Amazing response
Waiting for a service person is so maddening. You really can’t do anything, as you said, anything that would not let you hear the phone or get run a quick errand. This story in two phases is 180 degrees from that:
This morning at my volunteer job one man (Don) had been out of town for two weeks and returned with a report on two trips during that time. When he and his wife got to the airport in Mineapolis to come home he said they checked their bags and went to get something to eat. He said he’s always one of those people who allows plenty of time to catch a plane. When they went back to the boarding area well ahead of the schedule time they found the door was closed and they weren’t taking any more passengers. It was Northwest Airlines. They told him that unfortunately the total weight for that flight had been reached and they couldn’t accommodate all those who had reservations. Cut to the chase, they told him it was their fault, they cut him a check for $700 on the spot! (not a voucher or credit) put them on a flight leaving in 5 hours and gave him $50 for dinner. When they got back to Houston he couldn’t find his car keys so took a taxi home. His wife discovered she had left her book bag in the taxi. He didn’t know which taxi–only that it wasn’t a yellow cab. The next day he went back to the airport and talked to the attendant and described the taxi. The attendant identified the cab company and dialed the number for him. The company checked and said they had the bag and the driver would deliver it to his home. The airport dispatcher later called to be sure they had delivered it. When the company said the driver would deliver the bag at no charge, Don said he’d be happy to pay the driver $20 for his trouble. The company said absolutely not–it was the driver’s fault–he should have checked to be sure nothing was left in the cab! That so much concern and attention to making the customer happy evidenced by two different entities struck everyone as amazing is both wonderful and sad–that it was so unusual. Obviously Northwest is trying to rehabilitate their image after so many problems.
Candace