The Traveling Circus: Dealing with selfish travelers
I’m sitting in a hotel in Virginia Beach. I have two programs tomorrow at the American Bus Association Marketplace and Educational Retreat. One on Customer Service and one on the new Asian Tourism influx.
Amazing how many examples I find for my speeches while on the road.
I’ve decided I hate traveling with amateurs. Or maybe it’s not the amateurs but the “I’m the only one on this plane” types.
This has been a “weather day.” Nasty storms in parts of the country caused havoc all over the US. It’s like the traffic in Hawaii. An accident on the Windward side of the island screws up traffic for the whole day all over that island.
On both my flights today, there were people who’d been bumped off canceled flights and were stuffed into center seats on ours.
One woman was carrying on as though God himself had woken up this morning and declared, “Today is my day to irk the hell out of that woman with the pink purse.” You would think she was the only one who had been bumped. She had perfectly coiffed gray hair, a little pink quilted bag, was dressed in a “traveling suit”, and had enough carryon bags for all of us. When they told her she’d have to gate check some of it, she went whacko. Where is TSA when we need them?
Then, she got on the plane and committed the ultimate boarding sin: She put her bags in the overhead bins as she went down the aisle to her seat near the back of the plane. She was, after all, the ONLY person on this fully booked flight.
Then the fun began. The flight attendant (bless her little heart) took a few of the bags out of the bins up front and said she would have to gate check them, since others would also need the bin. We were watching the action like little kids on the playground eyeing a brave teacher taking on the school bully.
The flight attendant was a substantial presence. She stared down Miss Priss, and won. I secretly wanted to hand the Flight Attendant a fake name tag, just to keep her out of harms way. (You know NO ONE ever wins against selfish people. They’ll rationalize it somehow and file a complaint or make noise about it for years.)
What I don’t understand is how so many people don’t know how to GET good service. When you act like an ass, people don’t get nicer to you. They might expedite things to get you out of their hair. But if a situation arose where they could suddenly do something wonderful for you, they won’t. That’s not bad customer service, it’s just human nature.
And travel is hard on everyone. We’re all tired. We’re all a little stressed going through the take-off-your-shoes-coat-laptop routine. The seats on most planes aren’t comfortable. This is flu (and apparently crying baby) season. Give it a rest.
I got here and realized I had not brought my hotel info. So there I was in the airport calling around to a half dozen hotels, “Do you have me booked there?” I finally found the right hotel, took a cab, and was promptly dropped off at the wrong hotel.
I know better than to take it out on the hapless front desk clerk. I just laughed and asked what he suggested. On the way in I had passed Rachel, the Marriott Courtyard South’s Assistant General Manager. She was on her way home. The front desk clerk called her and asked her to circle back by the hotel. She would drop me off at their sister hotel – Courtyard North (the right one.)
We had a great conversation on the way to the next hotel. She didn’t know me, wasn’t going to have me in her hotel, and didn’t realize I was speaking on Customer Service the next day. I’ll definitely bring her up tomorrow, and probably for years to come. She went out of her way. It didn’t hurt that I was pleasant enough about the mixup that she wanted to help. I’m not bragging, anyone can just take a deep breath and be respectful towards the people from whom you want help.
It pays to be gracious about the bumps and grinds of travel. I always assume there might be someone on my flight who will be in my seminar when I get to my destination. That’s enough motivation for me to keep any snarky comments or momentary lapses to myself.
Safe travels.
…and leave those bins alone till you get to your own seat!
Beth
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Beth Terry, CSP is a Professional Speaker who frequently trains corporations on customer service issues.
© 2008 Beth Terry Seminars, Inc. All International rights reserved.
Hi Ron and Jeanie – thanks for your notes. Yep, we’ve probably all been that woman on the plane. Some days we just don’t track well. We only know the world from our little filter – so crankiness at some point is probably a given. I just don’t want it aimed at me!
Had a wonderful flight back. I was hungry and decided to follow the flight attendants and the pilots to see where THEY ate. Right choice! Great down time at the Charlotte Airport. Smooth flight home. Sometimes travel is great!
All the best to you both in your snowy climes. Keep warm!
Beth
So true! This applies to every aspect of our lives. We influence our day totally by the way we wake up and start the day. Me – I’m fine until I start to drive to work (Spokane, Washington) and now that the record breaking snow has in spurts been plowed away, it’s a different sort of drive to avoid the THOUSANDS of “Level 3″ potholes. I get cranky and silently cuss out everyone in the road and I was particularly annoyed by the driver right in front of me who seemed to be going everywhere I was going, right to my office – turned out to be one of my bosses. So, I am hugely grateful that I didn’t do something totally embarrassing. Smiled at him in the elevator like this was going to be a great day! {whew} And, yes, my day was great! Attitude is everything!
Good way to bring out a point, yet with some humor sprinkled in to bring a smile and small laugh in this quiet office only filled with me and the “cat.”
Have a more pleasant flight home!
Ron