Dear Sir,
I just want to thank you for your kindness and generosity. It was a joy and privilege to be part of your morning.
You may not have noticed me, but I noticed you…we all did. In fact, we could not help but to overhear the important cell phone call you engaged in while sitting in the Lufthansa Business Class Lounge in Frankfurt.
I’m so happy for you that your boss is sending you to Oslo to close a deal. I’m so sorry your wife did not want you to go. Yes, duty calls. No, no, she’ll forgive you. She always does.
Now, you may have been a bit anxious about flying, but I am sure you did not really mean to curse out Lufthansa for not having any beer in the lounge. After all, Lufthansa is just following orders. We’re in the midst of thing thing called a lockdown. You know, that partial shutdown meant to stop the spread of coronavirus? That means Lufthansa has been compelled to remove most food and drinks from its lounges all over Germany. Maybe you’ll have better luck at the SAS Lounge in Oslo? That lounge also has something cool:
That also means we wear masks. Even when we are on the phone. Even when we are talking to our boss. You won’t believe how powerful microphones are on mobile phones these days. Truly, you no longer need to lower your mask and yell into your phone in order for the other side to hear. Nevertheless, it was a pleasure to hear that you packed an extra change of clothes and your toiletries just in case the meeting goes long.
I’m not sure why you needed to discuss your new shoes, but I did notice how shiny they were. Congratulations on your new acquisition. Shoes say a lot about a man. And yes, the weather was unseasonably warm in Frankfurt and I also appreciated it.
Next time, just one suggestion, though. Please have your conversation outside the lounge. But many thanks for the morning exercise in ambivalence. We all laughed so hard we cried.
Kind Regards,
Matthew
I called out a guy in the FRA Senator Lounge once for taking a call on speakerphone. He got mad and ended the call. Got in my face and started shouting. I told him he was rude and to back off. He stormed out of the lounge. LOL
Germans are rule-followers, and I’m not sure there are rules against talking on the phone in a lounge.
That being said, there are rules against unnecessary travel to Germany:
“For Germany, travel restrictions apply for entry from a large number of countries. …
In principle, entry is possible from:
-EU member states
-states associated with Schengen: Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein
-the United Kingdom
-Other countries, from which entry is possible due to the epidemiological situation assessment by the EU.
Entry from other countries is only possible in exceptional cases and is conditional on there being an urgent Need.”
Considering you came from the US, what was your “urgent need”? To experience LH First one last time?
I know you are going to say that the rules don’t apply to you because you have German citizenship, but that isn’t consistent with the spirit of the rule above. If you the benefits of being “German”, follow the rules like a German.
@Nate nate
“Germans are rule-followers…”
That must explain why everybody lines up in an orderly fashion with not a single queue jumper at FRA, particularly on LH flights.
Matthew isn’t German, but his wife. Din’t worry, though, I’m sure he will find a way to justify his trip as “essential” (beyond the endorphin release of flying Lufthansa first).
In a United Club in Denver a few years ago one guy talked on his phone the whole time and gave out a lot of personal information, including his Amex Platinum credit card number (with expiration date and security code).
New iPhone is in the mail? 😉
Enough of Germany already.
Sorry, you’ve still got the flight home tomorrow.
Think you have spent far to much time at home contemplating your own importance…. Nearly every step of air travel involves shared space. Your sense of entitlement of how other’s should behave in semi-public spaces as to not offend or violate your view of being “rude” is a bit tiresome. It is called a business class lounge for a reason. Some people with real jobs visit from time to time. If that is too taxing for you perhaps LH can dedicate the Klint blogger/mileage award section to meet your exacting standards. If it was a cute four year old kid being louder than other people in the lounge I doubt you would post their picture.
Oh, that’s just a stock photo.
But if you are one of the rude ones who yells into his cell phone in a shared lounge, I can only urge you to leave. On behalf of all guests, we thank you in advance.
Note the key word – yells. It’s one thing to have a conversation on your phone. It’s another to have one so loud that everyone around cannot help but to listen in. At least this guy did not have the speaker phone on.
Was the conversation in English?
This reminds me about a loud conversation in an Admiral lounge in DFW D, myself and half the lounge could hear. At one point in the conversation, he was giving out his email address to the person on the call. I decided to send him a note using an “fake” email account, I keep for antispam reasons. He replied a few hours later and was apologetic. Was I being a jerk? Admittedly, yes.
Conversation was in German.
I get a kick out of watching self-important business travelers. At my workplace we refer to them as the “Sunday Suits,” people who make sure to suit up for those Sunday night flights.
The reality is most people in a lounge all have important meetings to get to. Some just prefer to do it a bit more quietly and casually than others.
Suiting up for a flight is actually quite practical. Regardless of the time. It lessens your packed clothing as you basically just need a small carry on for shirts and essentials. It just might be, that aside from your judgmental assumptions, that those wearing suits on a Sunday night flight might actually be smarter than you.
Do you travel with wrinkle-free suits? When I used to wear suits everyday, that was one of the annoying things of traveling. Even if the FAs took the coat, the pants got wrinkled during the flight.
Kramer taught me a trick on how to keep my pants perfectly creased and wrinkle-free.
Prada makes a perfect travel suit. A techno fabric that “looks” virgin wool but is wrinkle free. It’s my go to. An investment for sure but one n black and another in blue will keep you going for some years.
@Stuart Just for the record… Nobody’s ever accused me of being smart, nor have I ever claimed to be!
You might be smart! I dunno. But as a suit wearer I’m throwing out my suggestion for you to at least LOOK smart and attractive while cutting down on your carry on weight and packing.
Who wears suits these days? Funeral directors? Chauffers?
Well, also people with taste and class who prefer to present better. You can even pair with a simple tee for a step up from what seems to be your wearing dockers and polo. All this without looking like a funeral director. A suit does not mean formal. A good suit is a base to build a fashion statement around it depending on the circumstances and location. It’s practical, versatile, and women love you in it.
Years ago I read a piece in some business magazine written by a traveler who happened to listen to what was obviously a private business conversation between two men seated in front of him on the plane. He said the two were speaking so loudly that he could hear every word, and just on a lark, he took extensive notes about what was said. As they were leaving the plane, he handed his notes to one of the men and said something like, “I thought you’d like to know how much of your private conversation was audible to everyone around you.” The climax of the story was the reaction of the businessman when he took a look at the note. He was angry. Human nature at work, I guess.
Would love to read that story if you can find the link!
Sorry, Matthew, too long ago, and I used to read a whole pile of different magazines. The memory has always stuck with me, though, which proves that the author really spoke to me that day! I was fascinated by the fact that the guy was angry, rather than being humbled by his own mistake. Sort of like being angry at the guy delivering the telegram of woe. As I saw in a Peanuts cartoon one time: “I love mankind; it’s people I can’t stand.”
You lost me at Peanuts…Garfield Forever. Perhaps he was upset you wasted his time by presenting the notes to him and interrupting his thought. Narcissists don’t tend to change based on the views and actions of others – they are narcissists. Really would be refreshing if people would take the variety as it comes, embrace the moments and people that works for you and let the rest go. Most of the true narcissists I have met seem quite happy. Are you so certain your values are superior?
Ha! Love this.
love the satirical look at his call!