Thread: A real Jobsworth

I returned to Spain today from Cornwall.

At the security check on the airport I had my handbag searched. I do not object to any kind of security. In this day and age we need it but come on, my toothpaste was in my handbag and it was not in a regulation plastic bag. I had to take it out and put it in the bag he provided and then put it back in my bag. He insisted it was liquid...........O.K. that is why it is called toothPASTE !!! In his zealous perusal of my hand bag he completely overlooked another tube that was in my hand luggage and also not in a plastic bag.
The man behind me had to take out all his toiletries.............they were in a plastic bag............fine..............no WRONG !!!! The bag was too big so he had to change to a regulation size one too ...................... Mr Jobsworth must be costing Bristol Airport a fortune in placcy bags.

Ryan-air now have a new toy. It is a cardboard box the size of the permitted hand baggage. A poor chappy came down the queue popping it over our bags to measure them, he was the opposite to Mr. Jobsworth and did his best to make sure everyone's bags fitted lol !!!! He then signed your boarding pass to confirm that your bag was the correct size and had been checked.

Good old Ryan-air...............love them or hate them if you don't have any extras and play by Michael O' Leary's rules, they are the cheapest.

Originally Posted by fillymum

I returned to Spain today from Cornwall.

At the security check on the airport I had my handbag searched. I do not object to any kind of security. In this day and age we need it but come on, my toothpaste was in my handbag and it was not in a regulation plastic bag. I had to take it out and put it in the bag he provided and then put it back in my bag. He insisted it was liquid...........O.K. that is why it is called toothPASTE !!! In his zealous perusal of my hand bag he completely overlooked another tube that was in my hand luggage and also not in a plastic bag.
The man behind me had to take out all his toiletries.............they were in a plastic bag............fine..............no WRONG !!!! The bag was too big so he had to change to a regulation size one too ...................... Mr Jobsworth must be costing Bristol Airport a fortune in placcy bags.

Ryan-air now have a new toy. It is a cardboard box the size of the permitted hand baggage. A poor chappy came down the queue popping it over our bags to measure them, he was the opposite to Mr. Jobsworth and did his best to make sure everyone's bags fitted lol !!!! He then signed your boarding pass to confirm that your bag was the correct size and had been checked.

Good old Ryan-air...............love them or hate them if you don't have any extras and play by Michael O' Leary's rules, they are the cheapest.

I flew home from Spain with Ryanair last week and was stopped in security waiting for my bag to be checked for a full half hour, this is after the security queue. When they finally did he said 'oh, the machine made a mistake' not even a hint of sorry! and I also saw a lady who had to pay £50 for having a tiny, and I mean tiny, handbag that wouldn't fit in her case. Think they need to look at their overhead cabin space, I flew 3.5 hours with a bag under my feet I'll definitely steer clear as me and my family left the plane full of flea bites!

RyanAir have been using the cardboard box for a while at Alicante, Murcia and Manchester. They also have a nasty habit even if it fits into the box and signing your boarding card of then making you try it in the actual metal guage if they have the slightest suspicion that you bag is marginally too large. At Alicante, one of mine - that I've been using on Mr O'Leary's planes for the last 3 years - failed the gauge test and I had to pay €50 to put it in the hold.

For the privilige of paying you have to take it to the hold yourself! Well, I didn't take it to the hold and asked the senior steward if I could try it in the locker - which I knew it would fit into. He looked at it and told me it would definitely fit and was as grumpy as I was. He reckoned that the airport staff relish ripping off customers - he was convinced they were on commission for the number of bags that they charged extra for. OOh and they don't bother on the outbound leg from the UK - they let you take marginally big bags on board - knowing full well that they will get you on the way back to the UK!

When I got home I measured the bag very carefully and it was 1 cm too deep to fit in the gauge (was okay length and width) but had at least 5" of headroom in the locker!

On another occasion at Liverpool airport I got shouted at for using the lift. My knee was really bad at the time and having already done 2 flights of stairs could just not manage a third knowing that I still had to climb the aircraft steps. I was told that only disabled passengers could use the lift and that in future I would need to be accompanied by a member of staff if I wanted to use the lift. What a waste of staff resources and money!

On a third occasion at Newquay airport the lady unwrapped and sampled every single one of my 4 items that I'd bought from the Body Shop as presents for people. I had the receipt which tallied to the items but she still had to test every single sealed container as she reckoned I could still have tampered with them.

Grrrrrrrr - I hate jobsworths!

Yet another reason I absolutely hate flying - it's not just the flight (and that's enough to make me cry), it's the whole horrible airport experience.

Hmph. Good job I love Blighty and thank goodness for the Channel Tunnel!!!

At Bristol yesterday I heard the woman, a really miserable looking and sounding woman, at the assistance desk , telling someone who was asking if the boarding gate was going to be a mile away could she have a lift in the little bus. She was so grumpy and unfeeling. I was astounded when she said " sorry were ever the gate is you can not have assistance Ryan Air only accept 4 assistance passengers on any flight and after the first 4 it is tough luck " What a dreadful policy !!

Fortunately the boarding gate could not have been closer to the lounge so the poor passenger in question was not faced with a long, long walk.

I think that reading what I have written in this thread I am going to pay the extra in future and fly into Exeter with Flybe. There service is excellent.

Airlines make no charge for hold baggage and have no hidden chares so what might appear to be expensive often isn't. Problem is they do not fly to airports like Bristol and Exeter. I have a girlfriend who always uses them to London and swears by them.

The thing is, there's no need for rudeness - their prices may be cheap, but why do their manners need to be the same?

Originally Posted by jaylou

The thing is, there's no need for rudeness - their prices may be cheap, but why do their manners need to be the same?

So well said Jaylou and so true.

Originally Posted by fillymum

" . . . Ryan Air only accept 4 assistance passengers on any flight and after the first 4 it is tough luck " What a dreadful policy !!

Actually it's not just RyanAir that do this. It's the law. You are only allowed to have a certain number of passengers on any flight that need assistance.
It's all to do with the aircrew being able to get them out in an emergency. There are usualy 4 aircrew so that's why Ryanair take 4. It used to be on Jet2 that they only had 3 crew so they would only take 3 passengers requiring assistance.

I once fell foul of this with my mum as I forgot to book her assistance until late.
That was the first time I had to go back to get her so I could assist her in the event of an emergency.

But I agree with Jau - there is absolutely no need for rudeness.
Think we've discussed this on another fred about how rude some of the people on Minis have become !!!!

Sue, who are Airlines - and where is there website? Need to go and find that.

Ive never flown with Easyjet and dont think I would either, the man who owns theairline the Irish man seems a complete arse and for that reason Im out. I cant stand pettiness and rudeness so I will stay here thanks.

It's really convenient for me to use Southampton Airport, as the train from Reading goes directly there and it is just a couple of minutes walk from the station to the terminal. Southampton Airport is wonderful - nice people, no queues, no fuss, clean, bright, no long walks to the aircraft.

Recently I was coming home from Jersey with Flybe and there was a very long delay - complications with one of their planes which had to turn back. The way some of the passengers spoke to the staff was disgraceful. There was a group of businessmen who were particularly difficult, telling everyone how important they were, and I heard one of them ringing his office and demanding that someone there should ring Flybe's head office and insist that they send another plane! But Flybe's rep took it all in her stride, sorted out alternative flights for those who hadn't checked in a suitcase, and was so patient.

And Flybe are cheap too!

Did you get given the placcy bag for free?? At Stansted and Luton you have to pay £1 for 3 of them in a little plastic ball out of a machine if you fall forget them. (I think it's a rip off so always take some spare sandwich bags with me to give to people that I see in that predicament). Flying anywhere is a terrible business. That's why the Wetherspoon Bars are always full of people gasping for a beer at 6am!! lol

Originally Posted by Lucky7

Did you get given the placcy bag for free?? At Stansted and Luton you have to pay £1 for 3 of them in a little plastic ball out of a machine if you fall forget them. (I think it's a rip off so always take some spare sandwich bags with me to give to people that I see in that predicament). Flying anywhere is a terrible business. That's why the Wetherspoon Bars are always full of people gasping for a beer at 6am!! lol

No.no charge Lucky. Sis said that at Newquay they charge a pound as well.

Anne, Flybe are great. My airline of choice for the West Country but mostly too expensive. There was a massive 200€ difference between Ryanair and them this time. They can not compete with an 18€ one way fare from Valencia to Bristol. Alicante is easier for us but at that price it was worth an extra 10 minutes drive.

I have only flown once in the past few years and I went with flyby/airfrance and they were great.

Originally Posted by peggypig

Ive never flown with Easyjet and dont think I would either, the man who owns the airline the Irish man seems a complete arse and for that reason Im out. I cant stand pettiness and rudeness so I will stay here thanks.

Easyjet is owned by Stelios Haji-Ioannou - I think you're actually talking about RyanAir when you talk about the Irishman!!!

Originally Posted by AnnaFaraday

. . . Recently I was coming home from Jersey with Flybe and there was a very long delay - complications with one of their planes which had to turn back. The way some of the passengers spoke to the staff was disgraceful. There was a group of businessmen who were particularly difficult, telling everyone how important they were, and I heard one of them ringing his office and demanding that someone there should ring Flybe's head office and insist that they send another plane! But Flybe's rep took it all in her stride, sorted out alternative flights for those who hadn't checked in a suitcase, and was so patient.

And Flybe are cheap too!

The problem with Flybe though that this happens to their planes on a regular basis. They bought a load of very old aircraft that really shouldn't be in the air.
I have one friend who flies Manchester/Southampton twice a week and he reckons there is a problem on one if not both return flights every time.
There is an ongoing battle between the business community and Flybe about their dreadful service to passengers as they are the mainstay of the local routes.
But as I said - there is still no need to be rude or aggressive!