Bad sign? Good sign?

derg

derg

Apparently a "terse" writer
Staff member
So I'm down in the lounge making sure "all ya'll" have been behaving before I jump on a flight home to PHX.

A couple senior captains walk past, give me the "Hey Doug, how ya doin'?"

Then my former ALO (the original "Military Route" author) Ken walks past and we talk about his vacation...

The chief pilot walks past, asks how the commute is going, we laugh about some random stuff, exchange pleasantries and he walks off...

I guess my goal to retire without anyone knowing who the heck I am and to have the chief pilot say "Doug Taylor, who the hell is that?" has been shot for years. But he's a great guy, highly supportive of what we're doing here so I figure it can't be a bad thing I guess.

Note to self: Buy Groucho mask and wide-brimmed cap.
 
I had that goal at AA!

In new-hire school, I kept my mouth shut and didn't fess up to anyone at any time that I'd:

A: Been with Eagle for 6 years
B: Been an instructor there

But, sure as sheet, the end of the first day one of my instructors comes up to me and says "hey, you're Amber right? You were one of the Eagle instructors that came over. Glad you're here!"

I couldn't believe it.

I managed to hide well when I was based in NY. When I went to turn in my ID & books for my second furlough my supervisor looked at me and said "I'm sorry, what's your name again?"
 
We got that "Chief pilot not knowing you" speech in ground school. Maybe its just the FNG in me, but I figure as long as he/she has a positive impression of you, ...good sign.

A few laughs and "exchanged pleasantries" is better than "@#$%^, here comes that Taylor kid again"
 
Oh man, there is no way in heck the chief pilot and people won't know me. Who else has the name "DeJesus" lol.
 
See, I come from a background in which you want to be known as the cockiest bastage in the organization! If you have a big enough bark, you'll never need the bite!!

"Damn, here comes Williams....walk tall!!"

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I even tried to keep on the down low training at XJT. I really didn't want it to get out that I had already worked at an airline before b/c I didn't want the instructors to assume "Great, another know-it-all." After about the second day the instructors were like "Uh, which airline did you used to work for?" I had no idea how they figured it out, but there was sorta no hiding it after that.....
 
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I even tried to keep on the down low training at XJT. I really didn't want it to get out that I had already worked at an airline before b/c I didn't want the instructors to assume "Great, another know-it-all." After about the second day the instructors were like "Uh, which airline did you used to work for?" I had no idea how they figured it out.....

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Maybe because you were acting like a know-it-all without realizing it.
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I had to reply to this b/c it spills over into the non-aviation sector as well. It can be both good and bad, Good if the boss has a positive impression of you and bad if it's the opposite.
The publisher of the paper I work for has no idea who I am and has only talked to me when I'm going to the can and the time he saw me attacking the candy machine (it stole my hard-earned dollar).
I think that if maybe I had been a little more outgoing I would have gotten the promotion I wanted, but alas I didn't.
I think as long as you don't act too cocky (i do know more than most of my superiors but don't act like it) and the boss has a positive attitude toward you it's a good thing.
 
I never had that goal, and at this point so many people know me in not just my company, but throughout the industry, that it is crazy. I just wish I was better at names, since I feel bad if I can't remember someone's name. Overall, though, it's been a good thing. I know people personally who are at the directorate level at FAA, NASA, ICAO, JAA, ATA, IATA, ALPA, IPA, APA, SWAPA, etc. Not to mention my airline across the board. It has led to many opportunities for me overall. The only downside (if you could call it that) is that I now steer clear of certain topics on public forums!

I think that if you treat people well, are ethical and honest and try hard to do a good job and be a professional, take pride in your appearance, etc., that people knowing you is a good thing. If you aren't going to do that, well, then it isn't a good thing, best to lay low!
 
Generally, the bigger the company and the bigger the base, the more anonymous I try to be. We had a cool CP at CVG that I talked to (and flew with) pretty often.
 
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