轉換跑道 Career Change｜謝謝你們 Thank you （雙語寫作）

她來到商務艙櫃檯，沒有笑容簡潔的說一句：「Hi!」利落的遞給我她的護照和機票，熟稔的把輕便的行李附上櫃檯旁的輸送帶。

Marten Bjork on Unsplash

故事要繼續寫下去之前，我需要先說明：在南非，不知道為什麼公共服務場所的電腦很常當機。有一點幽默感的人就會說，我們終究是在第三世界國家（生活基本條件還不夠高端的意思啦！）。

今天的電腦系統如老牛拖車。我面前的她，在一分一秒逐漸消逝下，慢慢聚集起早有痕跡的眉間。

「很抱歉，今天電腦速度很慢。」我咽了下口水，勉強擠出笑容說。

她眼神冷淡，沉默以對。

花了比平常多一倍時間處理完她的登機手續後，她快步離開，縱使還有大把時間才需登機口。

一個多月後，主管冷眼對我說：「有商務艙旅客投訴妳!」：

時間：一個多月前

原由：該地勤在處理這位商務艙旅客登機手續時，跟她說當天的電腦系統很慢、有問題。

這是我第一次被投訴，手腳突然降溫，腦袋直接跳針到開始想接下來去哪裡找工作。

事隔多星期的當下，我努力回想。

想起來後，心裡只有一個問題：所以呢？

地勤人員只要被投訴就要寫報告，於是報告我寫：

被旅客投訴當天事發原由：我在處理這位商務艙旅客登機手續時，跟她說當天的電腦系統很慢、有問題。

報告被接收了，也沒了後續！

我真實不明白，她生活在電腦當機如吃飯的南非，客訴如此稀鬆平常之小事，是想達成什麼目的？又或她認為她冠冕堂皇的客訴可以改變什麼？

在收到很多諸如此類很沒意義的客訴後，不禁讓我開始反思問自己，工作的趣味在哪裡？

我才明白，原來服務業工作者對工作的樂趣就是被毫無意義的客訴消磨殆盡的。

正站在我登機服務櫃檯前的是一位臉上很乾淨的白人先生。地勤工作做了一段時間，意外學會一眼認出剛辦完婚禮，要去渡蜜月的新婚先生。

他們的髮型總是完美到無可挑剔，整潔立挺到能讓就算長相平凡的他增添一點點帥氣。鬍渣刮得乾淨到如青春期還未降臨前的模樣，臉上粉嫩的肌膚不知道怎麼特別請人保養的，光滑到好像一洗完臉就馬上走到我的櫃檯前。

我的猜測總會在他們開口說出特殊要求時得到證實，他們總會想多做點額外要求來讓他的新婚妻子更開心些。

今天這位新婚先生的要求是：可不可以給我們安排好一點、舒適一點的位置。

在很少人會事先劃位的那個年代，只要旅客早一點來辦登機手續，地勤通常都能幫忙劃到好位置。

對高大的白人來說，他們定義中的好位置就是前面空空沒有座椅、位於救生門旁那一排。

但這位先生中等身高，而他來的時間不早了，我就劃了兩個旁邊還空著的位置，想給他們多一點私人空間。手續都辦好後，他開心的、很有禮貌的道謝離開。

今天剛好在登機門我也有任務執行，結束櫃檯的工作去到登機門時，有一位空姐跑來跟我抱怨：「有一位新婚先生在抱怨地勤人員給他們劃了個爛位子，他要求我幫他們換，可是今天飛機坐滿滿根本沒辦法。」

我的腦袋裡「轟」的一聲！

才明白剛剛腦袋起霧，不知道怎麼沒發現那個旁邊沒什麼人的位置就是機上超級大爛位-全機上最後一排的位子-椅背無法傾斜，又最靠近引擎，噪音最大聲。

我手腳發麻，束手無策，只能默默在心裡很愧疚得跟那對新婚夫婦說上一千、一萬個抱歉。蜜月之旅的啟程就遇上一位白痴地勤是有多倒楣呀！

下次，你要是倒楣遇到像我這種腦袋起霧的服務人員，與其對她大聲怒吼，不如輕聲同情的提醒她：「我認為這個工作一點都不適合妳。」

點醒她可以開始反思去尋找正確的人生方向，停止在不適合她的職責上殘害社會大眾。

地勤人員在每班飛機抵達或飛離前都要集合開會，由主管告知即將服務的班機旅客有哪些特殊情況。今天有兩團為數不少的旅行團擠滿了這班班機，讓我們大拉警報，意味著每個處理登機手續的地勤手腦要快、快、快。

還好，今天的同事裡有兩大好手。

據說他們兩個認真處理起登機手續來，一個人可以解決四分之一班機的旅客，所以主管交代特別隔出兩個櫃檯，旅行團一到就帶到那兩人的櫃檯前。

整組地勤繃緊神經在兩、三個小時內把滿滿一飛機的旅客打包上機。我勉勉強強在櫃檯服務了三十幾位旅客，已近乎虛脫。

回到公司的辦公室，聽到兩位神同事在炫耀他們今天的紀錄：

兩個人都各自替六十多位旅客辦了登機。

沒比較時，我得過且過一天，一比較後...

捫心自問，我一個大學畢業生怎麼工作成效不如他們僅是高中畢業的背景？我有什麼問題呀？

因為南非的官方語言之一是英文，所以只要高中畢業，英文溝通能力基本上毫無問題。以致南非機場地勤工作人員的學歷最高要求只需高中畢業，單有英文單一語言能力就足以應對來自世界各國的旅客。在基礎教育尚做得稀稀落落的國家，能高中畢業已屬難得。

所以我在機場工作期間，除了兩位為了拿員工特價機票而去打工的醫學系學生，我沒有遇過與我同樣擁有大學文憑的同事，甚至主管或主管的主管都無大學文憑。

我因此自卑了好長一段時間-有比他們高的學歷，工作能力卻沒有比他們強。

好久以後我才明白，我並不適合短時間、高壓、高速、機械式的勞動工作。

需要事前深層深思熟慮，計畫周詳，工作環境允許我仔細觀察、檢討成效，才是我最能發揮才能的職務。

一個工作帶來的挫折，並不代表我這個人一輩子註定失敗。

最後來一個小彩蛋：

南非的著名脫口秀主持人、喜劇演員、作家，崔佛·諾亞（Trevor Noah），有一段在南非表演的段子，非常寫實的呈現南非機場地勤的工作水準和態度。（影片有英文字幕）

💕感謝閱讀! 若你能感受到我字字刻劃的用心，請按「愛心」鼓勵，也歡迎「收藏」，更希望你留下隻字片語，與我互通有無！

She approached the business class counter, her expression devoid of a smile, and said a brief "Hi!" with crisp efficiency. Handing me her passport and ticket, she effortlessly placed her light luggage onto the conveyor belt beside the counter, as if it were second nature.

Before continuing with the story, I need to clarify something: in South Africa, for reasons unknown, computers in public service areas often crash. Those with a bit of humor might say, "After all, we're living in a third-world country"—meaning the basic conditions of life aren't exactly high-end.

Today, the computer system was crawling like a tortoise. The woman in front of me, as the seconds ticked by, slowly gathered tension between her brows, a hint of furrow already evident.

"I'm sorry, the system is really slow today," I swallowed hard and forced out a smile as I spoke.

Her eyes remained cold, and she responded with silence.

It took me twice as long as usual to complete her check-in, and as soon as I handed her the boarding pass, she briskly walked away, even though she still had plenty of time before she needed to be at the gate.

A little over a month later, my supervisor gave me a cold look and said, "A business class passenger filed a complaint against you."

The time: a month ago.

The reason: when the check-in agent was processing her check-in, she mentioned that the computer system was slow and having issues that day.

It was my first complaint, which made my hands and feet suddenly turned cold. My mind immediately jumped to thinking about where I’d go to find my next job. Trying to recall the details after all those weeks, I could only come up with one question: So?

As ground staff, anytime we receive a complaint, we have to write a report. So, I wrote:

On the day in question, the passenger lodged a complaint because I informed her that the computer system was slow and having issue that day.

The report was accepted, and that was the end of it!

I genuinely couldn't understand—she lived in South Africa, where it is very common computer crashes. What did she hope to achieve by filing such a trivial complaint? Or did she think her grand complaint would change something?

After receiving many similarly meaningless complaints, I couldn’t help but start questioning myself: Where’s the joy in this job?

And then I realized—the true "joy" of working in customer service is slowly worn away by utterly meaningless complaints.

Standing in front of my boarding service counter was a clean-cut white gentleman. After working as check-in agent for a while, I’d unexpectedly gained the ability to spot newlyweds men about to head off on his honeymoon at a glance.

Their hair always looks impeccably styled, and their neat, sharp attire can make even an ordinary-looking man appear a bit more handsome. Their stubble is shaved so smooth which resembles a pre-adolescent's skin, and their rosy complexion is so well-maintained that it’s as if they walked straight from a facial treatment to my counter.

My hunch is usually confirmed when they make special requests. These grooms like to ask for something extra to make their new bride even happier.

Today's groom's request was: Could you arrange for us to have better, more comfortable seats?

Back in the days, when few people selected seats in advance, as long as passengers arrived early to check in, the check-in agent could usually help them get good seats.

For tall white men, their idea of a good seat was the row by the emergency exit with no seats in front of them. But this gentleman was of average height, and since he hadn't arrived early, I assigned him two seats with empty ones beside them, hoping to give them a bit more privacy. Once everything was done, he happily and politely thanked me and left.

I also had a task at the boarding gate today. After finishing my work at the counter and heading over to the gate, a flight attendant rushed over to complain: “There’s a newlywed gentleman complaining that a check-in agent gave them terrible seats. He asked me to change their seats, but today the flight is fully booked, so there’s no way.”

My mind exploded with a “boom”!

I suddenly realized, through my foggy brain, that I had somehow missed the fact that those supposedly empty seats I assigned were actually the worst seats on the plane—the very last row, where the seats don’t recline, right next to the engine, with the loudest noise.

I felt numb, utterly helpless, and could only silently apologize a ten thousand times in my heart to that newlywed couple. How unlucky could they be to have their honeymoon journey begin with an idiot agent like me?

Next time, if you’re unlucky enough to encounter a staff of a service industry whose mind is foggy like mine, instead of angrily yelling at her, try gently suggesting: “I think this job might not be the right fit for you.”

It might wake her up, prompting her to reflect and start seeking the right path in life, and stop causing harm to the public with duties that don’t suit her.

Before each flight arrives or departs, the ground crew gathers for a meeting where the supervisor informs them of any special circumstances regarding the passengers they will be serving. Today, two large tour groups have filled this flight, putting us all on high alert. It means every agent handling check-in must move quickly—think fast, act fast.

Fortunately, two of our top performers are on duty today.

Rumor has it that when these two get serious, one person can handle a quarter of the plane's passengers by themselves. So, the supervisor specifically set aside two counters, and as soon as the tour groups arrived, they were directed to those two counters.

The entire ground staff was on edge, working to pack a full flight's worth of passengers onto the plane in just two to three hours. I barely managed to serve thirty-something passengers at my counter and was already on the verge of collapse.

Back at the office, I overheard those two stellar colleagues boasting about their records for the day:

each had processed boarding for over sixty passengers.

Without comparison, I could get through the day with ignorance. But now...

I asked myself, with a college degree, why is my work performance not as effective as theirs, even though they are high school graduate? What is wrong with me?

Since English is one of South Africa's official languages, as long as you have a high school diploma, communication in English is generally not an issue. This is why the highest educational requirement for ground staff at South African airports is merely a high school diploma. Proficiency in English alone is sufficient to handle passengers from all over the world. In a country where basic education is still patchy, graduating from high school is already an achievement.

During my time working at the airport, apart from two medical students who took the job to get employee discounts on airfare, I never encountered colleagues with the same university degree as mine. In fact, neither my supervisor nor their supervisor had an university degree.

Because of this, I felt inferior for a long time—I had a higher education but wasn’t performing better than them.

It took me a while to realize that I’m simply not suited for work that requires short bursts of high-pressure, high-speed, mechanical labor.

The roles where I can truly excel involve deep, thoughtful planning, careful consideration in advance, and a work environment that allows me to observe, evaluate, and refine outcomes.

One job's frustrations don’t define me as a person doomed to fail in life.

And here's a little bonus:

Trevor Noah, South Africa’s famous talk show host, comedian, and writer, has a stand-up routine performed in South Africa that very realistically portrays the working standards and attitudes of ground staff at South African airports. (The video has English subtitles.)