The reality of being an SQ GAL

[yingying2888]

wawa2905, yingying here.. the one who went to zurich with u.. =) so you visit the forums too..

i've just returned from abu dhabi a few days before the case happened, and true enough to say, the security in the hotel isnt too good. its very easy to gain access into the rooms and all u need to do is to go to the front desk, say u forgot ur keys and you'll get a new key after giving your surname to the staffs.

i cant help but wonder why the girl did not bolt her room door..

[Plavt]

i cant help but wonder why the girl did not bolt her room door..

Unless the door is equipped with the old fashioned slide-bolts or a chain it is doubtful if that would have made any difference. Although you can of course lock a hotel room's door from the inside, many hotels can still grant their staff access through the use of a master-key or other systems for the same reason you are able to access locked toilets on a plane.

[yingying2888]

hmm.. in fact most of the hotels that we stay in, including the one in abu dhabi are still equipped with the old fashioned side bolts and it is greatly encouraged that the crew bolt up the room..

[Plavt]

hmm.. in fact most of the hotels that we stay in, including the one in abu dhabi are still equipped with the old fashioned side bolts and it is greatly encouraged that the crew bolt up the room..

Curious, I wonder what we are not being told? Although rape is still rape, maybe she just got careless, very sad.

[Ode]

Help

[mish mish]

I've been observing this thread and i realised that alot of ppl give positive reviews about crew life. I must agree that there're many positive aspects about the lifestyle the job creates, the travelling and so on. But I've made up my mind to leave once my bond is completed.

I'm one year flying right now and when I mention that I intend to leave when my bond is up, alot of girls will tell me they said the same thing when they first joined but most end up staying long after. Thing is, I realised the job is really not for me, so this is just my personal point of view, not passing judgement on the job.

I feel like there's a big dicrepency in the "old" generation of crew and the current generation. I get along with most crew quite well and have made many friends, but once in a while, when there is a conflict on board, i find that many senior crew have this attitude of if you explain yourself or your actions, you are deemed to have "attitude" and are insubordinate.

Alot of crew will also say, comply first, ask for explanation later, however even when it is lull period and there is a conflict, there is never a good time to explain yourself. You are apparently expected to say sorry and look appropriately attentive and apologetic when they are giving you a long lecture.

Of course new crew will make mistakes, no one is born to fly after all. However, it doesnt mean that just because you are senior you will always be right. Its almost the same theory as if you are rich, you will always be more right.

Therefore I know that I won't stay in this job after my bond. There are other reasons but this culture is really the main reason.

Sorry for the extremely long post. Have a good flt everyone.

[wawa2905]

Hey yingying!!

yes babe..I used to regularly access this forum b4 I joined..heavily dependent on views n opinions from this website to get tips for the intv.
OMG...really? never did abu dhabi flight b4...actually I heard a few diff version regarding this incident from some of the crew but what was commonly told is the girl in an indonesian crew who was only on her 2nd solo (means 2nd flight) n they went drinking with some ote crew during that unfortunate day. The guy is a FIN (Fren in Need is a voluntary work to provide guidance n encouragement to newly joined crew) to this girl, thus they knoe each ote. So from here..I just feel tat things just happen.
At times me myself forgot to bolt the door thus the carelesness of this girl brought upon a pricy outcome.
I hope the truth will come out soon...u take care babe! hope to fly wit u again..

[Jojoleona]

dear all, i juz received email from cx. oct 9, 4pm. anyone wanna mt mi to go together?

[shenoes]

Hi all, am new to this forum (as u can see only 1 post so far). Join this forum to know more abt cabin crew careers

Apart from this thread, from what I read from other posts, seems like most ppl complain abt SQ gers more. Also, I often hear ppl comparing SQ gers with other airlines' cabin crew. And sadly, it's mostly the negative comments which I shall not say, dont wana offend anyone. But i think some of you here also got here b4 one la.

although I am not a cabin crew in any airlines, I just wana share some of my exp while I was there for interview at the SIA training centre.

I saw many cabin crew 'trainees' there. At that pt of time, reali wish I was part of them. then while standing outside the rm waiting for results, a grp of trainees walk past us, look at us from head to toes, with those kuai lan faces. Even 'gin' us lor. Then I still stupidly smile smile smile like an idiot lor. cos my first time apply and who noes someone might secretly see your every movement

I can imagine how much suffering those juniors will face after they start work. Seriously, dun understand why SQ culture is like that. Whats there to be arrogant about? It's just a job like any.

Sorry, I hope I did not offend anyone here.

[emmy_g]

my my my...

Seems like the airline's crew aren't exactly giving out the best vibe to the outside world is it?

In my opinion, the 'Crew Culture' hardly exists these days amongst the newer crew. Generally, I find tht the newbies are less humble (prob cos they're higher educated - I'm serious! I've had personal experiences of newbies telling me tht they did not study so hard for a degree just to come onboard to clean toilets/clear rubbish/help a passenger who vomited on herself), less respectful/fearful of hierachy and more aggressive in pushing their point across.

They dun receive feedback/criticism too well either.

Of course noone's born wearing the kebaya. Being the most junior is like a rite of passage in the airline. EVERY CREW goes through it. Being corrected, eating the humble pie, collecting tip, calling for makan, no choice of rest period, etc. It's nothing new and honestly, is it really so hard to accept?

And the 'scary' supervisors aka 'Top 10' tht crew are petrified of? They've mostly mellowed down, or are retired/retiring. I will miss them whn they leave. No... I'm not a sadist... It's just tht, because of their 'rep', they dun care for making friends onboard and being Mr. Nice Guy, so they run a tight ship. In tht way, everyone is kept on their toes and does their fair share. Ultimately, the passengers benefits.

Makes you wonder why pple pass comments abt SQ's decline in service standards eh?

I remembered how hellish my first two yrs of flying were. I was ostracised in my own team because I'm a 'banana' with an 'arrogant face'. Trust me whn I say tht getting zapped then, is soooo much worse than getting 'zapped' now.

Contrary to wht some pple hv predicted in earlier posts, I did not turn out to be a wicked, 'loveless' person who's hell bent on making the junior crews' life a living nightmare.

Well, I've stuck thru my bond, finished my first contract AND am almost 2 yrs into my second.

You dun hear ME complaining.

[OniGiRi]

I'm not a "Old" generation crew.. but I do find that nowadays alot of junior crew don't take feedback positively, they think very highly of themselves..

To me, I do think that they SHOULD give some respect to the senior crew, no matter what, they are more experienced and in any field any industry.. I guess pple do expect the junior to pay respect to the senior..

Everywhere has its own politics.. not only SQ.. just that alot of junior are fresh grad and SQ is their first job.. I guess that makes them think that "money is so easy to earn!" and they never experience the outside working world and just think that the crew culture is very unfair..

Everywhere is the same, it depends on how well can u handle it !!

[ReiszRie]

I'm not a "Old" generation crew.. but I do find that nowadays alot of junior crew don't take feedback positively, they think very highly of themselves..

To me, I do think that they SHOULD give some respect to the senior crew, no matter what, they are more experienced and in any field any industry.. I guess pple do expect the junior to pay respect to the senior..

Everywhere has its own politics.. not only SQ.. just that alot of junior are fresh grad and SQ is their first job.. I guess that makes them think that "money is so easy to earn!" and they never experience the outside working world and just think that the crew culture is very unfair..

Everywhere is the same, it depends on how well can u handle it !!

well, just because such culture is prevalent does not mean one should put up with it and resign to their fates.

changes and improvements only occur when one recognizes a problem be it isolated or prevalent.

but what i find appalling is the attitudes and the mindset of most SIA cabin crew where they fail to realize the true duty and job scope of a cabin crew apart from the perceived glamor and high-society image.

[akiheartfelt]

I'm not a "Old" generation crew.. but I do find that nowadays alot of junior crew don't take feedback positively, they think very highly of themselves..

To me, I do think that they SHOULD give some respect to the senior crew, no matter what, they are more experienced and in any field any industry.. I guess pple do expect the junior to pay respect to the senior..

Everywhere has its own politics.. not only SQ.. just that alot of junior are fresh grad and SQ is their first job.. I guess that makes them think that "money is so easy to earn!" and they never experience the outside working world and just think that the crew culture is very unfair..

Everywhere is the same, it depends on how well can u handle it !!

Yup i absolutely agree with you that how you cope with the culture depends very much on your individual perspective. However, as a new crew, i would say that our mentality is indeed very different from that of an 'old' crew (or as they would say, 'times are changing'). The younger generation now is better educated, more pampered, outspoken, opinionated, and possesses a higher expectation of the world.

It is still reasonable (at least to us 20-somethings) that juniors should respect the seniors. Granted that we appreciate and respect advice given by seniors, we do find certain hierarchical practices very unnecessary and pretentious. Some comments that certain 'seniors' may give to juniors may be very condescending, offensive and again unnecessary to us.

As a crew, we all know that the definition of 'zapping' now is totally different from what it used to be (which i shall not elaborate more), due to again different expectations between 'new' and 'old' generations of crew. Therefore they say that we 'new' crew are having it easy these days. But of course, starting on a new job is never easy

[Tres Bien Merci]

Crew life is never easy. This job need more endurance and patient level compare to other jobs in term of colleague and passenger.
This is a front end job which you are the face of the airline so it is very normal when the seniors have very high expectation on the junior as well as the company.

In fact in the incident of ‘zapping’ we should not blame or shift the fault to senior or junior.

First we need to question the airline, because they the one who gives a signal to junior crew how wonderful the life as cabin crew and they are a good and fair company to work with.
They always emphasis on the team work and they always claim they have an excellent team work but in fact this is not true.

In my opinion, they should educate and inform the junior crew the real life of cabin crew. Prepare them well before let them soar to the sky.

Second, before applying as cabin crew, you should do your study first. Don’t apply the job that you don’t even know their expectation on you. It is because of glamorous and gives you the opportunity to see the world than you take this job. There is no easy job in this world. There is always price to pay. No free lunch!

In fact, I realize that so many people are very good in acting. During the interview they can convince the interviewer that this is their dream job and they can life up to the expectation. So what all this non sense?
Again, the interviewer is not up to standard. They should look for someone that has the X-factor not someone that they like than they take. The company should train all their staff which responsible as interviewer so that they are able to spot any rubbish or non sense or dishonesty during the interview. This is a basic thing they need to know to be able to hire a right person.

The company claims they only hire the best of the best to be their crew so those people that only able to work for the company for 2 years are the best of the best? Or those people that when they start working for less than two years realize, this is not what they want so when the contract is up they will leave this job?

I feel something is not right with the way the company hiring their crews.

This is just my opinion, no harm at all. 

[leeyannyng]

Crew life is never easy. This job need more endurance and patient level compare to other jobs in term of colleague and passenger.
This is a front end job which you are the face of the airline so it is very normal when the seniors have very high expectation on the junior as well as the company.

In fact in the incident of ‘zapping’ we should not blame or shift the fault to senior or junior.

First we need to question the airline, because they the one who gives a signal to junior crew how wonderful the life as cabin crew and they are a good and fair company to work with.
They always emphasis on the team work and they always claim they have an excellent team work but in fact this is not true.

In my opinion, they should educate and inform the junior crew the real life of cabin crew. Prepare them well before let them soar to the sky.

Second, before applying as cabin crew, you should do your study first. Don’t apply the job that you don’t even know their expectation on you. It is because of glamorous and gives you the opportunity to see the world than you take this job. There is no easy job in this world. There is always price to pay. No free lunch!

In fact, I realize that so many people are very good in acting. During the interview they can convince the interviewer that this is their dream job and they can life up to the expectation. So what all this non sense?
Again, the interviewer is not up to standard. They should look for someone that has the X-factor not someone that they like than they take. The company should train all their staff which responsible as interviewer so that they are able to spot any rubbish or non sense or dishonesty during the interview. This is a basic thing they need to know to be able to hire a right person.

The company claims they only hire the best of the best to be their crew so those people that only able to work for the company for 2 years are the best of the best? Or those people that when they start working for less than two years realize, this is not what they want so when the contract is up they will leave this job?

I feel something is not right with the way the company hiring their crews.

This is just my opinion, no harm at all. 

I have to agree to what you said. Being a CC is not just about "sir, would you like coffee or tea?" is actually more than that. Those who go thru the training will know what i mean...