Regardless of your job, there are undoubtedly little white lies you tell here and there.
When I worked in retail in high school, I may or may not have told customers, here and there, that no, we didn’t have any more size ## of that shirt in the back, just so I wouldn’t have to go searching for it.
I worked in a survey place throughout college (yep, I was one of those annoying people with a clipboard in the middle of the Staten Island Mall) and when we’d do soda taste tests and respondents asked us which sodas were which, we were required to say we didn’t know; they were just unmarked bottles. Yeah, we totally knew which sodas they were.
Anyone who has ever played Santa Claus has told their share of lies to inquisitive children who want to know about Mrs. Claus, the reindeer, the elves, his house at the North Pole, etc.
And, let’s face it… anyone who has ever called out sick when they were feeling fine (or has been to work while sick but said they weren’t ill) was also lying.
Anyway, a while back we wrote a piece about how flight attendants usually lie when asked one particular question. I wrote it specifically because I thought it was interesting. I also kinda figured there were other things that flight attendants (FAs) lied about, and that they would let us know.
I was right. And they did.
After the piece was published, we got several emails from FAs who said yes, they almost always lie about that one thing. But that it was just one of, essentially, a laundry list of things they lie about. Has a FA ever told you any of these?
I called the captain and asked them to make it warmer/cooler
Airlines purposely keep the plane on the cooler side. Here’s why.
Sorry, I don’t have a pen/USB cable/charger
Because they know chances are they’ll never see it again.
Let me finish this service (read: drinks, snacks, etc.) and I’ll be right back
Many apparently do honestly forget to come back. Others, it maaaaaaay be on purpose.
Yes, your connection knows you’re going to be delayed and will wait for you. I’ll call the gate to remind them you’re going to be late.
If a connecting flight has a lot of passengers from one particular flight and it’s going to be a bit late, they might wait. If it’s just you, and you’re significantly late, and you’re nobody special, yeah, you’re going to miss that connecting flight.
Sorry, I’m married.
Don’t be socially inappropriate and start flirting with the FA and they won’t have to lie to you.
Yes, it’s fresh orange juice.
Need I say more?
We just ran out of Diet Coke.
The gate agent will be happy to help you with that!
Welllllll…..maybe.
We’re just waiting on catering.
That’s always a handy line when there’s some sort of delay in your takeoff. Of course, they COULD be waiting on catering. Or not.
Sorry I can’t help you with your bag; I had shoulder/back/wrist surgery
Flight attendants technically aren’t allowed to help you lift your bag, because it puts them at risk of injury. But ‘I’m not allowed because it’s in my contract and I could get hurt’ might not be a good enough answer for some people. So…they’re getting over an injury. Makes sense.
Any others?
There have to be some more lies out there. What did we miss?
Want to comment on this post? Great! Read this first to help ensure it gets approved.
Want to sponsor a post, write something for Your Mileage May Vary, or put ads on our site? Click here for more info.
Like this post? Please share it! We have plenty more just like it and would love it if you decided to hang around and sign up to get emailed notifications of when we post.
Whether you’ve read our articles before or this is the first time you’re stopping by, we’re really glad you’re here and hope you come back to visit again!
This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team.