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Perseverance 101

Bossy is currently in Southern California — and no, it isn’t so she can do a Hollywood screen test, as a few members of Bossy’s council suggested. Although it’s like a Hollywood screen test, minus the screen, minus the test, and with the addition of wine.

bossy-friend

Originally Bossy’s flight itinerary included (insert boring details here regarding an extended layover in Atlanta), but then Bossy discovered (insert additional boring details here regarding an earlier flight out of Atlanta.)

The first thing Bossy did was call the airline to ask if she could change her layover itinerary in order to catch the earlier plane out of Atlanta. And this is the airline representative Bossy spoke with:

the-grim-reaper

The airline representative was all, “No problem switching to the earlier flight. All you need to pay is the equivalent of purchasing an apartment in Oslo.”

The representative did suggest that Bossy’s only feasible option was changing her itinerary on the day of travel, something Bossy could easily accomplish by speaking with one of the airline representatives situated at the airport check-in.

So on the day of her departure, Bossy located the airline check-in desk and patiently stood in the line twisting toward eternity, where patiently stood equals calculated the number of wasted minutes spent not drinking at the airport bar.

Finally Bossy made it to the front of the line and was assigned an airline representative, and here she is:

the-devil

And it was this airline representative who told Bossy she wasn’t able to change Bossy’s layover flight because she was only authorized to perform check-in duties. However, the check-in representative told Bossy the airline representatives located upstairs at the gate would be able to change Bossy’s ticket or, if necessary, place her on standby.

So Bossy proceeded to her plane’s departing gate and walked up to the airline representative situated behind that desk, and here she is:

witch-iambossy

“I don’t know who told you we could change your ticket at the gate,” the airline representative began. “Because that has to be done before check-in.” Bossy then described in detail all of the previous conversations held with the various airline representatives and all of the information they imparted — and that must have really worked because the airline representative at the departing gate looked at Bossy and said, “Nope.”

And worse. The airline representative at the gate told Bossy there was no way she was ever going to be able to change her Atlanta layover ticket, never ever ever with extra never. When Bossy asked if there was a chance she could get on the earlier flight if she went to the departure gate in the layover city, she was again told no. “That flight is booked and this airline hasn’t allowed standby in three years,” she added.

And with that piece of bad news, Bossy climbed aboard her originating flight as they call it in the business — the business you’ll be surprised to learn Bossy never ever ever with extra never wants to be in.

Two hours later when her plane landed in the layover city, Bossy decided to proceed to the earlier flight’s departure gate anyway, where Bossy planned to once again explain everything cry.

Bossy walked up to the desk and, bracing herself against the inevitable rejection, asked if she could be placed on that particular flight since it was leaving so much earlier than her itinerary flight and — and then a funny thing happened. “Of course,” said the airline representative in the layover city.

angel-airline

And thus happily ends this lesson in perseverance, even if Bossy couldn’t stop thinking it was some sort of mistake the airline would discover any minute, and therefore Bossy held her breath through the entire process of re-ticketing and passenger boarding — and just maybe Bossy is holding it still.

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Comments

  4. Yay for you!
    It’s amazing how a different airline employee can CHANGE the course of your trip, isn’t it? Completely inconsistent and bullshitty, but so true.
    The downside of traveling for work = saying goodbye to my kids and always crying
    The plus side of traveling for work = saying goodbye to my kids and crying – which gets you stuff. Upgrades, flight changes.
    Crying is always the key!

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  9. oh, Bossy, I should sic you on the hideous devils of Microsoft’s “customer service” department. When, after one hour, 4 transfers, 5 repitions of a product key to someone who barely spoke English, and the repeated “option” of paying $49 for support, I got to agent #5 and said, “There’s nothing wrong with the product I just want to ask one simple question!” Her reply: “Well if it’s so simple you should know the answer.” She must have gone to the same non-service training school as your airline agents.

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  13. That happened to me, too! Only, I was traveling with my infant son and hadn’t bought a seat for him ( I was going to hold him in my lap ). I managed to ask my way through everyone and finally the pilot and he granted me the empty seat next to me with no charge. Then, he carried the car seat down the aisle for me!
    Just goes to show….you have to ask and keep asking when it comes to the airlines. That happen on the return flight as well.

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  16. You must have been on United……except for your last little angel in Atlanta surely was an employee of another airline who felt it was her duty to go and provide some much needed relief to United’s suffering customers……or maybe it was a brand spankin’ new employee who hadn’t been trained on how to treat customers like shit……

    glad you had perseverance!!!!

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  18. okay…excuse the 3 posts, but I noticed the mispell on “spellin” after I hit submit. Funny since I made a snarky remark about people spelling things right. I would like to say that I did it on purpose to be all southern and what not but truthfully, it would have been spellin’ if I had….

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  19. I have flown several airlines and the only one I like is British Airlines. I have always had good service and very polite employees.

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  22. you are a brave woman and your courage was rewarded. i think this would make a lovely bedtime story for the kids – ever think of becoming a children author? forget the brothers grimm – THIS is the stuff we need our kids to hear.

    and you have friend named alwyn. how cool is THAT.

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  23. That’s why Atlanta is SO much better than Philadelphia. I’m just saying. (from a 10-year resident of the south, who grew up in a Philly suburb.) Y’all should move down here, the weather is nicer, too!

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  25. Except for the final happy ending, this sounds exactly like every interaction I have ever had one of the major airlines. I don’t want to mention the name of this particular carrier because I might be forced to fly on them again some day, but it’s not Western.

    My 14-year-old son flew from Houston to Chicago by himself this summer and had to change planes both going up and coming back. Going to Chicago was fine but coming back was a weather and delay plagued nightmare. However, due to the innate airline traveling skills inherited from one of his parents, he managed to finagle himself out of spending the night in the in-between stopover airport and onto a flight that delivered him home only an hour later than his original flight. Happy ending!

    Reply

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