Cabin Crew Cronicles - I - Dealing With Rude Pax

This is one of my favorite cabin crew time stories, that my closest ones have probably heard one too many times. But here it goes.

It was a boarding of a full flight. I was no.2 at the AFT galley, checking boarding passes, getting my PRM to their designated seat. Keeping the rest of the row 32 blocked off for as long as possible, half expecting some trouble. You see, apart from the few seats pax can pre-book, the rest are free seating. Well, at least it was for that airline at the time.

From my position, I could see no.3 and no.4 struggling with the bags. Ah, that 3D Tetris with 10kilo pieces to fit just perfectly..
But, with AFT doors still open, I could not leave them unmanned to get in there and help out. So as soon as my doors are closed, I get in there and start jumping around, as I do, to fix up and create some more luggage room. Different no.1s have always had mixed feelings about me jumping around as I did. It gets the job done, but I do admit, it might look slightly.. odd. To say the least.

Lo and behold, the last passengers to come onboard are the family of four, that surely enough, insist on sitting together. Luckily, I had two seats together at the row 32 and two together still a few rows further down the aisle, which, if you ask me is pretty darn perfect, taking into consideration the circumstances.

The mother was completely inadequate, pretty much throwing a tantrum. I am not sure under what kind of influence was she, but she did not seem quite right. Mind you, it was not a long flight, and Tetris with people is not as fun as that with the luggage. It usually leaves more unhappy pax than originally. I did, however, ask around if anyone would be willing to move, but, surely, to no avail.

The family reluctantly took the seats offered, but that wasn't the end of it. The bags! The husband tried to look for the place, but the mother, with a poison in her voice, exclaimed - Don't do it! It's HER job! -

Erm, excuse me, no it is not my job to lift 189 ten kilo bags (x4 sectors.. That would be.. 7560 kilos a day. 11340 on Christmas if you're unlucky enough to be doing triple DUB).. I thought to myself and took the bag off of the husband to find a place for it.

Takeoff. I'm sitting on my jumpseat, fuming. I knew, if I don't find a way to re-act this anger, it'll just eat away at me, so as soon as F/D releases us, I go right up to the mother and...

Apologize. For the situation, for the fact that there was nothing more I could have done. She's rather dismissive, but considerably much calmer. And I'm OK, having been able to express my frustration in a form of an apology.

Apology, I found, worked perfectly as a coping mechanism when dealing with rude passengers.
How effective it actually was, I found out only after quite some time.

A different flight. Boarding. I'm no.3, at my position at overwings. I see the same lady coming on board and as soon as she sees me, she blooms up in the biggest, most sincere smile. And I smile right back, mentally doing a hell-yeah and a happy dance, because I won. Kindness won!