In 2011, 20 or so of my colleagues and me won the quarterly trip offered by our company, all expenses paid, to the top sellers.

It was the first time they sent us overseas, usually it was always in some nice European city as we were based in Dublin, Ireland.

This time however, we were going to America’s playground, Las Vegas!

We flew United all the way down with one stop over, I think it was in Philadelphia.

So the rude experience was not with a fellow passenger but with the crew who was deeply unpleasant and looked like they’d rather be anywhere else than there. These « ladies » looked sullen and annoyed every time a passenger asked them for something.

When time came for the meal, the different options were announced via intercom but I couldn’t hear well because the noise insulation and sound system were not great. This was added to the fact that most of us didn’t have English as a first language, so we weren’t sure what was on offer. I’m not picky but I don’t eat pork and wanted to be sure I wouldn’t be getting any.

When they came with the trolley, I politely asked what was on the menu and the FA rudely replied that it had been explained already and basically refused to repeat it. That really ticked me off because it would have taken her about 10 seconds to inform me. I insisted a bit more firmly that I couldn’t hear because of the surrounding noise and could she please let me know. She finally gave in and ungraciously told me.

That was not the end of it . About an hour before we landed I ordered a tea. I didn’t get the chance to finish it and when the pilot announced that we were on approach and please put the table upright, yaddi yadda, I got up, went to the FA station beside the toilet and asked the same shrew if she could kindly discard my cup. She rudely told me « why didn’t you finish it?? Next time just order half a cup!! » LOL, I didn’t even know there was such a thing as a half a cup of tea. I was so stunned at her attitude that I was left speechless.

Then, I swear I’m not making this up, she opened the toilet and literally threw the cup with the remaining tea in the sink. However she did it so aggressively that she splattered tea all over the wall and mirror, and then slammed the door.

I stood there in disbelief for a second and then returned to my seat. I was torn between wanting to tell her to fuck off and my knowledge that it’s never a good idea to antagonize a crew on a plane, especially on your way to the U.S. I was also on a company trip so ultimately it was not worth getting in trouble .

Needless to say we were more than wary about our second flight. However, it went great. The crew was lovely.

One of the FA asked where we were flying from and I said Ireland. She asked how it went for the long haul and I honestly told her that we had gotten terrible service and we were surprised at the crew’s rudeness. She told me: “Yeah, I heard they are a bunch of old bats on that line”. That really made me laugh, this FA was a riot. Apparently United had bought the line from another airline and the staff was treated poorly, hence the shitty service. I get it must be frustrating but taking it on the passengers isn’t going to help.

Overall we had a blast during that trip and it was in the end a funny anecdote to tell later.

I never flew United again though. Didn’t feel like repeating the experience.