Yesterday, coming into SYD, the pilots turned on the seat belt sign. Whilst the pilots and the CSM said over the PA that all pax and crew should now be seated, it was a good couple of minutes before the FA in my area was actually seated, and I noticed that they all finally sat down probably 15 seconds before we actually hit turbulence.
When a pilot turns on the seat belt sign, is it deliberately done early enough so that FA's can secure things before turbulence hits? If so is there some method that the pilot (eg some keyword in the message over the PA) which the pilot can say "sit down now, we really mean it".
I've noticed this on other flights as well, that FA's are usually always seated when we hit turbulence, but are not always the fastest in actually sitting down when the seat belt sign comes on.
Or is this a question more appropriate for the "Ask the FA" thread?