IT happened last year as well and then again this year. This past week, in fact, for the second time in as many years, the air-conditioning at Jeddah’s King Abdul Aziz International Airport broke down. The result was a large number of passengers who were left sweltering and exhausted by the heat and humidity.
Throughout the airport, patience was at a premium. There was little that could be done for an air-conditioning system that had already functioned far beyond its life expectancy. The heroes of the day, to be sure, were the Saudi Arabian Airlines employees along with their colleagues in Customs and Immigration. As hot and uncomfortable as the passengers undoubtedly and inexcusably were, their trial was only temporary; sooner or later they at least got on a plane and left. The airport employees, however, had no such end to look forward to. They could do little but grin and bear it — and sweat of course. The airport employees had to focus and work efficiently in the most uncomfortable and unpleasant conditions. That was bad enough. But even worse was the abuse heaped upon them by the passengers.
In this paper there are often letters criticizing Saudi Arabian Airlines and the behavior of its staff. There is no doubt that many of those complaints are genuine and well-founded. At the same time should we not look a bit deeper and try to discover the reasons for such behavior? I believe that the reasons are often employee apathy and frustration. But why?
The airport staff must deal with thousands of passengers of different nationalities. The majority of passengers are, however, their own countrymen, their fellow Saudis. I am sorry to say that many Saudis are rude, inconsiderate and unnecessarily demanding. They seem to lack any idea of basic civility.
For example, here is a common occurrence. A Saudi Arabian Airlines ticket agent is checking a passenger in when he is interrupted by five others who have pushed their way to the front of the line and are waving their tickets under the poor agent’s nose. Didn’t anyone ever teach them to wait their turn? Are they incapable of figuring it out for themselves? What about good old-fashioned manners? They use language which is totally inappropriate and on one occasion, I even heard a passenger call a Saudia employee “donkey.” What provoked such rudeness? The Saudia employee was attempting to explain to the passenger that because he had arrived late he could not board. The doors to the aircraft were already closed. The passenger refused to listen. I felt like grabbing the obnoxious traveler and twisting his ears.
Now this happened on a normal day when the air-conditioning was working. Just imagine how much worse it would be if you were dripping with perspiration and in close proximity to others who were also dripping and who — it happens to those who sweat — got a bit smelly? It is a scenario which unfortunately produces both rudeness and insulting remarks. The patience which was exercised this week by the Saudia staff and their determination to serve the passengers in the most trying of conditions must be appreciated by all of us.
They are our own brothers who are already working day and night in conditions which are far from ideal. Occurrences such as the breakdown of the cooling system only exacerbates the situation. The average Saudia staff at the airports are basically well-mannered, hardworking individuals. They strive to serve the public satisfactorily. They want to be better trained. They want to learn languages so that they can communicate easily with all passengers.
One of them told me once that he is frightened out of his wits if he is approached by an English-speaking passenger! I passed his comment on to a friend who asked, “If the employees have this attitude, why must they behave badly to passengers and mistreat them?” Well, we know how we all love to exaggerate and magnify the smallest incident into something much bigger — in other words, to make mountains out of molehills. We tend to overlook and forget the thousands of times when everything works as it should without error or mishap.
I personally feel that many of these Saudi Arabian Airlines employees are frustrated. It boils down to what the young man told me. He knows that he cannot cope and it makes him uneasy. The solution is a simple one: He should be properly trained to do his job before he has to do it. That way, he would be comfortable and chances are that he would make passengers feel comfortable too. An employee who is unsure of himself cannot be proud to serve anyone, despite the airline’s slogan.
It would have made a great impression if those who direct the airport staff had left their air-conditioned offices and come to the airport as a sign of solidarity with their colleagues. I think this would have been well-received by all concerned, airport employees as well as passengers. The managers should have led as they are expected to do and their actions would have greatly boosted morale.
Good leadership and responsible management involves understanding and sharing the hardships of all employees. It is very easy for a manager to smile and take credit for the accomplishments of his staff. It is quite another thing for him to ignore his staff when they are experiencing difficulties. By sharing those difficulties, an enduring bond would be created and the level of productivity would be raised. More, Inshallah, on Saudia next week. — [email protected]
