It's amazing how effective politeness can be.
I was warned by my son that checking in a Heathrow would be
unpleasant and the staff worse.
No problem. Showed up before the rush, smiled at the guy behind the
counter before I got to him, said 'Good Morning' and everything was
pleasant and no problem.
Even a friendly statement/enquiry like 'You look like you're having a
rough day' can loosen things up.
These people are not well paid and get to deal with a lot of people
who are tired, annoyed, angry and difficult. It's worth remembering
that and behaving empathetically.
One way of protecting yourself emotionally in a job like that is to
grow a hard shell and stick rigidly to the rules.
For example, as I was boarding there was a flight to Nigeria loading
up too. It seems to be part of the Nigerian culture I noted from that
one experience to try and get away with anything you possibly can and
argue the place down if challenged. Trying to claim quite large
cardboard cartons (a TV in one case) as hand luggage was typical. The
result was ongoing pandemonium with lots of screaming and
accusations. The guards kept their cool but went very rigid in their
application of the regulations. If I'd been a security guard there
and then, I may well have shot someone - there and then.
Andrew Fildes
afildes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
On 12/07/2008, at 5:20 AM, <bs.pearce@xxxxxxx> wrote:
> He was, as everyone else, quite polite, but appeared effective.
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