Take a good look at the pilots. Do you ever see them running through the airport? Do they ever scramble up to the ticket counter or jetway? Or rush to get on the plane? Well, ok, maybe a commuter pilot or two...but I'm talking about on an average day at the airport.

People who are rushed are either taken advantage of, or worse, simply not taken seriously. I can provide countless examples of flight attendants scrambling through airports after briefings to catch outbound flights because, for example, someone in some cubicle somewhere didn't realize that Airport X takes forever to get from the briefing room to Gate Y.

That's just too bad for them. Don't rush folks, it's not your problem.

At the same time, make sure you schedule your own time properly and take outside factors into account (like airport traffic or sloooow hotel elevator waits-from-hell) so that you aren't rushed for any reason.

There's a great expression out there:

'A crew scheduling oversight on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.'

Memorize that expression and live by it.

• Don't rush to get up because drinks need to be poured and there's been 30 minutes of time-wasting turbulence. This is how accidents happen. People thirsty? Too bad...they should have taken care of that at the airport instead of playing Angry Birds at the gate.  Take your time, be careful, and watch your backs moving those carts around.
• Don't rush to Gate 31A because The Brand New Super-Scheduler says this is your next assignment and you 'had better hurry' over there. Never 'had better hurry' anywhere.  Ever.  Walk professionally. Walk normally. Walk like you're important, because you are.
• Don't rush your safety checks and scramble to stow your luggage because they need to board RIGHT NOW. Yeah, you will most likely annoy a person or two. Oh well, too bad.

Don't rush anywhere, anyplace, or anytime while in uniform. If all flight attendants lived by this rule, respect would increase tenfold.  No, it won't solve pay, contract, and hotel issues, but it's a step in the right direction for overall quality of life and how people treat you.

However...

Don't purposely go slow either, as that's just dumb and will only make you look stupid. Just always take things at a nice, even, professional pace---and this will cause others around you to mold their behavior around your professionalism.  You teach people how to treat you.  Repeat: You teach people how to treat you.

Never hurry. Ever.

Well, maybe not ever. If you are involved in an aircraft ditching and need to evacuate, well, o.k., fine...then you have my permission to rush like a bat out of hell in uniform.

Again, take a good look at the pilots.  Better yet, take a look at how other people look at the pilots.

Enough said.