I'm getting tired!

I then said “I really don’t want the can anymore, but I don’t appreciate you treating non-revenue passengers better than 1K’s and breaking policies for them in front of me.”

Wow - that strikes me as really petty. Why would you care about this? It's only a drink.... If you object to the no-can/two-cup policy, why not take it up with UA management, rather than with the FA?

You are right, it was petty, which is why I'm not reporting it to WHQ (which the FA clearly feared by the way she acted, so I'm guessing it would be taken more seriously than I might have thought). The issue here isn't the can, it's consistency. United's single biggest flaw, in my opinion, is lack of consistency. I had the best flight attendant I've ever had on my SFO-EWR redeye a few nights back, and as I told her, "If every flight attendant had the same amazing attitude as you there'd be no reason to fly Singapore Airlines anymore," which, while an exaggeration, gets at the point.

Then I've had absolutely awful service some days. In international business I've witnessed an FA giving meal priority to an NRSA (non-revenue, space available) passenger over a 1K (fortunately not me).

I was also once on Ted in 11C and there was a uniformed FA in the window seat, 11A. The working FA asks the FA in 11A "Well let me know if there's anything I can get you, do you want a pre-departure drink?" Saying this right in front of me was rude as well, in my opinion.

While a meal choice, a drink, etc., might be relatively minor, it's the overall mentality that I have a problem with. Some employees really see nothing wrong with treating their friends (who happen to be flying for next to nothing, compared to a full fare business passenger, for example) better than their "real" customers right in front of them. I have no problem with FA's treating employees better in terms of talking to them, etc., but as soon as it takes away from the experience of a revenue passenger there's a problem.

So it's not about the can, it's about the overall mentality of "I'll take care of my friends and screw the customers."

Sure, but my point is that the FA in question wasn't "screw[ing] the customer", as you put it. You were not left worse off by the minor favor that she extended to her colleague.

It would be different if this kind of behavior was done to the detriment of the attention paid to another (paying) passenger -- i.e., if the FA offered the can to her colleague but then declined to serve you a drink or respond to a service call from your seat. But in the absence of that, I just don't see how it "takes away from the experience of a revenue passenger".

Great meeting you at the gate at LAX.

Trying to plan MR with my 3 year old so that maybe my wife will view it as something of a break...

Greg

Good call on pointing that out to the FA. Although it didn't affect you, I'm with you on the consistency.

Plus, the two cups over 1 can is quite a bit of waste.