A Smile Goes a Long Way (at least from Austin to Gunnison)
I’m taking a one posting break from garage sale musings to ask a question: if airlines are in the customer service business then why do they put their worst employees who are the least attuned to customer service in an area where mastery of customer service is most essential? I’m talking about lost luggage reclamation. I discovered this last week when my lovely wife’s bag left Austin, Texas bound for Gunnison, Colorado, but was waylaid for several days in Denver. My wife made it, thankfully, but the bag didn’t. Word to the wise, two carry-on bags are allowed…I will pack shorts and g-string underwear even if I am planning on going polar ice fishing in the Arctic just so I can carry on my bags.
As we pursued her bag with the doggedness of a polar bear out of hibernation, I was amazed that an area of "service" where customers who end up in line are frustrated to near postal proportions is staffed with people who offer the same level of customer service as the warden at the state penitentiary. On board, friendly, attractive stewards and stewardesses (sorry, flight attendants) pass out mini pretzels and lukewarm beverages with a smile during a time when all I want to do is be left alone to read or sleep. Meanwhile, as I deplane to find that my bag is AWOL in some bizarre location, I have to go to some obscure part of the airport and get in line at the reclamation counter. There, I am greeted by the same “leave me alone” attitude that one might find at the all night 7-11 at 2 AM. Would it not be prudent to put your a-one, top of the line customer service reps in a place where a friendly smile and a kind word would go a long way toward solving the problem?
An aside: is someone down in the baggage sorting area sticking bags on planes going to Timbuktu for a sick joke? The bag tag says “GUN, CO”…how hard is it to get it to Gunnison, Colorado? Unless you just got fired from the coveted reclamation counter position.
I guess the moral of the story is: a smile goes a long way. It’s something we should keep in mind as we make our way throughout our own lives. Well that and, g-string underwear can be folded into a 1 inch by 1 inch by 1 inch square and can double as fishing line for your polar ice fishing trips. Catch you later.
posted by Steve @ 10:18 PM
5 Comments:
LOL. steve, yous crazy. you speak a lot of truth, though. have a good day.
Well, Steve, the obvious lesson is to take a bus next time. No bus attendants to feed you pretzels or ask you to move your elbow because they're trying to squeeze through the aisle. You'll be able to load and unload your luggage yourself. Voila - you may entirely avoid customer service problems. Plus, you won't have to turn your cell phone or blackberry off. Regards. D.
I love to fly- it's so cool.
I hate airlines- they're so stupid.
They're about as accurate as the ever-efficient United States Postal Service.
By the way, you've got a very ugly suitcase. Nothing personal, of course - you probably got it as a wedding present. But I'll bet someone took a look at it, figured that it had plagued the airlines long enough and deliberately sent it to suitcase hell. I guess that's also where they send the surliest employees.
Your bedspread looks like it has some nasty stains, too. I'd say that it's time to turn it into some drapes for the guest bedroom. Or perhaps into a couple of a new G-strings. Best. D.
Mr. Moffitt:
You are obviously a man with a rare Hydroglide transmission between the right and left sides of your brain! Have you considered sending your musings into a newspaper? As far as you in a G-string, I'm way not prepared to go there!
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