Flight Delays, Heavy Luggage, & Lessons in Kindness: Why Being Nice Can Get You More Than You Expect

 

“People don’t usually talk to us the way you just did.”  

Back in February, I got into a bit of a hairy travel situation while attempting to travel home from Calgary, with a serious dumping of snow over multiple days in Eastern Canada that wreaked havoc on any and all flights going in my direction. 

Delayed, cancelled and missed flights were the hot topics of the day. 

Fresh off a client presentation, still dressed up and with a fresh coat of lipgloss – and with a minimum of a 5-hour delay ahead of me – I thought I would try my luck to see if I could buy my way into the Air Canada Lounge (yes, I wish I was fancier and had regular access, but…nope!). 

No harm in asking, right? I mean, the worst the customer service agent could say was “no.” 

Which is exactly what she did. A very firm, decisive “no.” 

So I dragged my too-heavy luggage over to a set of outlets, plugged in my devices, and considered my next steps. I kept watching my flight getting delayed, then delayed again and again, and it soon became clear that I was going to miss my connecting flight back to Montreal.  

I quickly realized that my next steps needed to be to unplug all my devices, and drag my too-heavy luggage over to customer service, so that I could get re-booked on another connecting flight, before all THOSE flights started to disappear. 

I didn’t have to wait long at the Air Canada Customer Service counter for my turn to get to chat with Vicki, my one and only link to getting home.

Vicki was a delight. A big smile, a desire to help, and very personable. And with no one waiting behind me, Vicki was able to take her time and chat with me while rebooking my flight. 

While she did that, we also discussed how many more hours I would be waiting around for my consistently-delayed flight, how I tried (and failed) to buy my way into the lounge, how there aren’t enough outlets in the waiting areas of the Calgary airport, how heavy my luggage was, the credit cards that would get me better boarding priority and lounge access, her cool nail polish color, and yes, the crazy weather. 

Her manager walked over near the end of our conversation and heard the last bits of our conversation. But by then, she had set me up on my connecting flight, so our conversation was coming to a natural end. I thanked her profusely and started walking away, trying to figure out the best place to wait around and be very, very bored for the next 4-5 hours or more, depending on the ever-changing flight statuses. 

I’ll admit, despite my friendly conversation with Vicki, I was feeling a little overwhelmed, a bit stressed at the middle-of-the-night travels ahead, and perhaps, a big hangry.

And then, Vicki called me back. 

She pointed at her manager, who then said to me, “Vicki told me about your delays. Here’s a lounge pass, you can go in and wait in there.” 

After a stunned silence, all I could think to say was….”What? WHY?”

(not like “WHY, I don’t want it,” but more like “WHY, what did I do to get this?”).

Because….

“People don’t usually talk to us the way you just did.”  

That’s IT?

Just because I spoke nicely to the customer service agent? 

Now, I get it….when faced with travel delays, changes and cancellations, people get super stressed. And grumpy. And aggravated. People in these situations aren’t very predisposed to being patient or pleasant.

But a lounge pass? Just for being NICE??

Now THAT was a cool reward. And that doesn’t even count the value of the “life learning” story that I got to tell my 14-year old son when I eventually DID get home, who only rolled his eyes at me once while I got all parental on him and shared how it pays to be polite and respectful — even when you feel bummed, grumpy, and even hangry. 

Still, even before learning that they would gift me the lounge pass, I never considered being anything but polite and respectful. 

I’ve worked in customer service too – although never something as potentially heated as an airline customer service agent – and I’ve experienced the difference between a customer who is polite and respectful, and one who is….not. 

So the ultimate lesson(s)?

• Customer service agents are people too, and it’s not their fault if your flight is delayed.  
• It’s just as easy to be nice, even if you don’t get something in return (but it’s definitely amazing when you DO!)
• Bring better snacks, and maybe pack a little less next time. 

(And many thanks to the excellent customer service agents out there like Vicki from Air Canada, working to get people home amid very challenging weather situations). 

 

Have you ever had an unfortunate travel situation turn into a great experience? I’d love to hear from you!