We all screw up.
My most recent screw up was a minor one that only affected me, but as a journalist who interviews tons of office technology dealers who pride themselves on the service they provide to their customers, my screw up made me wish I was dealing with an office technology dealer rather than US Airways customer service.
All the bashing that the airlines get regarding their restrictive policies and lack of customer service, or what some might call “customer disservice” is more often than not spot on. Here’s my story and I’m going to do my best to tie it in ever so neatly to the document imaging industry even if I have to stretch my point to the max in order to make it.
I’m flying on US Airways to the Kyocera dealer meeting in Las Vegas next Tuesday. Last Friday I checked my reservation to refresh my memory as to what time I was flying out of Philadelphia and what time I was arriving in Vegas. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that instead of leaving at 8:35 a.m. as I intended, I goofed and reserved an 8:35 p.m. flight, arriving in Vegas at 10:47 p.m. Of course I purchased a non-refundable ticket.
I knew the odds of switching to another flight without breaking the bank were even worse than playing the slots, but being somewhat delusional I called US Airways anyway just in case there was some wiggle room. The conversation with the US Airways customer service representative went exactly as I expected it would, not how I wished it would in my pre-call fantasy world. The only thing wiggling was my wallet. First, there was the obligatory $200 change fee. The two earlier flight options were in the $800 range plus I’d have to pay the difference between my original $400 flight and the $800 flight, meaning, if my math is correct, the final cost to change the flight would be in the $1,000 range. I wasn’t about to wiggle my wallet that much.
I asked if there were other options that would minimize the financial damage and her recommendation was to get to the airport a few hours early and try to get on standby for one of the earlier flights. Since there were no guarantees I decided against that option. I then mentioned I would check to see if other airlines offered better deals flying out earlier in the day, but was told that I’d still have to pay the $200 change fee because I bought a round trip ticket. That option too would bring me back into the $1,000 range for a ticket.
The time had come to fold them. I sat back and thought about what Frank Mallozzi of EFI had shared with me recently when we were discussing his grueling travel schedule and how he’s taken a Zen-like approach to business travel, accepting that he has no control over delays and such.
I won’t get to Vegas until 10:47 p.m. on Tuesday and I’ll miss the opening night reception. But I will be there in time for all the important stuff, starting the next morning. As an added bonus, I gained a full work day in my home office that I didn’t expect to have. So in some ways I’ve gained more than I lost by my screw up.
Still, this experience validates everything I’ve read about how the airlines treat their customers. I imagine some of you who fly more frequently than I do might have some workarounds to my situation and maybe some positive customer service experiences too, but this is my story.
If only the airlines worked as hard at providing superior customer service as most of the office technology dealer community does or says they do. It can’t be that difficult can it?
Thanks for reading.
