The Future

We all have aspirations and desires, i have been blessed with a great family closeness and stability, the opportunity to fly all over the world meeting many different people from a variety of cultures, i have seen poverty and how people in these countries still know how to smile.
This is when i know my life is good, i have direction, i know how to engage with different people from looking after VIP's, Royalty, Celebrities, they all have different needs and wants but we learn to adapt.
There is nothing better than leaving your place of work "knowing" you have done a good job, or to the best of your ability, and if you did not then you will run things round in your head as to how you will do things differently next time and making sure this information is fed back.
I believe in communication on all levels, we all need to communicate, it may be to tell someone how they could do things differently next time or to praise someone for a job well done.
Feedback should be like a sandwich.....Motivation ( bread) Developmental (filling) Motivation ( bread) so the areas people can improve on do not have a lasting impression but based around "what they did well" also!!
Your team is only as good as the expectations you require of them, knowledge of their job, and the ability to make mistakes, admit they were wrong and learn from it and move on comfortable with the feedback delivered.
Passengers, customers, guests are all different, they all have different needs and wants and we learn to adapt to these through experience, younger members of the team may feel uncomfortable around certain situations and allow their managers (me) to take over and deal with it but i like them to stick around to learn from it and incorporate it in their daily routine and know how to manage it themselves in the future with adequate support and encouragement.
I am proud to have had the opportunity to take and Aircraft out in charge for many years, i see passengers every day with various requirements and sometimes we can not accommodate their requests which can come across as a failure, but if it is explained professionally and the customer is aware  and has witnessed you going out of your way to try and meet their demands they really do not mind if it cannot be met, however i look at ways that this could be corrected in the future.
It is not about the daily duties you complete but how you step out of your role to do something special that will become a lasting memory to them, this is what people remember and makes them return.
I could write a book on the role of cabin crew after so many years but i will just have the occasional smile to myself over some of the requests and lasting memories i have of this incredible job.