Passengers in an aircraft do get angry at the least provocation. In the Indian context, the Indian passengers have a mentality that when they buy an airline ticket they think that they have purchased the crew along with the ticket and their behavior inside the aircraft turns very ugly and many a times very nasty. This presentation will help the cabin crew in the Indian aviation scene,immensely.
Citation preview
1. HOW TO HANDLE ANGRY PASSENGERS
AMLAN ROY CHOWDHURY
*Image viaBing
2. Passengers a diverse mixture
As a member of cabin crew on a commercial airline you will come
across a large mix of people from all backgrounds and
cultures.
Although there are manystereotypesin society, it may be useful to
be aware of them for quick and efficient handling of
passengers.
3. Astereotypeis a cultural and social expectation that may not
be wholly true and accurate but exists in society and we cannot
avoid them.
Would you provide the same service to an elderly man the same way
you would treat a 20 year old man heading on holiday? What language
and service would you provide someone with full religious garb, or
a pregnant woman finding it difficult to enjoy the flight? Or
simply, how would you treat an angry passenger compared to a
co-operative and peaceful passenger?
4. Title
5. Describing appearance and emotions
It is useful to ask yourself questions when you have to deal with a
problem passenger and keep in mind these questions need to be
answered within a few seconds: -
Who are they?
Why do you think they are complaining or not co-operating?
How will you resolve the situation?
What language will you use?
6. Title
. It is advisable to not use overly direct and plain
language.
e.g. a passenger is complaining about their meal, and evaluating
the situation consider your language.
1. Politeness and consideration
*Image viaBing
7. This can also be reinforced by modal verbs that are not
strong but still project advice, suggestion and recommendation. For
example: -Sir, youmaylike to try this meal instead.Madam,wouldyou
like to try this option?Youcouldtry this meal instead,
sir.Escalated problems, in other words situations you probably
cannot handle on your own need to be directed to your senior
colleague.
8. COMMUNICATION WITH YOUR SENIORSUse of adjectives and nouns
e.g. angry passengerKeep it simple and use the present simple or
progressive tenses e.g. he is not moving from his seat.Using
stronger tone and stress will show your Senior the situation is
more important compared to if you use a lighter tone.His reaction
will greatly depend on how YOU project Think of the importance of
the problem.
9. SITUATION .1
10. Context. What type of passengers? Predict. Whatcouldbe
potential problems?Communicate. What language will you use?This
picture shows a group of young travelers, maybe college students
heading for college tour. There is a possibility they may be noisy
and even over-bearing towards other passengers.
11. SITUATION..2
12. Context. What type of passengers? Predict. Whatcouldbe
potential problems? Communicate. What language will you use?Looking
at the body language and gesturing of the male passenger there
could be a problem with his meal. Did he order it? Is there a
problem with what is on the plate? Also consider his age and
background.
13. SITUATION.3
14. Context. What type of passengers? Predict. Whatcouldbe
potential problems? Communicate. What language will you use?A
number of situations could be predicated here, from complaining to
even an argument between passengers. How would you handle the
situation, would you need more help from a supervisor?
15. MENTAL CHECKLIST*Be aware of your passengers and who they
are*Ask yourself a series of questions to evaluate the
situation*What could happen next, will you need a supervisor? How
would you speak to the supervisor, how would you describe the
passenger?
16. THE IMPORTANT FIVE*Assertive Communication/ Behavior*Active
Listening Skills*Disability Awareness*Person-First
Language*Managing Anger
17. *ASSERTIVE COMMUNICATION AND BEHAVIOUR
*The language of assertive communication
begins with the use of I statements.
**Assertive behavior is not aggressive behavior.
***It avoids the use of you statements.
18. Suppose you have an obstinate passenger who refuses to
fasten his/her seat belt.Possible response, that will elicit a
desired behavior: Sir/Madam It is mandatory that all passengers
must wear the seat belt". This is also for your own safety**Dont
let a passengers bad attitude rub off on you.**Be prepared to face
difficult.
19. ACTIVE LISTENING
Listening is perhaps the most needed and often the least practiced
communication skill.
Active listening includes skills that convey recognition of the
other persons situation and feelings. In order to do this, Cabin
Crew needs to listen to and understand the true meaning of what
passengers are saying, not just hearing their words.
20. TECHNIQUES OF ACTIVE LISTNING
Paraphrase or restate in your words what you heard.
Ask clarifying questions.
Make eye contact with the passenger.
Use nonverbal cues such as nodding and facial
expressions.
21. Disability Awareness
Another strategy for effectively managing potentially difficult
situations is that the crew should be sensitive and responsive to
passengers with disabilities. Crew who are sensitive and
understanding of the needs of passengers with disabilities are
better prepared to head-off potentially difficult situations. The
goal here is to
treat others as you wish to be treated.
22. Person-First Language
Person-first language refers to the individual with a disability
before referring to their disability.
Using terms such as handicapped or wheelchair bound dehumanizes the
individual and tends to categorize him/her on the basis of
disability.
23. Saying individual with a disability or person in a
wheelchair not only acknowledges the person, it also dispels the
notion that the person is bound to a wheelchair.
Wheelchairs are liberating, not confining!
24. Managing Anger
THE MOST IMPORTANT ATTRIBUTE OF CABIN CREW
25. Anger is a response to an event overwhich the individual
may or may nothave control. The anger may be driven by events
completely unrelated tothe present event.
26. Every individual has an angerthreshold. A situation that
makesone persons behavior explode mayonly elicit a sigh from
someone else.The goal of a successful Cabin Crew is to manage the
issue and diffuse the passengers anger.
27. Causes of passenger Anger
Delay in departure/arrival
Unprofessional handling of passenger at check in.
IFE not functioning. PTVs not working.
Misinformation to passengers.
Mishandling of Passengers on arrival.
Passenger not getting what he asked for.
Vegetarian meal not given.
Passenger Call not attended.
Amenities not available.
28. PROPER COMMUNICATION
Eg. Lets suppose you are running 2 hrs late because another
passenger was ill and you had to go back to the gate, call for
medical assistance and then offload the passenger.
The other passengers on board are annoyed, but understanding of the
circumstances;
However, when you arrive at your next stop, the individual boarding
is furious. Which crew response will diffuse the boarding
passengers anger?
29. 1) Hey man, we had a passengerwho was ill and we had to go
back to the gate and then off load the passenger. just chill-out
man!2) I can understand your feelingsand you have every right to be
upset.I apologize that were running solate. We had a passenger who
was illand we had to go back to the gate and then offload the
passenger.
30. Techniques that make a passenger feel heard and help
diffuse his anger.
General demeanorcalm, listening, non-threatening, understanding of
issue;
Tone of voicekeep voice low and steady; speak slowly, and
paraphrase,
identify with the passengers feelings;
Languageuse I statements such
as, I can see that you are very
upset about..... ; cont
31. Techniques that make a passenger feel heard and help
diffuse his anger.
Body languagemaintain eye contact, nod agreement, hands
quiet;
Maintain personal controlif the Cabin Crew loses his/her temper,
nobody benefits and it will escalate tension.
Neither the Cabin Crew nor other passengers should put up with
verbal abuse, profanity or threatening behavior. However, it is
still important to remain calm.
32. VERY IMPORTANT
If a Cabin Crew feels that a passenger poses a danger, he/she needs
to call immediately for help from seniors.
All incidents should be documented in accordance with the airlines
policy.
33. THE EIGHT IMPORTANT STRTEGY TO MANAGE ANGER
34. STRATEGY1
If someone is angry, let them sound off and calm down before you
try to deal with the situation. Unless they get really abusive or
threaten you, it's best to let them get it off their chest. Once
they have run out of steam, it's much easier to handle things.Don't
try to interrupt them and certainly don't say " I think you should
calm down " as this is like throwing petrol on a smoldering
fire.
35. STRATEGY2
In the face of anger, your " fight or flight " responses will kick
in. In other words, you will feel the urge either to become
aggressive yourself or to run away. Try not to shout back or to
burst into tears. Stay calm, count to 10 ( or 20 ), take deep
breaths and stay in control.
36. STRATEGY..3
Maintain neutral but assertive body language. What one earth does
that mean? Well, it sounded impressive. It means, don't avoid eye
contact and look down at the floor and don't shrink physically. But
don't take an aggressive stance either, just sit or stand up
straight, keep eye contact and try to look calm and
attentive.
37. STRATEGY..4
Listen carefully and try to really understand what is causing the
problem. As they calm down and you can have more of a dialogue with
them, start to ask questions to get specifics about what is wrong.
Show them you are interested in getting to the root of the matter,
not avoiding it.
38. STRATEGY5
Acknowledge their right to be angry if they have a point. For
example, if you have made a mistake or failed to complete something
by a deadline, own up to it and don't make excuses. If they have
been left in a difficult position, tell them you can see why they
are annoyed or frustrated and that you are eager to help them put
things right.Don't say " I understand how you feel " because people
often react to that by saying " I don't think you do ".Instead, say
something like " I can see why this is frustrating for you.
"
39. STRATEGY6
If something has gone wrong, make suggestions about how to fix it.
Don't get bogged down in how it went wrong, be positive about how
you are going to make it better. Show that you are taking them
seriously and say " This is what I'm going to do to deal with
this."
40. STRATEGY..7
Don't take it personally ( unless it is, of course) Usually, if a
client gets annoyed, it's not personal, it's because something has
gone wrong and they are in a difficult position. That may or may
not be your fault.
Don't take it as a personal attack. Deal with the situation, not
the person.
41. STRATEGY.8
Remember that the way you deal with a mistake can lead to someone
becoming a committed client or PASSENGER of yours.
We've all had problems with suppliers or service providers and the
way they have handled the problems has determined whether we stayed
with them or not.
Where someone takes your complaint seriously and deals with it
quickly and courteously, you are probably even more likely to stay
with them than if the problem hadn't arisen in the first
place.
42. THANKYOU AND HAVE A SAFE FLIGHTPRESENTATION BY: AMLAN ROY
CHOWDHURY
*Image viaBing