Airline Travel

I enjoy traveling. Really I do. It’s always an adventure. Sometimes you have good adventures, and sometimes you have bad adventures, but it’s always a learning experience.

Public Domain photo from Pixabay.com

Airline travel is even more interesting. We Americans love to travel by automobile. We get to control when we leave and to a certain extent when we arrive. We decide when to stop for food or fuel and where to stop. When we’re riding someone else’s bus or plane we lose that control. It makes some people very, very angry.

Sunday when I returned from my trip to BlogHer 2013, I had the unfortunate experience of bumping into Mr. Angry Man at the airport. This is what I wanted to tell him.

Dear Mr. Angry Man,

This airport is crazy. There is bad weather everywhere and flights are being delayed and canceled all over the airport and all over the country. It will not help you get home any faster to yell at the gate agent. It’s not her fault. When you get on your cell phone and yell obscenities at your staff, it doesn’t change a thing. I know you’re a Very Important Person. Or at least you think you are.

Even Very Important People can’t change the weather. Stop yelling. Stop cursing. Please. 

Elizabeth

Elizabeth Lee waiting at the gate

To make my day even better, when I eventually got on the plane, I found myself seated across the aisle from Mr. Angry Man. I immediately went to the flight attendant and asked to be moved. I’ve had a lifetime supply of angry man exposure and will not subject myself to that any longer.

The flight went well, service was exceptional (in part because the majority of passengers originally scheduled on the flight had made alternate arrangements due to missed connections, etc.) and I finally arrived home. Much to my dismay I realized that I couldn’t find my purse. Fortunately, my keys were in my carry-on bag. I had some cash in my bag as well, so I was able to get my car out of the hock and make my way home.

And then, I had an amazingly wonderful experience. The lovely people at Delta Baggage Services at O’Hell O’Hare Airport called in the middle of the night to say that they had my purse. From what they told me, all the contents are intact. Of course I canceled my credit cards as soon as I got home, but I will NOT have to get a replacement driver’s license, Costco Card, etc.

Sadly, I had yet another adventure tied to this whole experience. Here are some excerpts from the message I finally sent Delta after multiple phone calls trying to retrieve my purse.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. I flew on the 5:00 pm flight from O’Hell Airport in Chicago to my home town on Sunday night (7/28/13). Despite delays due to a problem with the plane, we eventually left and arrived a few hours late, but I was glad to be home.

Then, I realized that I had lost my purse. Oh no!

However, your amazing night staff in Delta Baggage Services found my purse, found my contact information, and called me at 2 am to let me know that the purse had been turned in. All I needed to do was set up a FedEx account and give them the information and it would be shipped out to me. Yay!

So, the next day I called back. Over and over. No one ever answered the phone. No one ever returned the call even though I left messages. It was awful.

Today, I decided I needed a new tactic, so I called the 800 number to try to get a better contact number for baggage services in O’Hare. I spoke with Agent Y. He is an interrupter. I don’t like interrupters. He made me sad. Eventually, he gave me a number to call.

I found myself in Phone O’Hare Hell. This particular phone hell shuttled me off to a message saying that I needed to contact lost and found at O’Hare. That wasn’t helpful AT ALL, since I knew where my purse was. It was safe in the hands of the lovely Delta Baggage Services. I sat down and cried. I might never see my purse again!

Finally, I tried one more time. This time, I asked for a supervisor as soon as I got a real human. The wonderful, amazing Tad Martin listened to my tale of woe without interrupting. He gave me the direct number for Baggage Services at O’Hare. Then he connected me to them. Yay!

My purse is being shipped out to me today via FedEx and I’ll have it again tomorrow. Yay!

This message is my way of thanking Tad and the lovely people in baggage services at O’Hare. Agent Y? He needs a little teeny bit more training.  

I enjoy travel. Really I do. Particularly airline travel. It’s always an adventure.