[NAGDU] airport assistance question

Fri Sep 29 14:00:33 UTC 2023

Janell,

It is troubling to read of your airport experience on your return trip. The
rude and disrespectful behavior you experienced from the assistant is
inexcusable. This is an opportunity for you to write the airline with a
complaint about this person's behavior. Most airlines have contact
information (phone numbers, email addresses, or postal addresses) for
customer service or even disability assistance.

I recently wrote United Airlines to acknowledge excellent service from the
person providing sighted guide assistance in Houston GB Intercontinental.
Sadly, my next message to them was a complaint about being grabbed, pushed,
pulled, and manhandled by their assistance staff. This was about a separate
arrival. 

Airlines need to know this information so they can address problems through
their contractors. I believe a brief, well-placed message may ultimately
help.

By the way, often I have experienced language barriers and what I fear are
cultural barriers when assistance staff are from other parts of the world.
As far as  language is concerned, they and we (the users of their services)
are placed in precarious situations when they cannot communicate with us
effectively. Not being able to direct us with words can lead to grabbing,
pulling and worse. We need to identify language barriers in our complaints.
I believe all should be welcome in our nation; however, we as passengers
have every reason to expect service that is helpful and useful.

Cultural barriers are more difficult to tackle. We can best address them by
making complaints about behaviors without commenting on cultural matters. In
my experience, at times the person providing help has been so surly and
churlish for no known reason, I have wondered if something deeper was
occurring. I thought about this when I read your message about the person
who became so upset when you would not ride in a wheelchair. In some other
cultures, people who are blind are reviled. People from those cultures may
not want to have contact with us because they fear that contact will bring
misfortune to them, possibly their own blindness. I have heard and read many
anecdotal examples of this. For people who have these prejudices, providing
assistance to people with disabilities is a poor match for them. We should
complain focusing only on the behavior and request remedies. We can hope
their hearts are changed. 

By the way, I do tip when I believe the person assisting has been helpful
and positive.

I truly hope your future travel experiences are pleasant and positive.

Richard

Richard Petty
Richard.petty at earthlink.net

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of 	Janell via NAGDU
Sent: Thursday, September 28, 2023 5:36 PM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: nellie at culodge.com
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] airport assistance question

Joy,

Could not agree with your sentiments more.  I always put on a smile and am
very thankful for their help.  I requested assistance at O'Hare airport
coming from Wisconsin.  The lady was waiting for me right after I got off
the plane, helped me find a bathroom and waited until my uber showed up.
She could not have been more friendly and helpful.  I did give her a $10
tip.  On the other hand, on my return trip I checked in at the counter and
they said someone was coming to assist me.  I waited for 45 minutes; my
plane was leaving in 10 minutes.  Finally, a lady from Indea showed up with
a wheelchair, and literally pushed me into it.  I nicely said, "I don't need
a wheelchair, I just need you to help me get to my gate."  Oh my goodness,
did she get mad.  She walked ahead of me and my guide dog, never saying a
word or giving directions, got to my gate and she very rudely said "here"
and left.  Needless to say, she did not get a tip.

Safe travels, Janell and Dash

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Joy Relton via NAGDU
Sent: Thursday, September 28, 2023 11:56 AM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Joy Relton <joy.relton at icloud.com>
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] airport assistance question

I agree with most of what has been said. For me, I need to take a deep
breath and remember that these people aren't our adversaries they just need
to be addressed as professionals who are likely to need a little guidance.
In other words, put on your best smile and practice assertiveness not
aggressiveness. This is something I learned through experience and my heart
still races a little when I encounter various employees. I try to think of
it this way--ok, they are providing a service, I may or may not need the
service, so I let them know that I value their service and give instruction
as to how I want to be served. If they give resistance, just politely ask
what the issue is and negotiate for the deal you want. My experiences are
much more positive than the days they pinned a button on my shirt to tell
others that the poor little blind girl needed help. Of course, I promptly
dropped the button into the trash. I just make sure that there is no anger
in my mind or my voice and that I'm not anticipating trouble.

Enjoy your travel your way!

Joy and sleepy sweet little Vicky who does much to smooth things over simply
by being cute.
-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of marianne denning via
NAGDU
Sent: Wednesday, September 27, 2023 1:11 PM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: marianne at denningweb.com
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] airport assistance question

Yes, you should tip the airport agents who assist you. In Cincinnati there
is a high probability they will come with a wheelchair and if you prefer to
walk just let them know. As another person said, be ready with your strong
advocacy skills. 

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Paula Jordan via NAGDU
Sent: Wednesday, September 27, 2023 3:05 PM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Paula Jordan <paujor at roadrunner.com>
Subject: [NAGDU] airport assistance question

Hi all.  I'm  going to show my lack of experience with this question, so I
appreciate your understanding.   I'll be flying in a week or so and will
need assistance from airport personnel in both airports.  I'm wondering if
you should tip the helpers and if so, how and how much.  I suspect this is
something I should already know, but I don't so thanks for your thoughts. 

God bless!

Paula and the pups

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