Ok, so I know I’m late to this story, but it is a goodie so I’m recording it here for the benefit of those who may not have come across it (ie – if you have been living in a cave in the back reaches of Afghanistan). It was widely reported, but probably struck a chord in many of us who have at times considered making a grand exit from our jobs.
Steven Slater, a US JetBlue flight attendant reached the end of his tether while on the job after being abused by a passenger. A New York Times report says that after 20 years working as a flight attendant, one final disagreement with a passenger was one disagreement too much for Slater.
One passenger stood up to retrieve belongings from the overhead compartment before the crew had given permission. Mr. Slater instructed the person to remain seated. The passenger defied him. Mr. Slater reached the passenger just as the person was pulling down the luggage, which struck Mr. Slater in the head. This was the straw…
Mr. Slater asked for an apology. The passenger instead swore at him. Mr. Slater then got on the plane’s public-address system and gave the passenger a serve of expeletives for all to hear. Then, after declaring that 28 years in the airline industry was enough, he blurted out, “It’s been great!” He grabbed a couple of beers from the aircraft’s kitchen, activated the inflatable evacuation slide at a service exit and made his way to his car before driving home… where he was arrested…
The comments on the story have ranged from considering the guy a complete loser to seeing him as a hero. I’m guessing the truth is a little more complex, but I’m also guessing he may have planned that exit for a while and that was the day he had just had enough.
I imagine many people experience what he did – utter frustration in their jobs – but few would ever take action like he did, so I guess we will enjoy his moment vicariously!
What struck me were the inane questions of the TV reporters who questioned Slater as he was leaving the police station. ‘Why are you smiling?’ they kept asking. Crikey I’d be smiling too if I’d just done what he’d done! You might as well enjoy the moment…
I have occasionally thought of how I’d make a grand exit from a church based job, but my guess is if my ‘grand exit’ ever came to fruition I would permanently unemployable! I won’t go into all of the details, but suffice to say I’d wait for a full moon to coincide with a day on which I am preaching…
The news report suggested that Steven Slater’s future as an airline attendant was ‘up in the air’… although I think that may be overly generous.
A second ‘grand exit‘ was also reported this week, but has turned out to be a fake. Still if you enjoy a laugh here’s the link