Slam Click Excuse?

bronco21016 said:
Until you're with the overzealous, "I wanna be friends with everyone", newbie FA that offers to pay when really she's the one that's too broke to go out. I've had a lot of CAs not accept that excuse either. Then you end up going out and feeling bad that they're paying when you really want nothing to do with them at all.
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Haha funny, that just happened to me last week on a trip. My favorite is when they say the infamous "the first rounds on me guys"! Umm I'm not sure I can accept your offer, but uhhh okay! :D Then after dinner and drinks when it's time for the bill, her face goes from :) to :oops:. It's usually the newer ones anyway. I even had one "forget" their wallet in the hotel..

My excuse not to go out? Hey guys, I'm staying in tonight.
 
I'm waiting for someone to get on here and tell the real reason they don't wanna go out with the crew.
 
bronco21016 said:
I'm waiting for someone to get on here and tell the real reason they don't wanna go out with the crew.
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Scabs, mostly.

But seriously, there's a pretty significant age gap a lot of the time at my gig. I have no issues going and grabbing a beer with the cool older pilots, but I really don't care to sit there and listen to some of them complain about their rotten kids who are potentially older than me. Also, I can't stand sitting there talking about work for extended periods. There's just not a lot of common ground a lot of the time.

But yeah, sometimes scabs.
 
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Thank god for the impending generational shift.

Yeah - that reads much like "Get out of my way grandpa," but reading daselben's post pretty much is gonna mark the next few years for a whole bunch of 28-35 year old FOs riding around with guys in the 58-65 range. Especially if they are codgers and hate life, hate their fourth wife, hate their beater car that barely runs, hates their kids, just buried a parent, wears white sneakers with 80s white washed jeans and a Hard Rock Honolulu t shirt on every overnight, and can't remember - for the third time - if your name is Jim, Joe, Jack, or Bill.

With that out of the way, I greatly enjoy this job for the sheer fact of getting out of the cockpit, out of the hotel, and meeting new people. One of my last FAs, great girl, runs her own business. Just so turned out that she isn't too proficient with a business mentality when it comes to Facebook...well looky here...a new client for my own business.

Or, you can stay locked up in your room (which is perfectly fine) and ignore the rest of the world out there and wind up one of these old codgers who hate life.

If you're not up for going out, then just say so. Don't be a coward.
 
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I enjoy getting together with the crew for a beer, dinner, site worth visiting, etc. especially if there is a plan. What I can't stand is walking around looking for somewhere to eat or something to do when no one has a clue. I usually do some research on a city prior to arriving so I already have an idea of where I want to go and where I want to eat. I'm always glad to have others tag along or will sometimes go along with another crew member who has a similar plan that sounds interesting. But the whole "what are you in the mood for?" "This place looks ok (insert fake looking Irish Bar)" conversation over 2 hours of walking around is for the birds.

I'm always honest and just say I already have plans, want to lay low, catch up on rest, get work done, etc. if I want to stay in. No shame in it. To be honest, if I'm on a 4 day and sitting next to you for the next 20 plus hours, I frankly have no desire to eat every meal with you nor do I expect you to want to do the same with me. Sometimes a seat at the corner of the bar, a cold beer, and a good book is all the company I want.
 
Cav said:
I enjoy getting together with the crew for a beer, dinner, site worth visiting, etc. especially if there is a plan. What I can't stand is walking around looking for somewhere to eat or something to do when no one has a clue. I usually do some research on a city prior to arriving so I already have an idea of where I want to go and where I want to eat. I'm always glad to have others tag along or will sometimes go along with another crew member who has a similar plan that sounds interesting. But the whole "what are you in the mood for?" "This place looks ok (insert fake looking Irish Bar)" conversation over 2 hours of walking around is for the birds.

I'm always honest and just say I already have plans, want to lay low, catch up on rest, get work done, etc. if I want to stay in. No shame in it. To be honest, if I'm on a 4 day and sitting next to you for the next 20 plus hours, I frankly have no desire to eat every meal with you nor do I expect you to want to do the same with me. Sometimes a seat at the corner of the bar, a cold beer, and a good book is all the company I want.
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Unless someone else's plans are better than mine, I am very much the "guide" of the late night adventures. I have been lucky enough to see a fair number of our overnights and know where the decent, safe, clean and fun locations are throughout the system. I will not waste my time. 15-30 mins after getting to the hotel (usually need to charge phone up a bit), and I am back downstairs. If ladies are coming, I've realized telling them "Downstairs in 5-10" doesn't really compute - so I've had to become a bit more relaxed when dealing with female FAs - especially if they need a bit of time to get cleaned up - 15-30 seems to work. But that is with a plan already established.

Our very own @Gonzo and @Rocketman99 came through a while back as they had a much better handle on the locale NYC debauchery than I could have ever reached on my own. Which is another time where I'll resort to utilizing someone else's awesomeness to make a night go right.

Otherwise, I rarely stay in my hotel room unless I have some class work or business to attend to. It's amazing how much business you can handle on a regular 35-40 min turn though (phone calls), thus leaving enough time to enjoy yourself in the evening or late afternoon.
 
dasleben said:
Scabs, mostly.

But seriously, there's a pretty significant age gap a lot of the time at my gig. I have no issues going and grabbing a beer with the cool older pilots, but I really don't care to sit there and listen to some of them complain about their rotten kids who are potentially older than me. Also, I can't stand sitting there talking about work for extended periods. There's just not a lot of common ground a lot of the time.

But yeah, sometimes scabs.
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That and more than likely in our 8-10 hour work day we have talked a bunch and have covered everything we need to cover.
 
dasleben said:
Scabs, mostly.

But seriously, there's a pretty significant age gap a lot of the time at my gig. I have no issues going and grabbing a beer with the cool older pilots, but I really don't care to sit there and listen to some of them complain about their rotten kids who are potentially older than me. Also, I can't stand sitting there talking about work for extended periods. There's just not a lot of common ground a lot of the time.

But yeah, sometimes scabs.
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Everyone I work with are older than my parents.
 
Cav said:
I'm always honest and just say I already have plans, want to lay low, catch up on rest, get work done, etc. if I want to stay in. No shame in it. To be honest, if I'm on a 4 day and sitting next to you for the next 20 plus hours, I frankly have no desire to eat every meal with you nor do I expect you to want to do the same with me. Sometimes a seat at the corner of the bar, a cold beer, and a good book is all the company I want.
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Same, though I have had one or two crewmembers take offense if I decline to move my stuff over to the big rowdy table full of people I haven't met. I think they consider me rude or standoffish, but we all need time to recharge our batteries.
 
dasleben said:
Same, though I have had one or two crewmembers take offense if I decline to move my stuff over to the big rowdy table full of people I haven't met. I think they consider me rude or standoffish, but we all need time to recharge our batteries.
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Extroverts don't understand that. Maybe that's not a fully fair statement, but I have had the same experience where I just need some me time. I've even had people tell me that I am not really an introvert because I am so personable in a crowd. They don't understand that introvert/extrovert is how you recharge, and has nothing to do with if you deal with people well or not.

I can have a good time in a group, but when it's over, I'm drained.
 
bronco21016 said:
I'm waiting for someone to get on here and tell the real reason they don't wanna go out with the crew.
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I just started telling the truth after about year 2 at my last gig. I met a captain at DFW for training. He started going on about all the plans he had made for our rotation once we left the training facility. Catching a ball game at one of the cities we went to etc. It is nice that people are friendly but kind of arrogant that they assume you want to even see them.

This was kind of a culture clash moment because I'm from Nor Cal and this guy was from Texas. I'm not exactly down with the typical Texan viewpoint and it is bad enough spending time with someone you don't really like but much worse if you are forced to listen to a verbal tirade about the blacks, or the illegals, or the people on welfare.

Or the Jews... that was a real fun tirade to sit through. Being jewish and all...

I think this is the case at many airlines. Many people from many walks of life and sometimes grumpy cat would rather just not talk with you anymore because I've been already sitting in the worlds smallest two man crew cockpit for the last 7.9 hours WITH YOU. Listening to your problems, theories and viewpoints.

So after a while I let guys know, if they really wanted to be a friend they could help me upgrade (merit based system). Then I'd be happy to have a beer but you know I'm usually dog• tried after the 10th day of flying 8-10 hours a day.
 
msmspilot said:
Extroverts don't understand that. Maybe that's not a fully fair statement, but I have had the same experience where I just need some me time. I've even had people tell me that I am not really an introvert because I am so personable in a crowd. They don't understand that introvert/extrovert is how you recharge, and has nothing to do with if you deal with people well or not.

I can have a good time in a group, but when it's over, I'm drained.
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Excellent...triple like. Just learned a whole lot. I also think introverts get drained with small talk. Locked up for hours with someone making small talk can be draining. And a long overnight can be used for a lot of other things.

I love meeting up with a cool crew for a meal and a few. But going for a run, catching up on reading, sleeping, studying for an upcoming PC, etc etc etc are just as valid and does not always mean 'ignoring the world' as one of the previous posters said.
 
msmspilot said:
Extroverts don't understand that. Maybe that's not a fully fair statement, but I have had the same experience where I just need some me time. I've even had people tell me that I am not really an introvert because I am so personable in a crowd. They don't understand that introvert/extrovert is how you recharge, and has nothing to do with if you deal with people well or not.

I can have a good time in a group, but when it's over, I'm drained.
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Very well said. I'm an outgoing introvert. I just have to be social on my own terms and my own pace.
 
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