was left behind. But you failed my dear friend, and I’m very disappointed in you. For you have failed to play that tired old worn out race card by neglecting to call me a racist!!!
I am finished with this blog. If I want partisan politics there are plenty of sites offering same. I initially subscribed for travel information but it has become less so, adios.
I searched “Gianna1809” on twitter but I did not find anything. Did she delete her twitter account?
You are spot on Gary. This is management 101. United will probably say nothing sending the signal to FA’s that there is no point in providing excellent customer service. Beyond exasperated as a United Platinum!
@Argenteuil Yes, she deleted her Twitter account. There’s probably also a good chance that UA will delete her soon as well.
Greg you are a true left wing idiot!,,,
@Retired Lawyer,
As always, insightful comments so well said!
I’ll just add that these are just the commonly seen outcomes in industries that lack competition that fall into the categories cartels and oligopolies – be they the behaviors and attitudes of BOTH management and unionized labor.
I’m so sick of hearing the anti-labor crowd whine about unions because they’re just frustrated that they can’t screw their employees as easily as they routinely do with non-union labor.
Please…cry me a river for these greedy jerks.
Case in point: Southwest is, and has long been, among the most highly unionized airline in our country. Yet, it also has been the most consistently profitable (including paying quarterly dividends for decades and maintaining credit worthiness from both of the leading companies that Wall Street and other financial entities rely upon to make important investment decisions); has never filed for bankruptcy; and has never walked away from its pension obligations as most of our other airlines, including the largely union-free, Delta, have.
Oh, and Southwest is also the least bs fee addled – not to mention is consistently ranked much higher than other airlines, including the largely union free Delta (btw…Delta’s flight attendants are NOT unionized; only its pilots and a much smaller group of dispatchers are…but other than that…and despite several efforts to unionize other labor groups at Delta, that airline is union free).
So, please, become better informed about the decades long profitability and success at unionized up the wazoo Southwest before your knee jerk anti-union alternative facting @WR.
Or better yet, stop guzzling that toxic, brain cell killing, MAGA “Kool Aid”…seems like it’s frying your brain since you clearly know next to nothing about the many successes achieved by one of the most highly unionized airlines in our country, Southwest.
Get your facts straight before launching into your anti-union rant.
Addendum:
Southwest is consistently ranked much higher than other airlines by a wide range of the leading customer service surveys/ratings entities that routinely issue ratings/rankings reports.
So, whether its Southwest’s unmatched success in rewarding its shareholders for decades through share price increases, stock splits and even those obscenely large, cash/blood sucking stock buybacks that does nothing more than take money out of the company…
…it’s success over decades of deregulation that saw many of our country’s best known names in the industry succumb to mismanagement, recessions, oil shocks, terror attacks, not to mention outlasting many, many others that tried, and failed to succeed as new entrant deregulation “babies”…
…it’s phenomenal achievment of never filing for bankruptcy and fobbing off its pension obligations to its highly unionized employees…
…and for the rest of us, the ones who seek to have some semblance of dignity when we fly, consistently high ratings for customer service…
…it’s an airline that is among the MOST unionized in our country that has outdone, outlasted and outshone virtually every other in the 40 years since deregulation of our airlines began in 1978, including those that Frank Lorenzo destroyed even after he broke the unions (Continental and Eastern), or Delta, which apart from its pilots and a small group of Dispatchers, is also a non-union shop…
Facts talk…bs walks!
Just sayin’… 😉
@Howard Miller: I am confused. I said nothing about unions, either pro or con.
I related a recent incident that I experienced at UA, and compared it to a similar flight at DL. And, I commented from long experience — much of it cleaning up messes made by middle and senior management — that the translation of policy from the C-suite to the customer-facing employee is in the hands of middle-management layers between the two ends, and the commitment of those middle-managers to the corporate vision (or lack thereof) makes or breaks the corporation. It is the function of upper management to insure that commitment as well as to provide the clear vision.
United senior management simply has not done either. My scant experience with American indicates it, like United, has neither clear vision nor motivation to the middle-management necessary to implement it. My experience with Southwest and Delta is that those companies do have clear vision, and sufficient motivation to the middle of the house. Say what you will about Ed Bastian — he is an effective and competent CEO, and his organization reflects this.
Whether a company is highly unionized or not unionized is not a factor here.
@ Howard Miller Are you OK bro? Do you need to see a doctor or anything? Maybe get your meds refilled? You kinda went off on a couple of long winded wild rants there… Anyway, I hope everything works out for you…
MAGA
Fire Gianna and others like her.
And execute them, like in North Korea, they dear to disagree with you. They didn’t provide VIP service to The Blogger, never mind other passengers and other duties.
@ Jim – you may or may not be a racist. But what you ARE is an idiot. Time to crawl out of your mama’s bed, put down the opioids, and learn how the real world works. And no, the worst President in history is not going to “MAGA.” He is blowing it up. (Don’t know how to translate this into Russian to make it easier for you to read).
Thanks for sharing! My experience with United Airlines was so good and memorable and I get a huge discount on booking the flights so that was great. If anyone wants an extra discount or offer please book or cancel your ticket thru 1-888-540-7192
@ Free Non-Thinker,
Maybe you can get your Communist hero Bernie to do your Russian translations for you.