Flight attendant from hell

Mr Gerry Ricketts -Managing Director
JetStar
GPO Box 4713
Melbourne Vic 3001

Dear Sir,
RE: FLIGHT JQ 419 – GOLD COAST – SYDNEY / 20.11.10
I have flown around the world many times over the years and yesterday I experienced the worst attitude from a flight attendant I have ever had. Never before have I experienced such rudeness and ineptitude.
Upon boarding I was greeted by a man named Steve. He directed me to my seat in 1C. I very quickly discovered that all the overhead baggage compartments were full. I alerted Steve of the problem. He said “You’ll have to find space further down”. I informed him that the only space was toward the end of the plane and that it was going to prove difficult for me when I got off the plane. (I deliberately booked seat 1C so I could get off the plane quickly so I could attend my aunts 90th birthday). He responded by saying “Not my problem. You will need to find space somewhere”. I, along with other passengers was shocked by his tone. Rather than argue the point and hold up the other passengers boarding, I sat down and placed the bag on the floor in front of me. After everyone was seated Steve came to me and rudely said, “Give me the bag”. I found this rather strange. Was he unable to bend down and pick the bag up himself? I picked the bag up and he snatched it out of my hand. It was at this juncture I said to him “I can do without your attitude”. He raised his eyes and walked off to place my bag to the back of the plane. I made sure I looked to see where he was putting my bag. He got half way down the back, threw it on the floor and left another flight attendant to attend to it. My laptop was in that bag together with other fragile items.
He came back carrying another bag and an orange jacket and deliberately hit the side of my face as he went passed. This was no accident. I then got out a pen and paper and asked for his name. He grabbed his badge, held it up and shouted “Yes! It’s Steve?” It was as if he didn’t care less if I complained about him. He then had to give the safety talk because I was in an emergency exit. He rattled off the safety dialogue so fast that I could barely understand it. He then asked the passengers if we understood. I reluctantly said yes. Then he looked at me and abruptly said “Are you willing to assist sir?” I told him I had already said yes. He raised his eyes and left me feeling so embarrassed and upset I forgot to put my seatbelt on for take off. I noticed there was a camera above the door to the cockpit. If you play back the footage you will see I did not have my belt buckled. Steve was in such a bad mood I think he missed the fact I did not have my seat belt done up. I have never forgotten to do this in all the years I have been flying, but then again I have never been treated so badly by a flight attendant in this fashion.
I heard him complaining about me to the other staff from behind the orange curtain. The other crew were aware of the situation but they were very professional, especially Traci who came to me and said “Is that your LV down the back?” I said yes and she then proceeded to get my bag and placed it in a compartment at the front. She did this without a problem and was very polite and friendly. She had no problem lifting my bag unlike Steve.
When disembarking I said to him “I find your manners very ugly” to which he responded “Yeah, and so are you!” then stuck his finger up.
It would appear to me that Steve believes he is immune to complaints. However, I feel this is extremely serious. This person should not be attending to passengers with such an aggressive manner. He was obviously in a very bad mood before I got on to the plane.
As a Qantas Chairman’s Lounge member I am used to outstanding service, courtesy and manners from the staff. Your TV commercials portray Jet Star as a friendly airline? Unfortunately Qantas no longer fly the Sydney route from Gold Coast and the only option is to fly Jet Star or Virgin. Radio broadcaster Ray Hadley often complains about Jet Star and said he will only ever fly Virgin to the Gold Coast. Now I know why. I have a very good mind to call him up on air and share my unfortunate experience with he and the listeners.
Low fares are just part of the story….but the other part on this occasion is most unpleasant. When doing a Google search, I note there are dozens of unflattering comments from passengers. The general consensus is that JetStar don’t care about passenger complaints and treat them with contempt. I truly hope my complaint will be dealt with in a proper fashion. At the very least I think JetStar should provide me with a refund as I refuse to be subjected to such inept and rude behaviour.