Article Contributed on: 8/15/2009 8:51:53 PM
The expression has been around for as long as I can recall: you can never really know how someone feels until you have walked a mile in their shoes. It is a trite saying, of course, but it is oh, so valid.
I work in Customer Relations for Frontier Airlines which means I talk with passengers after their travel is completed. I don't get to share warm and fuzzy conversations with them about their upcoming trips to sandy beaches or family reunions; instead, I discuss why their flights were delayed or canceled or why they ended up getting bumped from their preferred aisle seat to a middle seat. In other words, I talk to people who are frustrated and, sometimes, angry. Often I talk to people who have only heard no and my job is to tell them yes or give them a a bit of hope.
And I am happy to do so. I love my job. I enjoy talking to people and coming to a resolution, when I can. More times than not, I can help them. They don't always get what they are requesting, but they get to vent which is often the only thing they truly want.
Recently my best friend, Melissa and I, took a whirlwhind trip to Orange County, California. I had purchased tickets to a Beyonce concert and also to a Yankees/Angels baseball game. We could not wait!
As I always am before a trip, I was nervous. Knowing we were on the last flight from Denver to Orange County (where there is an 11 pm curfew for incoming flights) during a Denver summer that had seen nothing but violent storms, I had good reason to be. But after we boarded the flight, with seatbelts fastened, I figured we were on our way. Or not.
A storm passed through Denver, lasting just long enough to cancel our flight. Happily for Frontier, but sadly for us, all flights that night were booked solid, as were all flights the following day. And we HAD to get there early the next day if we were going to attend our events.
Frantically walking from one gate to the next, then from one ticket counter to the next, did no good. There were no tickets to be had on any airline that late at night. So we went back to my house, exhausted and disheartened. As Melissa poured tequila, I went into travel mode, booking us two one-way tickets on another airline for early the next morning. $500 dollars and a restless night of sleep later, we were on our way.
We ended up having a great, albeit exhausting trip, for which I am thankful. I have no regrets about spending the extra money nor would I think twice about doing it again.
What I DO think twice about is how I treat passengers when they call in about a flight that has been delayed or canceled due to weather, which is always out of an airline's control. Before I give a pat answer of "that is not Frontier's fault so you therefore can receive no compensation," I think twice. Sometimes I have to take a deep breath and remember...
I remember what it feels like to trapse around a lonely airport, late at night, desperate for a glimmer of hope, yet finding none. I remember what it is like to try to hold it together when it seems like all dream travel plans are unraveling and all you can do is watch. And I remember what it is like to shell out money that was not budgeted for unexpected travel expenses.
Remembering these things have humbled me and hopefully made me a better Customer Relations Specialist. But, more importantly, I hope they have made me a better person.