Getting What You Want -- From an Airline Ticket Agent
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How Passengers Can Help Their Causes
It helps if the passenger can just be patient and just realize that as aggravating as it is for them not reaching their destination, it's just as aggravating and frustrating for an agent to have this person disserviced and interrupted.
There are certain situations where people could be going to funerals, weddings, important business meetings, and we sympathize. You have to have that kind of demeanor to deal with the public. If you're not sincerely affected by others' misfortunes, you start to get cold and callous. And of course there are agents who are like that, cold and calloused, but for the most part we’re pretty human, too. So we do our best to manipulate the system as best we can to get passengers to their final destination.
But a person who just comes to me and tosses their tickets right at me with a "You're gonna take care of this," attitude, well then I’ll just do the minimum that's required of me. I certainly won't go out of my way.
A lot of times a customer might have a re-routing suggestion I didn't think about. Even though the computer gives us many options, it thinks logically -- it only gives us connections that are within reason.
I welcome all suggestions. I'll say to the passenger, as I'm looking, "I'm open for suggestions here." They may be more familiar with the geographics of a certain area than I am. If there's a city that’s close to where they're going, maybe someone can pick them up. People come up with those options themselves, and I welcome that, as most agents do. Of course you have your agents that are controlling...
Flexibility of a Closed Gate
If you arrive at the gate and the door is shut, most passengers don't know that it's still possible to get on the aircraft. But it involves the ticket agent being willing to break some rules that are all regulated by a different department.
If an agent wants to put himself or herself on the line, we can override the shut door and open it back up for the passenger to board. Everything in this business is based on being on time, but it's a Catch 22 -- the airlines want the good customer service and everyone to be happy, but still they want to be on time, and that requires closing the door in someone's face sometimes.
That's probably one of the toughest aspects of the job -- knowing that a passenger is coming, then having to tell them their plane has just gone. They just made a quick stop at Cinnabon for a cup of coffee, they'll say, and you still have to turn them away. But occasionally, I will put myself on the line and get them on the plane. If I'm committed to doing it, I'll open the door and get them on that plane.
Drunk Passengers
You get your occasional drunk passenger, sure. I work earlier in the day, so there aren't as many in the daytime. But just the other day, there was someone that had almost knocked me over in the hallway -- he was staggering -- and I said, "Hey, are you okay?" And he said that he had been drinking because he was a nervous flier. So I sat him down and called a supervisor over and they decided not to put him on his London flight. They gave him some coffee, and I thought, "Great -- now and he's drunk and awake. Coffee doesn't sober you up, it just wakes you up."
Getting Upgraded
There's always a chance to get upgraded. If economy is full and oversold, we'll upgrade people to business or first class, starting with the people who fly the most and are seated in economy -- we'll move them up to business at no charge. The option to upgrade can be used at an agent’s discretion, too.
If there's an older couple, I'll use upgrades as an opportunity to make their day and their trip a lot more memorable. Honeymooners will usually always come up and ask to be upgraded, saying, "We're on our honeymoon, can we sit in business or first"” And I'll say, "I would if I could."
A lot of times, it's really an individual thing. If someone comes up and they've been having a tough day, and they touch me with a story. (I'm a sucker for people that maybe have had misfortunes or are just really nice people.) I'll just say, "Let me see if I can get you a better seat." But it depends on the day I'm having and the mood they catch me in. Still, there are some agents who would never do it regardless.
Flexibility of the Free Hotel Room Policy
A lot of times people get stuck overnight in airports because of flight cancellations, and the fact that you can only get to certain destinations at certain times of the day.
After say 6 p.m. or 7 p.m., there's no way to get to a tiny city on the west coast from the east coast or Midwest because there are no connections available at that hour. For example, after 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. in the Midwest, there’s no way you can get to Modesto, CA. We can always try to reroute people in creative ways, but sometimes, after a certain time, the system won’t allow you to do any more.
If passengers get stuck in my city, I can pull strings to get them hotels. I can provide the hotel for them, going against what company policy says. As ticket agents, every one of us is empowered. If we can justify it, I can say, okay I am going to put these people up in a hotel.
If missed flights are weather-related, you can’t get a hotel room -- that’s the airlines policy. But what passengers don’t know is that any rule can be bent or broken. If I saw a family or a little old lady, and I think, “I don’t want this lady sleeping in an airport in a cot,” I just do what I need to do and go in and book a hotel.
I’ve seen a lot of world since I’ve worked here. It’s funny. For what I do, I enjoy it.