View from the Hill

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN PAUL PENNER
Not long ago, I received a note from an agribusiness company that read: “Thank-you for your recent purchase…. Our goal is to service our customers and make sure they are satisfied. Feel free to call on us whenever we can be of further assistance.”

Getting such a note was a nice gesture-and I sincerely mean it. As their customer, it means that somebody has recognized my role in the success of their own business.

Although I do not expect a note of appreciation every time I patronize a business, any attempt at affirming the relationship is always a good thing.

There are those rare days, while leaving a place of business, I am thinking, “Why did I even bother to come here?”

I repeat-those days are rare, but they stand out in our memory. And they often overshadow a dozen or more good experiences.

Last year, I purchased a round-trip ticket to Washington, D. C. During check-in on my return flight, I discovered that someone-either my travel agent or the counter clerk back in Kansas City-made an error. The return portion of the boarding pass had already been printed by the airline’s computer several days before. It had not been given to me earlier, nor had it been used by anyone else. But I was unable to convince the counter clerk that I was entitled to board, even after producing the e-ticket.

So I was stranded in Dulles, only 11 days after the terrorist attack that brought down the World Trade Center towers.

I had to purchase another ticket to Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, pay shuttle fare to Midway Airport and buy another ticket for the flight back to Kansas. The $300 round-trip flight now cost more than $750.

The clerk at the Dulles ticket counter assured me that United Airlines, via my travel agent, would send me a refund, provided I submitted the ticket stubs to the agent. I mailed the documents upon arriving in Hillsboro.

It is now one year later, and I am still waiting for the refund.

I made numerous inquiries to find out the status of the refund. I once spent 15 minutes on hold, listening to elevator music, while the agent was being paged. He never answered the pager.

During other inquiries, I was told “the agent you need to talk to is not in today.”

Another time, the receptionist feigned ignorance, even though she had been given the information over the phone during an earlier conversation-not to mention that I had mailed the e-ticket and boarding pass stubs directly to her office.

Another time the receptionist asked for my name and telephone number and promised “the manager will call you back in a couple of minutes.”

I was never contacted by the manager and I have all but given up on getting my money back.

On a more positive note, I have experienced the good side of customer service. Last spring, I flew to Toronto from Kansas City, on a Canadair regional jet-the tickets were purchased over the Internet by yours truly.

The stewards actually smiled, and replied in a polite manner when spoken to. Prior to serving the drinks and food, they issues little handi-wipes. We dined on a choice of turkey or ham wrapped in a soft shell taco, along with mixed greens and sauce, no extra charge-something one never will get on any other regional flight.

And the stewards didn’t mind repeating the list of available beverages, even if the passenger was a bit short on memory or was “hearing challenged.”

Counter that experience with the earlier United flight….

My request: “I’ll have a Dr. Pepper, thank you.”

The flight attendant: “We don’t serve Dr. Pepper.”

I counter: “Then I’ll have a Pepsi, please.”

Apparently irritated, given the look on her face, the attendant retorted, “No Pepsi either.”

I asked: “What do you serve?”

The impatient attendant, with eyes rolling, counted off the list, which I had never heard prior to this, thanks to the roar of the wind and engines: “Coca-Cola, Sprite, Brisk, bottled water, V-8 tomato juice….”

I quickly asked for a Coke.

I was very thirsty, thanks to spending the entire morning without a break as I worked to find an available seat on a west-bound flight with acceptable connections.

The attendant opens the can and pours less than half of the contents into s plastic cup filled with ice, then hands the cup to me, minus the can. All other passengers get to keep their entire beverage.

Was it something I said that deserved such rudeness?

Maybe the difference between the United Airlines and Canadair is that one is operated by American employees and the other Canadians. But I doubt it.

Maybe Canadair fosters a healthier, respectful attitude toward their clientele. Both airlines give the precursory note of appreciation at the end of every flight, but Canadair’s is genuine.

Or maybe it was the way they repeated most announcements in French. It is the language of love, you know.

In any case, I know which airline earned my future business.

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