HOW IS YOUR DAY GOING/STAYING IN TOUCH THREAD

[Put It Out There Baby]

Hope this thread is okay. It's just for anything and everything and sharing of whatever.

Well my work day was a real PITA. The weather is beautiful here today, sunny, clear, great visability- but it's windy windy windy. Tail winds, headwinds, crosswinds and 70-80-mph. Plus it's a way colder than normal up over 25k feet becuase of how the jet streams are running at moment. So there is some convergence of different temps happening "up there". We start out and I tell the PAX (7 of them) over the PA that we will have some slight to mild turbulence so stay belted in til I let them know it's okay to not be belted in and keep the lids on their drinks. You do everything you can to avoid turbulence. You can't "see" turbulance and air currents, however. You know looking at certain weather, and certain types of clouds and their movement and your indicators and storm cells that there will be turbulence. You avoid the worst of weather systems obviously by deviating around them. You can drop down or climb to a certain extent also. However over certain states and areas with many large metropolitan cities and 10 major airports and thousands of commercial and cargo flights in he air, and at those altitudes, you have only so much leaway. You are sndwhiched a bit with planes behind you, ahead of you, below you and above you, all vectored in their commercial routes along with you. You have to stay within your fliht plan and your route.

Ten minutes into climb, climb no less, I am not even near cruise yet lol, I get a call (I have no flight attendants obviously so there are phones in the back for the PAX to call me) "how much turbulence will there be and when is it going to start?" So I tell them, I don't know yet, I am not at altitude but I can feel some slight buffeting already, I'll get back to you. Get to cruise, level out and there is some mild and I mean mild mild turbulence here and there. Get another call. "It's little bumpy now". Well yes, I am completely aware of that. (like HTF would I not know this???? lol) It's only very slight and not too bad, we'll be fine. 15 minutes later another call. The turbulence is very minor and not consistant-comes and goes. "How long will this last?" I am looking at changing altitude to see if that helps as I speak. I am also contacting some aircraft via the radio to see how they are faring at their altitudes. I wind up climbing a few k feet and it is a bit smoother. Another call. "It is going to stay like this now?" I am consulting my crystal ball and my Quija Board and it looks like we will be okay, I will need to fly for a bit at this altitude and if it's smooth, I will annouce that you can get up and do whatever. The rest of this flight is fine. Before approach, as I begin descent, more turbulence. Announce to take seats and be belted in and secure their items (lap tops, drinks, food, whatever). Get another call. "Can I go to the bathroom?" (Cripes you have had three and one half hours to do that) Yes, but be careful and be quick and then belt up. On approach now. Another call. "Are we landing?" No, not yet, I am on approach, I will annouce (like I always do) when we will be landing. I am still being vectored around to my route by ATC for landing. "Oh, okay". Help me! lmao I am sent down to a lower altitude. We hit a decenet few small bumps lasting about two minutes and that's it. Another call. "What was that"? The air. lmao We are fine. I finally get instructions to land. I announce landing. another call. "Are we there yet". We have been "there" for a bit, we are in line with dozens of other aircraft to land, we'll be down shortly. (Now imagine, I am in communication with ATC, listening to other planes, preparing the plane for landing and I am busy as hell obviously, this is no time to be carrying on all these needless, silly conversations) Another call. "Why aren't we landing yet?" Well because there are a limited number of runways for landing and 59 planes in the conga lines from several approaches at several altitudes which are going to be using them. We will be down in a few. (by now I am ready to unplug my phone) We begin to land. Another phone call which I ignore. I grease the landing, I mean grease it, smooth as silk and begin to taxi. Another call. I ignore it. Get off the runway onto a taxi way and start over to our apron. Get waved in by the rampies to park. Shut down the engines. Announce PAX can get up and I'll be right there to get the stairs down and assist them off the plane. "That was a great flight, really fun, hope we didn't pester you too much." Oh no, it was fine, I smile. EEEEKKKK!!! These are new clients for me, so I am trying to be patient, but holy cow cakes. lol

Return flight they were not as bad but two of them wanted to come up front and "visit". I don't usually allow this at all, ever. If I know the pax and how they behave and they are long time clients, I may leave the door slid open and they vcan come and hang out in the doorway and chat for a bit. That's it. I tell them they can come up one at a time for a few minutes only. I hear a knock at the door. lmao I say, just slide the door open. I am not going to get out of my harness and get up to open the damn door, I figured they knew to open it. lol Then begins the sit down, don't touch anything, put your 5 point harness on. He can't figure put how to put the harness on. I show him by undoing mine and snapping it shut again. He finally manages. I tell him to put on the spare headset and he can listen to the radio. He loves the view and is leaning over the dash. I tell him to be careful and not accidently turn or flip or push anything. I finally get him to sit back. Then starts the ten thousands questions. "What's this?" "What does this do"? "Where's the so and so"? "How do you do this?" "Do you actually use all of this stuff"? (That one was my favvy) After 30 minutes of this I send him back to the cabin. Second guy comes up, more of the same. Plus I get, "This looks so easy, I bet it's like driving a car." No, it's nothing like driving a car at all, believe me. lol "I bet I could learn to do this in no time". Well, happily the FAA would disagree. lmao Then I tell him all the certs, licenses and education, flight hours, training, instructing, time and money and steps he would have to go through and how many YEARS it would take him to do what I am doing. He pauses and says "Oh". lol

As we get back to LGB they want to know if we can "buzz the beach". No we can't do that, it's against the law and I would lose my license and be fined. "Oh". I can take you for a quick route around the beach and ocean and the harbor for a look see, but not that low and not for that long, I need to stick to my schedule and flight plan. We do that. They are thrilled. Phone call "Would be able to ditch in the water"? Not likely in this plane without shearing off both props and doing a header, and a flip forward when this occurrs. Why do you ask? "Oh just wondering". lol "Can you fly on one engine?" Yes, most likely. "Oh, that's good to know". (ya think?)

So that was my happy day. They booked another flight next week.

[HotParadox]

First of all can I just say, HahahahalmaohahahahIfelloffmychairlmaohahaha!
There, now that I have recovered from an hysterical fit of laughter, let me ask you something. Are these people:
A) Kids 10 and under?
or
B) Retarded?

I really have to know.

It amazes me every time I fly that people get so giddy with questions; questions that would make even the most patient flight attendant go off like a prom dress. I've even heard people ask the poor attendants if they can talk to the pilot or see the cockpit. How can they not know that they are being disruptive?
Lol you have the patience of Job, btw....

Great thread!

[lisan25]

Wow, you're nicer than me. Lol, if they had knocked on the door with me I would've ignored them and hoped that they thought I wasn't there lol!

I'm with HP, are they kids or retarded??!!

My day wasn't nearly as exciting. I'm trying to get ahold of the people we have our stuff stored with (they NEVER answer) because we're moving throughout the first couple weeks of next month. I don't want to end up paying for a whole month of storage if I can get away with only paying half, you know? The hotel we're staying at until we can move into our apartment has laundry facilities. I have had 2 loads of laundry that I have been trying to do all day, but all of the washers and dryers have been in use all day long. So I walked to the store (which is next to our hotel) with my daughter and we picked up a few things. Came back, played some Candyland (which I have the worst luck at), read a few books, and am now trying to get the kiddo to go to sleep. I'm trying to finish the 5th book in the Fablehaven series. I have an iPod touch and the Kindle app (it's free and the best app EVER) and I was able to download the book (which hasn't been out more than a couple months) for under $10 which is awesome because it retails for quite a bit more.

I'm just WAY excited to get OUT of this hotel room, even if our apartment is tiny! It's better than this!!

[HotParadox]

I got a call from work today asking if I would be willing to come in to talk to a transfer client. She was seeing another counselor at another office, but the 'chemistry' wasn't right. She was a 'difficult' case. Oh brother. I should've just went with my gut feeling and said I was busy, lol.

I rushed in and I was told by the director at my office that they were giving me the case b/c 'you're good with people'. Umm, yeah, that's why I do what I do. Anyways, a call came in and it was my new client telling me that she didn't have much time, could we make it fast. Sure, I told her, but not till you get here. And you're already 10 minutes late. She proceeds to tell me why she couldn't spend much time here, so I had to be fast. Again. I just heard that. Incredibly, I was down right cheery on the phone.

I told her that maybe we just should reschedule to a day that would give her more time. She asked me why I would suggest that-didn't I want to see her? OMG my head. I asked her to just get here as soon as she could and she said, yeah, I'm about 5 minutes away...so why did she even waste time calling, lol.

She arrived like 15 minutes later, so now she's a good 30 minutes late for her appt. I welcome her and take her to my office and give her the paper work to fill out. She informs me that she doesn't have time to fill anything out. Well, I wouldn't mind, but she knows that forms have to be filled out. I mean she's a pro-she's been with us for 3 of her soon to be 5 children. And she's under 30. So I tell her that it has to be done or else I can't by law talk to her. She gives me one of these huhhhhhhhhhhhh type sounds and tells me that she has had it.

I was ready to shoot myself in the kneecap but we don't have guns there, so I said, look just let me fill it all out for you and you can just sign the (damn) thing. We get half way through and she gets up and tell me she's outta here. So I bring her to the secretary and ask her to re-schedule the appointment. At that point this nutcase says to me, 'WTF are you talking about? I'm not coming back here again. I want this done today!" And she stormed out. What done today? She needs an entire team of shrinks studying her for years, and she wants me to do this in 'one day' that lasted 5 minutes?

I called the woman who passed this idiot on to me and told her what happened and she told me 'she must be overwhelmed'. This other counselor trained me and she is now huge with the agency, Huge. I asked her, Nancy, just between you and me, you didn't want to deal with this chick did you? She said, you're the only one that can get through to her. Stick with her and do your magic. What the hell are you talking about, I told her? How can I do anything if she won't sit through a session? She buttered me up good, so yeah, see you next Thursday.

I am probably going to sedate myself heavily just prior to our next appointment, lol.

[lisan25]

Wow, that sucks HP. What exactly do you do?

Before moving I worked in an office with 1 psychiatrist (he was PSYCHO), 7 psychologists, and 3 interns. Some of the people we dealt with sounded like that woman - especially the psychiatrists patients. I wasn't the receptionist, but she was a flake and would call in sick a lot so I would end up covering for her. The parent company of the office I worked in operated a facility for the developmentally delayed. There was a center they spent their days at then na bunch of houses they spent their evenings at. I created all the schedules and cleared all the conflicts for all the patients and psychologists (the psychologists worked at both facilities and also did out-patient drug/alcohol groups in the evenings). Before leaving I actually ended up filing a harrassment claim in HR against the psychiatrist. Ya... it was an interesting job lol.

[HotParadox]

Wow, so you know what I'm talking about, lol! It's tough, I mean, I feel bad for all these people but, and there is a but, some things are just common sense and I guess I expect them to use it. But I also know that when you're in crisis, common sense isn't always working right. I'm a counselor for heartbeat international and I counsel women and men that are in dire straights emotionally and some financially.

Btw, I hope you win your case. Some shrinks should be seeing a shrink. Wait. Most of them do.

[lisan25]

They flat out said they wouldn't fire him. It wasn't the first time someone had contacted HR about him, but it is really hard for the area we lived in to attract doctors of any kind. They wouldn't be able to replace him, I was quitting (I had already put in my notice at this point) and moving, but I figured if the person who followed me went through the same thing and filed a complaint then there would at least be a "trail" to show that the behavior was nothing new.

He was from Ecuador so a lot of my co-workers would excuse his behavior, saying "well he's not from the US". Neither is my dads family but NONE of them would ever act like he did. (He flipped a lit at work. He started throwing stuff around, called me a some lovely names, saying the f word repeatedly in the front office and in front of his patients - one of which was a child... and it wasn't the first time I had seen him freak out.) I understood he was under a lot of stress... but still. You don't call me names then tell me to do your job for you.

I could NEVER be a counselor. There were patients that I always felt bad for and other patients where I couldn't see how the psychologist could even handle them. And sometimes, how the patient could even stand the psychologist. LOL, there was one woman who EVERYONE disliked. She knew she was super pushy and aggressive, but she wouldn't change her behavior and just said that was how she was. She also ran the intensive outpatient program. I was so pissed at her one day. There was one kid who came from a really difficult background (both parents were drug addicts, really unstable upbringing, he was only 19 and in the program). He decided he really wanted to get cleaned up (he was court ordered to be in the outpatient program) and decided to go to an inpatient facility (it had a 5 week wait time). Well, he had to get 2 root canals done and the psychologist that ran our program said he needed to get her permission to get them done. Well, he called and he came in and tried to get her to give the OK on the date but she blew him off. He finally just went ahead and got it done. He didn't fill the prescription he was given for pain killers and called to see if he would be OK to miss the group meeting that night. Her response was "2 root canals aren't that bad and he needed to get my permission to get it done, he needs to be there or I'll kick him out". I WAS PISSED! Especially since it had been me that had been bugging her for days about giving him the OK for the appointment and she would just blow me off. She knew he needed to get it done, plus to say 2 root canals aren't that bad??!! And he was only taking ibuprofen!! He came in and I felt HORRIBLE for him. You could tell he was in a lot of pain, his entire face was just swollen and his eyes were all teary. But he came and he attended group.

Lol, sorry. There were a lot of things about that place that ticked me off. But some patients I just felt a lot of sympathy/empathy for and some patients I couldn't stand.

[Put It Out There Baby]

First of all can I just say, HahahahalmaohahahahIfelloffmychairlmaohahaha!
There, now that I have recovered from an hysterical fit of laughter, let me ask you something. Are these people:
A) Kids 10 and under?
or
B) Retarded?

I really have to know.

It amazes me every time I fly that people get so giddy with questions; questions that would make even the most patient flight attendant go off like a prom dress. I've even heard people ask the poor attendants if they can talk to the pilot or see the cockpit. How can they not know that they are being disruptive?
Lol you have the patience of Job, btw....

Great thread!

Flying mkes people nuts. All pilots just have hundreds of stories about the things that PAX say and do. After 9/11 during flight, no PAX is allowed in the cockpit any longer of any airline flight. Tat has it's pluses as far as security but also brings about it's own headaches. But on the ground, they can with permission, visit for a few minutes, if there is time, etc. When I flew for UAL and our hotel van would show up, I'd be helping the female FAs out of the van and unloading their luggage for them and then I would have my own flight case and rollerboard and be in full uniform and people often thought I was a sky cap and wanted me to carry their luggage, unload their luggage and check them in at the curb. lol When I left the cockpit in flight to go to the lavatory, the galley, stretch my legs, go to first class to sit and rest, visit with the Purser and the FA's, etc., PAX asked me for blankets, pillows, snacks and drinks. Once, an elderly lady saw me and asked me who was flying the plane. I am serious as a heart attack. lol

[Put It Out There Baby]

Wow, you're nicer than me. Lol, if they had knocked on the door with me I would've ignored them and hoped that they thought I wasn't there lol!

I'm with HP, are they kids or retarded??!!

My day wasn't nearly as exciting. I'm trying to get ahold of the people we have our stuff stored with (they NEVER answer) because we're moving throughout the first couple weeks of next month. I don't want to end up paying for a whole month of storage if I can get away with only paying half, you know? The hotel we're staying at until we can move into our apartment has laundry facilities. I have had 2 loads of laundry that I have been trying to do all day, but all of the washers and dryers have been in use all day long. So I walked to the store (which is next to our hotel) with my daughter and we picked up a few things. Came back, played some Candyland (which I have the worst luck at), read a few books, and am now trying to get the kiddo to go to sleep. I'm trying to finish the 5th book in the Fablehaven series. I have an iPod touch and the Kindle app (it's free and the best app EVER) and I was able to download the book (which hasn't been out more than a couple months) for under $10 which is awesome because it retails for quite a bit more.

I'm just WAY excited to get OUT of this hotel room, even if our apartment is tiny! It's better than this!!

Yeah you are finally getting a place! Hey, doesn't matter if it's small, what matters is that you will all be together, you will make it work and you can afford it and not blow money on some larger place that you don't need right now and just means more cleaning involved. It will be nice, being in a real home. I have spent countless days and nights in thousands of hotel rooms over the decades and it gets old very quickly.

The laundry thing is funny. I am only flying tommorrow morning and should be back by 1pm or so. We had a crap load of laundry to do, Michael (my son) has laundry to do so we decided we would all pitch in (we have two washers and two dryers) and get it all done before the weekend. I came home to find a notice on our front door from the City (apparently Sue has not been out the front door today) stating they would be working on the sewer lines and doing repairs and that there would be no water from 10am til 3pm. (they think). Cripes. Sue was like, don't they know we have laundry to do? lmao I said, honey, apparently not.

[Put It Out There Baby]

I got a call from work today asking if I would be willing to come in to talk to a transfer client. She was seeing another counselor at another office, but the 'chemistry' wasn't right. She was a 'difficult' case. Oh brother. I should've just went with my gut feeling and said I was busy, lol.

I rushed in and I was told by the director at my office that they were giving me the case b/c 'you're good with people'. Umm, yeah, that's why I do what I do. Anyways, a call came in and it was my new client telling me that she didn't have much time, could we make it fast. Sure, I told her, but not till you get here. And you're already 10 minutes late. She proceeds to tell me why she couldn't spend much time here, so I had to be fast. Again. I just heard that. Incredibly, I was down right cheery on the phone.

I told her that maybe we just should reschedule to a day that would give her more time. She asked me why I would suggest that-didn't I want to see her? OMG my head. I asked her to just get here as soon as she could and she said, yeah, I'm about 5 minutes away...so why did she even waste time calling, lol.

She arrived like 15 minutes later, so now she's a good 30 minutes late for her appt. I welcome her and take her to my office and give her the paper work to fill out. She informs me that she doesn't have time to fill anything out. Well, I wouldn't mind, but she knows that forms have to be filled out. I mean she's a pro-she's been with us for 3 of her soon to be 5 children. And she's under 30. So I tell her that it has to be done or else I can't by law talk to her. She gives me one of these huhhhhhhhhhhhh type sounds and tells me that she has had it.

I was ready to shoot myself in the kneecap but we don't have guns there, so I said, look just let me fill it all out for you and you can just sign the (damn) thing. We get half way through and she gets up and tell me she's outta here. So I bring her to the secretary and ask her to re-schedule the appointment. At that point this nutcase says to me, 'WTF are you talking about? I'm not coming back here again. I want this done today!" And she stormed out. What done today? She needs an entire team of shrinks studying her for years, and she wants me to do this in 'one day' that lasted 5 minutes?

I called the woman who passed this idiot on to me and told her what happened and she told me 'she must be overwhelmed'. This other counselor trained me and she is now huge with the agency, Huge. I asked her, Nancy, just between you and me, you didn't want to deal with this chick did you? She said, you're the only one that can get through to her. Stick with her and do your magic. What the hell are you talking about, I told her? How can I do anything if she won't sit through a session? She buttered me up good, so yeah, see you next Thursday.

I am probably going to sedate myself heavily just prior to our next appointment, lol.

ROTFL! I am telling you, dealing with the "public" is always a trial. If they have mental and emotional issues, it's far far worse. What a PITA she is going to be. It's sad that the people who have the worst issues and need the help the most, can never see or comprehend that and are their own worst enemies. They put up the road blocks and make life hell for others around them. I have no patience, believe me. I would last as a counselor about 5 minutes. Seriously. lmao

When you are a First Officer, the Captain always sends your ass back to the cabin to deal with PAX issues unless it's really serious, then he goes or if it escalates and the FO and the Purser cannot handle it, the Captain goes. I always hated that part the most. That is why Pilots stay in the cockpit as much as possible. We just want to fly the damn plane and be left alone. lol No one wants to deal with crazy people, drunk people, drugged out people, hysterical people, angry people, unruly people, physically sick people, kids having food fights, and more. After I had made Captain, and three flights later, I had to send the poor FO back to the cabin. I loved it. He had this look on his face like a tired, frightened puppy. The same look I wore for several years when I was an FO. He stammered a bit and said but it's my leg to fly (and he was flying at the time) I still sent him back. lol I told him the plane would still be there when he got back and I would take over flying while he was gone. He hung his head, put on his jacket and hat and shuffled out the door. People wonder why FA's look so tired and terse. They have it during the entire flight.

[Put It Out There Baby]

Well I swam my laps, had a long hot soak and a cuddle with Sue and we made dinner for ourselves and I relaxed and yakked with my son. I read a bit, but I was too tired to keep it up for long.......I mean read. Maybe that's what made me tired in the first place. lol Saturday night we are finally going dancing and out to dinner and having our over do date night. Saturday I have hours of paperwork, emails, phone calls, computer work, my schedule to do and plans to file and crap to do. I am soooo behind, it's ridiculous. My desk looks like hell. I have to pay the dreaded bills form hell too. And I am going to sleep in. I am pooped.

Sunday I have a flight (ugh) but it's only 4 hours round trip. Michael is finally bringing his little newish girlfriend over in the afternoon for a visit and dinner. We haven't met her yet, so this will be interesting. She works dispatch at his carrier and they have been dating a few weeks in total. Well maybe a bit more than a few, it's hared to keep track because he really didn't see her but twice while he was in his classes and training for his upgrade, so I think they have been out maybe 7 or 8 times since he first met her. However, he left here Sunday night for a date with her and didn't get back til Tuesday morning. lol So things must be getting a little more serious. He seems pretty interested in her, so we'll see. He hasn't been serious about anyone for sometime. Sue of course, already has them married off and buying a house, planning a honeymoon and having children.

Hopefully, at some point we will be able to start on the laundry after I get home tommorrow if and when the City turns the damn water back on. Betty and Sue are hitting the grocery store and the deli to stock up tommorrow and have lunch somewheres. Without me! (well I am working)

[Put It Out There Baby]

First of all can I just say, HahahahalmaohahahahIfelloffmychairlmaohahaha!
There, now that I have recovered from an hysterical fit of laughter, let me ask you something. Are these people:
A) Kids 10 and under?
or
B) Retarded?

I really have to know.

Great thread!

These guys restore and refurbish and sell classic cars. They also lease out classic cars. They are serious business men. Hard to believe isn't it?

Now, we have a refreshment bar. There is a mini frig, coffee maker, hot and cold water for tea or whatever, a microwave and booze. There are sodas, bottled water, an ice maker and juices. There are snacks, all kinds of fruit, cereals, soups, vegies/dips, croisants, muffins, several kinds of cheese, crackers, a variety of health bars, trail mixes, cookies, all kinds of stuff- all healthy. I will provide real meals on long hauls, like deli sammies, salads and such. I have no Flight attendants, no oven and no one to prepare and serve meals, they have to help themselves.

A recent new client (and really, this couple are probably the most obnoxious clients I have ever had) asked me if I could have a variety of sushi for them. WTF? It's not a flying restaurant. A friend suggested that I give them kitty food salmon on crackers. I was really tempted. lol

[Theophilus]

Hi all.

I have just been running all over the place picking up customers freight. I'm busier than a one legged man in a Georgia ass kicking contest.

Very interesting PIOUTB about your work, and what you have to go through with keeping the customer happy. You know they say the customer is always right. Well in your line of work I would say that would not always be correct.

I think that's really something that you let someone up in the cockpit during flight. I am sure the guy loved enjoyed the experience, though I can totally understand why you would of preferred not to. I myself would never ask to do that, not go to the cockpit during flight as a passenger.

I already know the temptation to ask what does that switch do question.... Well I don't know if I could not ask that question.
I would however given the chance ask many question while the pilot was on the ground.

This reminds me of something. In the northern California town we moved too, during one of fires in the mountain we had I saw an AC that was used for fighting fires coming in for a landing. I am not sure what type of AC it was, though it was big and had two engines. I saw that one engine was not running as he was coming in for a landing. I was only a teenager at the time so my thoughts were "wow that was way awesome".

So I got on my bike and rode to the airport, about a mile away. I wanted to tell the pilot how "awesome" I thought that was, and I had questions.
Such as how do you fly such a large AC with only one engine running. The images are burned into my mind. The one prop not turning at all, that large AC coming in for a landing.

I asked could I talk to the pilot of that AC? They said no. Well I said could you let him know how "awesome" I thought that was.

They said yes we would let him know.

This is just the way I used to think as a teenager. I know through many hours of training that flying an AC like that with one engine running can be done with confidence. Though it can't be easy to learn.

One reasons of many that it can't be easy being a pilot. (I am sure it can be fun, just not easy to learn the skill)

It must take a tremendous amount of work, and dedication.

[HotParadox]

ROTFL! I am telling you, dealing with the "public" is always a trial. If they have mental and emotional issues, it's far far worse. What a PITA she is going to be. It's sad that the people who have the worst issues and need the help the most, can never see or comprehend that and are their own worst enemies. They put up the road blocks and make life hell for others around them. I have no patience, believe me. I would last as a counselor about 5 minutes. Seriously. lmao

When you are a First Officer, the Captain always sends your ass back to the cabin to deal with PAX issues unless it's really serious, then he goes or if it escalates and the FO and the Purser cannot handle it, the Captain goes. I always hated that part the most. That is why Pilots stay in the cockpit as much as possible. We just want to fly the damn plane and be left alone. lol No one wants to deal with crazy people, drunk people, drugged out people, hysterical people, angry people, unruly people, physically sick people, kids having food fights, and more. After I had made Captain, and three flights later, I had to send the poor FO back to the cabin. I loved it. He had this look on his face like a tired, frightened puppy. The same look I wore for several years when I was an FO. He stammered a bit and said but it's my leg to fly (and he was flying at the time) I still sent him back. lol I told him the plane would still be there when he got back and I would take over flying while he was gone. He hung his head, put on his jacket and hat and shuffled out the door. People wonder why FA's look so tired and terse. They have it during the entire flight.

But the difference between you and me dealing with the 'public' is I'm not flying a plane. I can just look out the window for a second, and regain my composure without crashing! You, on the other hand, should win a medal for landing the plane safely every time you have to deal with the 'public', lol.

[HotParadox]

Hi all.

I have just been running all over the place picking up customers freight. I'm busier than a one legged man in a Georgia ass kicking contest.

Lmao, that's a funny line, Theo!

Very interesting PIOUTB about your work, and what you have to go through with keeping the customer happy. You know they say the customer is always right. Well in your line of work I would say that would not always be correct.

I think that's really something that you let someone up in the cockpit during flight. I am sure the guy loved enjoyed the experience, though I can totally understand why you would of preferred not to. I myself would never ask to do that, not go to the cockpit during flight as a passenger.

I already know the temptation to ask what does that switch do question.... Well I don't know if I could not ask that question.
I would however given the chance ask many question while the pilot was on the ground.

This reminds me of something. In the northern California town we moved too, during one of fires in the mountain we had I saw an AC that was used for fighting fires coming in for a landing. I am not sure what type of AC it was, though it was big and had two engines. I saw that one engine was not running as he was coming in for a landing. I was only a teenager at the time so my thoughts were "wow that was way awesome".

So I got on my bike and rode to the airport, about a mile away. I wanted to tell the pilot how "awesome" I thought that was, and I had questions.
Such as how do you fly such a large AC with only one engine running. The images are burned into my mind. The one prop not turning at all, that large AC coming in for a landing.

I asked could I talk to the pilot of that AC? They said no. Well I said could you let him know how "awesome" I thought that was.

They said yes we would let him know.

This is just the way I used to think as a teenager. I know through many hours of training that flying an AC like that with one engine running can be done with confidence. Though it can't be easy to learn.

One reasons of many that it can't be easy being a pilot. (I am sure it can be fun, just not easy to learn the skill)

It must take a tremendous amount of work, and dedication.

That's a sweet story. You've been interested in planes since you were a kid, it seems, and it was nice that the guy didn't get angry and send you off feeling bad. Lots of people make their vocation or avocation choices based on positive experiences like yours, when they were real young.

[HotParadox]

These guys restore and refurbish and sell classic cars. They also lease out classic cars. They are serious business men. Hard to believe isn't it?

Now, we have a refreshment bar. There is a mini frig, coffee maker, hot and cold water for tea or whatever, a microwave and booze. There are sodas, bottled water, an ice maker and juices. There are snacks, all kinds of fruit, cereals, soups, vegies/dips, croisants, muffins, several kinds of cheese, crackers, a variety of health bars, trail mixes, cookies, all kinds of stuff- all healthy. I will provide real meals on long hauls, like deli sammies, salads and such. I have no Flight attendants, no oven and no one to prepare and serve meals, they have to help themselves.

A recent new client (and really, this couple are probably the most obnoxious clients I have ever had) asked me if I could have a variety of sushi for them. WTF? It's not a flying restaurant. A friend suggested that I give them kitty food salmon on crackers. I was really tempted. lol

Lmao! I like the kitty food idea. You know, you could get one of those high end cat foods that they advertise as being 'so pure and healthy, even a human could eat it', lol.

[HotParadox]

Well I swam my laps, had a long hot soak and a cuddle with Sue and we made dinner for ourselves and I relaxed and yakked with my son. I read a bit, but I was too tired to keep it up for long.......I mean read. Maybe that's what made me tired in the first place. lol Saturday night we are finally going dancing and out to dinner and having our over do date night. Saturday I have hours of paperwork, emails, phone calls, computer work, my schedule to do and plans to file and crap to do. I am soooo behind, it's ridiculous. My desk looks like hell. I have to pay the dreaded bills form hell too. And I am going to sleep in. I am pooped.

Sunday I have a flight (ugh) but it's only 4 hours round trip. Michael is finally bringing his little newish girlfriend over in the afternoon for a visit and dinner. We haven't met her yet, so this will be interesting. She works dispatch at his carrier and they have been dating a few weeks in total. Well maybe a bit more than a few, it's hared to keep track because he really didn't see her but twice while he was in his classes and training for his upgrade, so I think they have been out maybe 7 or 8 times since he first met her. However, he left here Sunday night for a date with her and didn't get back til Tuesday morning. lol So things must be getting a little more serious. He seems pretty interested in her, so we'll see. He hasn't been serious about anyone for sometime. Sue of course, already has them married off and buying a house, planning a honeymoon and having children.

Hopefully, at some point we will be able to start on the laundry after I get home tommorrow if and when the City turns the damn water back on. Betty and Sue are hitting the grocery store and the deli to stock up tommorrow and have lunch somewheres. Without me! (well I am working)

My schedule is crazy this weekend too, and this whole post resonates with me. Except for the part about Sue having them married off. I mean, what's odd about her plans for their life? Get a clue, it's what Mums do. : )

[HotParadox]

They flat out said they wouldn't fire him. It wasn't the first time someone had contacted HR about him, but it is really hard for the area we lived in to attract doctors of any kind. They wouldn't be able to replace him, I was quitting (I had already put in my notice at this point) and moving, but I figured if the person who followed me went through the same thing and filed a complaint then there would at least be a "trail" to show that the behavior was nothing new.

He was from Ecuador so a lot of my co-workers would excuse his behavior, saying "well he's not from the US". Neither is my dads family but NONE of them would ever act like he did. (He flipped a lit at work. He started throwing stuff around, called me a some lovely names, saying the f word repeatedly in the front office and in front of his patients - one of which was a child... and it wasn't the first time I had seen him freak out.) I understood he was under a lot of stress... but still. You don't call me names then tell me to do your job for you.

I could NEVER be a counselor. There were patients that I always felt bad for and other patients where I couldn't see how the psychologist could even handle them. And sometimes, how the patient could even stand the psychologist. LOL, there was one woman who EVERYONE disliked. She knew she was super pushy and aggressive, but she wouldn't change her behavior and just said that was how she was. She also ran the intensive outpatient program. I was so pissed at her one day. There was one kid who came from a really difficult background (both parents were drug addicts, really unstable upbringing, he was only 19 and in the program). He decided he really wanted to get cleaned up (he was court ordered to be in the outpatient program) and decided to go to an inpatient facility (it had a 5 week wait time). Well, he had to get 2 root canals done and the psychologist that ran our program said he needed to get her permission to get them done. Well, he called and he came in and tried to get her to give the OK on the date but she blew him off. He finally just went ahead and got it done. He didn't fill the prescription he was given for pain killers and called to see if he would be OK to miss the group meeting that night. Her response was "2 root canals aren't that bad and he needed to get my permission to get it done, he needs to be there or I'll kick him out". I WAS PISSED! Especially since it had been me that had been bugging her for days about giving him the OK for the appointment and she would just blow me off. She knew he needed to get it done, plus to say 2 root canals aren't that bad??!! And he was only taking ibuprofen!! He came in and I felt HORRIBLE for him. You could tell he was in a lot of pain, his entire face was just swollen and his eyes were all teary. But he came and he attended group.

Lol, sorry. There were a lot of things about that place that ticked me off. But some patients I just felt a lot of sympathy/empathy for and some patients I couldn't stand.

This is horrible. You see what's wrong with some people in power positions? I swear, sometimes it's all about their little power trip; the people that are their charges are just incidentals in their 'important' lives.

[HotParadox]

First of all can I just say, HahahahalmaohahahahIfelloffmychairlmaohahaha!
There, now that I have recovered from an hysterical fit of laughter, let me ask you something. Are these people:
A) Kids 10 and under?
or
B) Retarded?

I really have to know.

It amazes me every time I fly that people get so giddy with questions; questions that would make even the most patient flight attendant go off like a prom dress. I've even heard people ask the poor attendants if they can talk to the pilot or see the cockpit. How can they not know that they are being disruptive?
Lol you have the patience of Job, btw....

Great thread!

Flying mkes people nuts. All pilots just have hundreds of stories about the things that PAX say and do. After 9/11 during flight, no PAX is allowed in the cockpit any longer of any airline flight. Tat has it's pluses as far as security but also brings about it's own headaches. But on the ground, they can with permission, visit for a few minutes, if there is time, etc. When I flew for UAL and our hotel van would show up, I'd be helping the female FAs out of the van and unloading their luggage for them and then I would have my own flight case and rollerboard and be in full uniform and people often thought I was a sky cap and wanted me to carry their luggage, unload their luggage and check them in at the curb. lol When I left the cockpit in flight to go to the lavatory, the galley, stretch my legs, go to first class to sit and rest, visit with the Purser and the FA's, etc., PAX asked me for blankets, pillows, snacks and drinks. Once, an elderly lady saw me and asked me who was flying the plane. I am serious as a heart attack. lol

I almost missed this post-glad I caught it. I never could understand how people could be allowed to visit the cockpit and it would make me edgy when they did. I'm glad they changed that rule and I would guess most pilots are too. Funny how you'd be in full uniform and people would ask you to get the nuts or ask who was flying the plane. Thank God they're not pilots since they seem to lack the ability to reason, lol!

[par84forme]

Keeping with the customer service theme....( you cannot make this up )

I get called to a meeting. I am not told the purpose of the meeting but once I get there, one of our clinic managers begins to tell me about their issue. It seems when patients call the switchboard then ask for certain doctors, the phones roll to that physician's nurse, then ( after several rings ) to voicemail. The patients are complaining that everytime they call, the do not get to talk to a human.

They have decided they want my staff to program an elaborate automated attendant system to route the calls. ie 'Welcome to so an so clinic, for dr x press 1, for dr y press 2, etc.

Then when the patient presses the appropriate number, the call would route to that physician's nurse....if the nurse is not there, the call would roll to voicemail.

So as the meeting is breaking up, I want to make sure we all understand....
So I say something like "The purpose of this meeting was a patient sat issue because the phones are not being answered by humans and is going to voicemail....You want me to automate the phone system so the phones will go to voicemail?

The response was "Yes"

Again, you cannot make this up. We have the system programmed now. We go live Monday!

[Theophilus]

Well I finally got done picking up freight today in Vernon, CA.

Can't even began to tell you how enjoyable it was to leave there at 1600 and drive up I-5.

I sure would not want to do that everyday.

[Put It Out There Baby]

Well I finally got done picking up freight today in Vernon, CA.

Can't even began to tell you how enjoyable it was to leave there at 1600 and drive up I-5.

I sure would not want to do that everyday.

Ugh! I feel for you man. That freeway is crap even without rush hour traffic. I hope you will get some rest this weekend. Sounds like you have been burning your candle at both ends. I thought I was getting home early this afternoon. My Pax wanted to go to a second location for another meeting. I got home about and hour and a half ago. Still haven't even eaten dinner yet. Take care Eric.

[HotParadox]

Keeping with the customer service theme....( you cannot make this up )

I get called to a meeting. I am not told the purpose of the meeting but once I get there, one of our clinic managers begins to tell me about their issue. It seems when patients call the switchboard then ask for certain doctors, the phones roll to that physician's nurse, then ( after several rings ) to voicemail. The patients are complaining that everytime they call, the do not get to talk to a human.

They have decided they want my staff to program an elaborate automated attendant system to route the calls. ie 'Welcome to so an so clinic, for dr x press 1, for dr y press 2, etc.

Then when the patient presses the appropriate number, the call would route to that physician's nurse....if the nurse is not there, the call would roll to voicemail.

So as the meeting is breaking up, I want to make sure we all understand....
So I say something like "The purpose of this meeting was a patient sat issue because the phones are not being answered by humans and is going to voicemail....You want me to automate the phone system so the phones will go to voicemail?

The response was "Yes"

Again, you cannot make this up. We have the system programmed now. We go live Monday!

Insanity at it best!

[Put It Out There Baby]

First of all can I just say, HahahahalmaohahahahIfelloffmychairlmaohahaha!
There, now that I have recovered from an hysterical fit of laughter, let me ask you something. Are these people:
A) Kids 10 and under?
or
B) Retarded?

I really have to know.

It amazes me every time I fly that people get so giddy with questions; questions that would make even the most patient flight attendant go off like a prom dress. I've even heard people ask the poor attendants if they can talk to the pilot or see the cockpit. How can they not know that they are being disruptive?
Lol you have the patience of Job, btw....

Great thread!

Flying mkes people nuts. All pilots just have hundreds of stories about the things that PAX say and do. After 9/11 during flight, no PAX is allowed in the cockpit any longer of any airline flight. Tat has it's pluses as far as security but also brings about it's own headaches. But on the ground, they can with permission, visit for a few minutes, if there is time, etc. When I flew for UAL and our hotel van would show up, I'd be helping the female FAs out of the van and unloading their luggage for them and then I would have my own flight case and rollerboard and be in full uniform and people often thought I was a sky cap and wanted me to carry their luggage, unload their luggage and check them in at the curb. lol When I left the cockpit in flight to go to the lavatory, the galley, stretch my legs, go to first class to sit and rest, visit with the Purser and the FA's, etc., PAX asked me for blankets, pillows, snacks and drinks. Once, an elderly lady saw me and asked me who was flying the plane. I am serious as a heart attack. lol

I almost missed this post-glad I caught it. I never could understand how people could be allowed to visit the cockpit and it would make me edgy when they did. I'm glad they changed that rule and I would guess most pilots are too. Funny how you'd be in full uniform and people would ask you to get the nuts or ask who was flying the plane. Thank God they're not pilots since they seem to lack the ability to reason, lol!

Having the cockpit locked now has it's real drawbacks. It has to be done sadly, because of the world we live in. But there is no just going to the head any longer when you want to and Pilots have to go through a whole bother and procedure just to leave the cockpit for any reason that did not exist before and that is a major PITA. Also, it was nice, at cruise to have some little kid, or some aviation student come up for a while or a felllow pilot from any airline who was jumpseating. I used to enjoy having a child or two for a visit. I always had some little souvenir for them handy in my flight bag. You never knew who might be thrilled, excited or interested enough to pursue a career in aviation or an aviation field. I used to miss that part. And, if you had your wife or kids or other relatives or a friend on board you could have them come up for a visit. No more.

[lisan25]

Well I finally got done picking up freight today in Vernon, CA.

Can't even began to tell you how enjoyable it was to leave there at 1600 and drive up I-5.

I sure would not want to do that everyday.

Ugh! I feel for you man. That freeway is crap even without rush hour traffic. I hope you will get some rest this weekend. Sounds like you have been burning your candle at both ends. I thought I was getting home early this afternoon. My Pax wanted to go to a second location for another meeting. I got home about and hour and a half ago. Still haven't even eaten dinner yet. Take care Eric.

I loved the time that I lived in California... but I'm so glad I don't live there anymore. Lol, sorry guys but there are a lot of nice perks about small towns/rural areas. No traffic, most people aren't in a rush, things just go slower here and I like that. Plus with ordering online you can get just about anything and everything you could possibly need. AND the Farmer's Markets ROCK in small towns. The ones in bigger towns are OK, but when you're surrounded by people who live on farms they have usually have a lot more surplus.

[lisan25]

So I know I've been on the other site the last couple days. I've been in a REAL grumpy mood and I'd honestly prefer to take it out on some of them. (In my opinion... there's a legitimate group over there that deserves me being mean to them. lol)

Today is our first official day of having an apartment... and I still haven't seen it lol. My husband should have Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday off this week but they've been working him on his days off a lot lately. Unfortunately they can't seem to keep guys at this location and since my husband is the only one with a handful of certifications he ends up getting called out a lot. The other problem is that they hire guys who say they can handle the work, but it turns out that they can't. (There are some jobs where they are on location for 2-3 days and they only get 2-3 hours of sleep a night while working.) So they end up quitting. My husband has been at this location for over 4 months now and has seniority for his position. (He has 2 years total with the company. They laid him off but then hired him back on and had him relocate to where we're at now. They bridged his time from when he was laid off which was nice.)

Both my husband and daughter have nasty colds. My daughter just turned 5 but I'm still really hesitant about giving her OTC cold medicine. To be honest, with the constant recalls of medications I'm thinking I might turn a little "hippy" and start using more natural remedies. For now I think we'll stick to our waterless vaporizer and lots of vitamin C.

Oh, and I got my mothers day gift early! YAY! I really like cabin decor and I'm saving up my spending money to buy a log cabin bedroom set for our bedroom. My husband got me the first "piece" which is a comforter set from Cabela's (I LOVE that store lol). He also got me a carrying case for my gun and an ammo box.

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