American Airlines Employee To Me: “I Know How To Do My Job”

I’d like to think that I have reasonable expectations of customer service when flying with American (it has been my go-to airline for nearly 15 years), but even this caught me off guard…

American airport agent has an attitude with me

I’m supposed to fly American first class today from New York LaGuardia (LGA) to Miami (MIA). That has been an adventure in and of itself, but I’ll save those details for a separate post, because OMG what a mess of a day.

Anyway, I had to check a bag today. Rather than going to the priority check-in line, I went to the bag drop area (closest to where I entered the terminal), printed out my bag tag, got in line, and then it was my turn. I presented the American agent with my ID and bag tag, and then the brief interaction went like this:

Me: “Any chance you wouldn’t mind putting a priority tag on the bag, please?”
American agent: “I know how to do my job.”
Me: “Oh, well, thank you.”

Lol… really?!

At first, I almost assumed she was joking with how she said that, and was about to crack a smile, because I can’t imagine talking to a customer that way, when they ask something very politely. Let me be clear — the above is also exactly what I said. I wasn’t demanding and didn’t have an attitude, and if anything, I think I came across as sheepish. I thought I was doing the right thing my reminding her, since I wasn’t in the priority line. But no, there was no smile to be seen.

So I almost wondered if I was being unreasonable. I appreciate that she knows how to do her job… that’s great. But maybe she could understand that not all American employees necessarily do. And if she knows how to do her job, one would hope that this would also entail being polite to customers, but I guess that’s not the part of the training manual she was referencing.

Or maybe I’m on the hook for this. Perhaps I’m delusional for even bothering to ask about my bag having a priority tag, since it’s not like they’re actually handled any differently on American…

Bottom line

While flying American first class and using the standard bag drop lane, I politely asked the check-in agent if she could put a priority tag on my bag. Rather than saying “of course,” she said “I know how to do my job,” and it wasn’t said in a humorous way either.

Unfortunately the above was the most pleasant part of my experience flying with American today…

Was I being unreasonable, or…?