The Man Who Demanded A Free Upgrade Because He Was "Basically Crew"

I work passenger services on a ferry, which means I am the face that people bring their whole day to.

He came aboard with a lanyard. Not our lanyard. A conference lanyard, from a trade show, with his own name on it and the logo of a company that sells hydraulic fittings.

He wanted the crew lounge. He explained that he was "basically crew". He explained it to me, then to my colleague, then to a passing engineer who has the social skills of a bollard and who simply walked away mid-sentence.

We said no, politely, four times.

Then he started drinking, and at about the ninety-minute mark he became an authority on my career.

He told me I had "a bad attitude for someone in a service job". He told me the crossing was "shameful". He asked for my name badge, and I gave him my name, clearly, and spelled it, and offered him the complaints email, which we are trained to do because complaints emails are where these men go to die.