Thought for the Day: “Attitude determines your altitude” We have often heard this phrase; the following story provides a good example.
“Connecting people. Uniting the World”: This is United Airlines’ most recent slogan which came after years of the slogan, “Fly the Friendly Skies”. Either way, I believe that we are fortunate to have the United Connection in Laramie, and I had a pretty good experience with United Airlines last Friday. I sent the following to United Airlines customer service:
Thanks for getting me home. I was a little anxious about making a connection in Denver last Friday, but United Airlines employees did a great job of giving me every opportunity to get home to Laramie. First of all, I really appreciate the flight notification texts that I received from United Airlines. I learned prior to arriving at the airport that UA1711 from Los Angeles to Denver was going to be delayed, because the aircraft left two and half hours late from Honolulu. The delay meant that the flight would not leave Los Angeles until 6:35 p.m. and would give me less than 10 minutes to make my connection in Denver. The ticketing agent said that customer service may be able to assist with finding an earlier flight, so I asked one of the friendly folks to assist with my concern, and I was easily moved from UA 1711 to UA 750 scheduled for a 5:58 p.m. departure.
An hour later, I received another text that UA750 was delayed due to a mechanical repair and would not depart until 7 p.m. which would not allow me to make the connection in Denver. Even though the United App suggested I could change my flight, I decided I better ask for some assistance. The customer service agent assessed the situation, and said we should put you back on UA1711 and move your seat. She said you may have to hustle. Long story, short—we departed Los Angeles at 6:30 p.m. made up some time headed to Denver, and my seat was right next to the door.
When we arrived in Denver at 10:09 p.m., I had about 11 minutes to get from one end of Concourse B to the other before the scheduled departure of 10:20 p.m. I was the first one off the plane, and I jogged down the concourse only to hear, “Laramie passenger, Dr. Yennie, please report to gate B80.” I knew at that time, they were waiting, and when I turned the corner, another United Airlines agent looked at me and questioned, “Laramie passenger?” I replied yes, and he radioed the gate, “On his way.” I was met at the bottom on the stairs and ushered on the plane with a few minutes to spare. That’s pretty good customer service.
I arrived in Laramie knowing full well that I would have to file a baggage claim, but I was even more surprised to find that my luggage made it as well—that’s customer service.
Thanks for moving things around to give me an opportunity to make it home.
Some lessons for us:
- I learned a long time ago, whenever an airlines says that your flight is delayed due to a “mechanical repair” you should quickly change your attitude to gratitude rather than complain that you may not get someplace on time.
- Even though technology can solve a number of concerns, sometimes it is best to ask for help.
- An attitude of friendliness by both parties can easily solve many issues, and
- Finally, sometimes you have to hustle a little bit. (I wrote that I jogged through the airport—it probably looked more like a plod)
Employee Engagement Survey (How are you doing?): Please take a few minutes to complete the Employee Engagement survey that will be distributed tomorrow morning. The survey is coming through Qualtrics, and I believe that we have our junk filters removed for this type of survey, but just in case you don’t see it tomorrow, check your other folders. As an incentive for completing the survey, we will be doing a random drawing on Friday, December 21, 2018 at 3 p.m.
Committee and Policy Work: We are working hard on some employee policies including our sick leave policy and our FMLA policy. Are committee is working hard to take care of our employees. The school board should have a policy to consider in February or March.
Have a great week,
Jubal