thezoolityre
New member
Hey folks, I have got a problem on my hands that is infesting my flight school and has caused some people to leave the FBO entirely. I need some advice before this gets too far out of hand that the customers or even the employees will have no say and they are powerless and miserable...
The problem is a person who has worked as a secretary for many years as the FBO's name has changed but the same problem still remains... And now, more than ever, she is trying to take over and this could mean FBO self-destruction
1)She is power hungry, this women has, behind our owner's back, lied to our linesmen, mechanics, and Flight Instructors about how she is in control of pretty much everything. She has told CFI's (who are operating as PIC and have the final say for a flight '91.7') that they aren't allowed to go simply because "she feels like nothing will get done on the flight". She has gone over our owner and Chief Pilot too many times to count on my fingers about what should and should not be going on at the flight school, and has insinuated that she doesn't care what the FAR's say, you aren't going because she doesn't want you to go.
2) She knows NOTHING about Aviation. No kidding, if you saw and talked to this women, you would not have one clue that she even knows what an airplane looks like.
And I wouldn't have a problem with that, except (which is the next issue) she is very nosy, and this one day a student came up and asked chris (A commercial certificated instrument rated pilot at the desk) what the suffix for our Garmin G1000 equipped Cessna 182 turbocharged was for IFR flight (which is T182T/G), but this idiot interrupts the conversation between two FAA certificated pilots (A women with ZERO flight time and ZERO aviation certificates) and yells at Chris saying "NO!! If you don't know the right answer don't tell him the wrong one, this is why students should be going to CFI's not other students..." and looks over to the student and says it is a "T"... Now I am assuming she meant the "T" in T182T, but that could have caused some serious issues
Why? well, in case some of you are not instrument rated, we use suffixes for airplanes to inform ATC of the operating instrumentation capabilities of the aircraft during IFR flight, so if you put down a Suffix for the flight plan that says you don't have DME, they will most likely vector you on the approach to the higher MDA for safety. But what this women did was nose her way in to a conversation, insult a commercial pilot, and then proceeded to give a new IFR student false information. A G1000 has all the bells and whistles, its got NEXRAD, TCAS, DME, Terrain clearences, etc. But a "T" suffix means NO DME, NO GPS and NO TRANSPONDER!! Pretty much the lowest you can get on the instrumentation suffix list...
3) she is nosy not only is she nosy, but horribly deceptive, the one time our chief pilot got angry at her for her asking questions about why he went up with a student, she called the owner and said they the chief was performing dangerous tasks in the airplane with his students, and treating his students more like "buds" than students. Which is not true AT ALL. I am not a huge fan of my chief, but I know first hand he is buds with his fellow flight instructors but that is it, when it comes down to the student he is personable (asking how they are doing, how was there weekend, you know... Normal HUMAN INTERACTION) but professional and she now has lied to the owner so much about my chief, that the owner will now no longer even say hello to him...
Also, Our head mechanic has not one nice thing to say about her (which I cannot disagree on) And she knows this, so anytime the student has a question about the airplanes powerplant or a strange A&P question, the desk guy says "oh goes ask our A&P" and she interrupts and says "No! You don't disturb our A&P! Besides he has nothing good to say, if you have any questions just ask one of the CFI's....or me??!!"
This has gone on long enough at this school and need some advice. So I have two major questions, one: can a secretary be a manager of an FBO AT ALL, and if so what legal experience does she need (keep in mind, she has no college education or prior management experience) to be one. And two, what can I do here?? I am one, frustrated how she yells at me, a customer, and students just for asking for the book before filling out a flight plan for practice area, VFR flights. Or, for talking to the guy at the desk while we wait for our flight instructor (after the airplane is pre-flighted and it is freezing out), even though there is no one behind me waiting to be serviced.
I was really looking forward to getting a job there, it is a convenient place for me to work and i really enjoy the airport environment, but only when she isn't there (and I speak for a lot of others at this FBO!), What can I do?? I have a lot of people saying they will never come back to this FBO until she is gone, and that is a clear sign of lack of customer service, overall disrespect, oh ya, and the owner is losing money!! The one thing you, as an employee are out to help make!!
Any answers or suggestions or even legal advice would be of really great help right about now...
Thanks so much guys!
The problem is a person who has worked as a secretary for many years as the FBO's name has changed but the same problem still remains... And now, more than ever, she is trying to take over and this could mean FBO self-destruction
1)She is power hungry, this women has, behind our owner's back, lied to our linesmen, mechanics, and Flight Instructors about how she is in control of pretty much everything. She has told CFI's (who are operating as PIC and have the final say for a flight '91.7') that they aren't allowed to go simply because "she feels like nothing will get done on the flight". She has gone over our owner and Chief Pilot too many times to count on my fingers about what should and should not be going on at the flight school, and has insinuated that she doesn't care what the FAR's say, you aren't going because she doesn't want you to go.
2) She knows NOTHING about Aviation. No kidding, if you saw and talked to this women, you would not have one clue that she even knows what an airplane looks like.
And I wouldn't have a problem with that, except (which is the next issue) she is very nosy, and this one day a student came up and asked chris (A commercial certificated instrument rated pilot at the desk) what the suffix for our Garmin G1000 equipped Cessna 182 turbocharged was for IFR flight (which is T182T/G), but this idiot interrupts the conversation between two FAA certificated pilots (A women with ZERO flight time and ZERO aviation certificates) and yells at Chris saying "NO!! If you don't know the right answer don't tell him the wrong one, this is why students should be going to CFI's not other students..." and looks over to the student and says it is a "T"... Now I am assuming she meant the "T" in T182T, but that could have caused some serious issues
Why? well, in case some of you are not instrument rated, we use suffixes for airplanes to inform ATC of the operating instrumentation capabilities of the aircraft during IFR flight, so if you put down a Suffix for the flight plan that says you don't have DME, they will most likely vector you on the approach to the higher MDA for safety. But what this women did was nose her way in to a conversation, insult a commercial pilot, and then proceeded to give a new IFR student false information. A G1000 has all the bells and whistles, its got NEXRAD, TCAS, DME, Terrain clearences, etc. But a "T" suffix means NO DME, NO GPS and NO TRANSPONDER!! Pretty much the lowest you can get on the instrumentation suffix list...
3) she is nosy not only is she nosy, but horribly deceptive, the one time our chief pilot got angry at her for her asking questions about why he went up with a student, she called the owner and said they the chief was performing dangerous tasks in the airplane with his students, and treating his students more like "buds" than students. Which is not true AT ALL. I am not a huge fan of my chief, but I know first hand he is buds with his fellow flight instructors but that is it, when it comes down to the student he is personable (asking how they are doing, how was there weekend, you know... Normal HUMAN INTERACTION) but professional and she now has lied to the owner so much about my chief, that the owner will now no longer even say hello to him...
Also, Our head mechanic has not one nice thing to say about her (which I cannot disagree on) And she knows this, so anytime the student has a question about the airplanes powerplant or a strange A&P question, the desk guy says "oh goes ask our A&P" and she interrupts and says "No! You don't disturb our A&P! Besides he has nothing good to say, if you have any questions just ask one of the CFI's....or me??!!"
This has gone on long enough at this school and need some advice. So I have two major questions, one: can a secretary be a manager of an FBO AT ALL, and if so what legal experience does she need (keep in mind, she has no college education or prior management experience) to be one. And two, what can I do here?? I am one, frustrated how she yells at me, a customer, and students just for asking for the book before filling out a flight plan for practice area, VFR flights. Or, for talking to the guy at the desk while we wait for our flight instructor (after the airplane is pre-flighted and it is freezing out), even though there is no one behind me waiting to be serviced.
I was really looking forward to getting a job there, it is a convenient place for me to work and i really enjoy the airport environment, but only when she isn't there (and I speak for a lot of others at this FBO!), What can I do?? I have a lot of people saying they will never come back to this FBO until she is gone, and that is a clear sign of lack of customer service, overall disrespect, oh ya, and the owner is losing money!! The one thing you, as an employee are out to help make!!
Any answers or suggestions or even legal advice would be of really great help right about now...
Thanks so much guys!