Cabin crew really are some of the most hard-working people in all of hospitality. They have to serve about 200 customers at once, and in mid-air as well. It’s no wonder they sometimes find us a bit irritating, although they rarely show it.
Now, a Los Angeles-based flight attendant has gone viral on TikTok after admitting the most annoying question she gets asked by passengers.
Bella, who posts as @_whereisbella, and has over 2000 followers on the platform, recently shared a video titled: “Congrats you just discovered my least favourite question.”
In it, she plays herself, and also a clueless passenger – talk about range.
The video shows the passenger replying “what have you got?” when Bella asks her if she’d like a drink. It’s not exactly the crime of the century – especially when you think about the various horror stories of people vomiting mid-air, or even getting poop on seatbelts.
However, Bella explains in the comments why it’s such an irritating question. Basically, every passenger on the flights she oversees has a paper menu. “I just pull out the menu and hand it to people. That way you have more of an idea of what you can order,” she clarified.
Instead of actually using the menu, people seem to expect her to list absolutely every drink that’s available on board – which doesn’t seem like a good use of her valuable time.
The video seems to have struck a chord, as it’s had 1.2 million views since it was first shared earlier this month. Several other flight attendants have also commented and agreed with Bella that it’s very annoying when passengers ask “what have you got?”
One said: “You forgot when they say ‘oh, I just wanted water’ after I’m already out of breath from listing everything.”
Another air travel professional explained that they just throw the question back to the passenger: “I always say ‘what do you want I’ll tell you if we have it’ like bruh.”
Someone else added that the fact that the customer had headphones on was also quite rude: “It’s the headphones for me. Baby I am TALKING TO YOU!! Take them off!! You see us coming with a giant cart!”
However, other people took issue with the video, saying it was unfair on the (fictional) passenger.
One woman asked: “Not everyone flies often or knows the menus by heart – and most of the time there isn’t one – how is this an annoying question?”
A flight attendant called Rebekah responded, saying: “Imagine 200 people asking the same question. When it’s in the seat back, on the TV screen or said via announcement I guarantee (the menu) is somewhere. People just don’t read or listen. So yes it’s annoying.”
The drink question isn’t the only irritating thing that cabin crew have to put up with.
Last month, A TUI worker, who goes by @mrsmiva on TikTok, also went viral after sharing one of her pet peeves.
She uploaded a video explaining why passengers should think twice before disturbing a cabin crew member during their downtime. The reason is simple – they need to eat.
And as if being interrupted while on a break isn’t bad enough, one flight attendant jumped into the comments to share one particularly disgusting example of passenger behaviour, saying: “Some guy handed me his airsick bag while I was eating.”
So remember, next time you take to the air, remember to show some respect to the hard-working cabin crew taking care of you: by reading the menu (if one is available) and never, ever bothering a flight attendant while they’re on a break.
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