Idaho Falls

Out There by Gregg Losinski 62 IDAHO FALLS MAGAZINE JULY 2019 When we were little kids we all probably played at being airplane pilots. Some of us might have even dreamt of being a flight attendant, especially back in a time when flying was more glamorous and not so much like herding cattle. While those jobs are important to the air travel industry, without the efforts of the lowly customer service representatives the planes would never leave the ground full of passengers and their luggage. Before I retired I traveled a fair bit but I never really gave thought to what was involved with getting me and my luggage from point A to point B. After I retired, I took a part-time job with SkyWest Airlines as a Customer Service Representative. Generally speaking, there are two types of customer services reps; above-the-wing and below-the-wing. Some people are gluttons for punishment and do both and are called cross-utilized agents. The above-the-wing folks are the ones that greet you at the ticket counter and gate. They are also the ones that everyone blames for flights being canceled because of bad weather in Salt Lake or their bags being lost in Cancun. These people have the patience of Job! They are experts at try- ing to make lemonade out of lemons, even though they are almost never responsible for any of the evils that befall an air trav- eler. Next time something goes wrong with a flight, remember to be as nice as possible to these people. They didn't create your problem, but they could be the ones to solve it for you if you give them a chance. I'm one of the below-the-wing customer service reps or Rampers. We are called that because where the plane pulls up to the terminal is called the ramp. Our main job is to get the luggage to and from the planes as well as marshal the planes to and from the gate. Our challenge is to control a 90,000- pound aircraft with two plastic fluorescent orange tubes weighing 10 ounces! When we drive the pushback tractor to move the planes off the ramp its quite a sense of responsibility, not like being a pilot, but pretty darn intimidating. We also have the lovely task of cleaning the planes that remain overnight (RONs). You would be surprised how much of a mess a person can make on the short f light to Idaho Falls from Salt Lake or Denver! After cleaning hundreds of planes I swear I will never give a child another Cheerio again. Only 25 % actually are consumed and the rest get stuck every- where in the cabin. You also might be sur- prised that some people take advantage of their f light time to do personal grooming like clipping their nails. Next time you f ly, keep in mind that your mother won't be coming through after you and someone else will have to make the cabin spic and span for the next f light. Working below-the-wing is a bit like being a postman. We have to work in all conditions. Some people unfamiliar with Idaho Falls might think we only need to de- ice planes in the winter, but at Ice Station IDA we have had to de-ice every month of the year! Rampers also have the joyous task of draining the lavatories on RONs. Just think of your fifth-wheel after a weekend of camping in Island Park and multiply that by 100. The fun part about customer service work is knowing that you're helping a lot of peo- ple get to and from where they need to go for fun and work. The pay isn't spectacular but the travel benefits can be rewarding if you are able to take advantage of them. The first three months of 2019 we had about 45,000 people come through our humble little airport on United and Delta flights. Throw in the hordes of folks that take advantage of the deals on Allegiant and that's a lot of people on the move through our fair city! The People That Really IF

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