Kill them with Kindness

I have decided that the American Travelling population as a whole must just SUCK.

We must be a huge group of rude, demanding, angry and frustrating people.

Since today is the "return trip" for many Thanksgiving travelers  I thought I would tell you about my recent return trip home from Austin.

I got to the airport 2 hours ahead of time, and breezed through security. And by breezed, I mean that I dumped all my carry on crap, my shoes, my laptop, iPad, phone, change and coat into about 17 plastic bins.  Sent it all through the scanner, then had to try and get it all out of the 17 bins and into my purse and suitcase in about 14 seconds so the guy behind me would stop glaring.

Since I had the American Airlines App on my iPhone ( I love technology!!) I was able to "check in" the day before.  Since I still had well over an hour to wait, after I found my gate I decided to find some much needed coffee.

Sidebar:  I don't drink.  Not because of any moral compass or ethical problem with alcohol ..but because I spent from age 34 to 38 either pregnant or nursing.  This was apparently a critical time to abstain from alcohol because I now have ZERO tolerance.  1 beer, I'm ready to fall asleep.  1 sip of wine causes a major headache.  That being said, the night before had been my brother's 40th birthday party.  My inner 7th grader gave into the peer pressure from my co-workers and his friends...and I had 4 1/2 beers.  The last one got knocked over.  So sad.  ANYWAY...this was just to explain that I really REALLY needed more coffee.

I got my coffee, then found a table (with an outlet) right next to the gate, and spent the next 45 minutes writing a blog post that I never published.  I eavesdropped on a Middle-Aged Middle-Management Type chastising coaching his much younger female subordinate on how she improperly handled the termination of another employee.  (In my opinion  she didn't do anything wrong...but what do I know?  I'm just a Middle-Aged Part Time PI/Administrative Assistant/Mother/Blogger Type).

I also was half paying attention to the other travelers around me, and to the gate agent that was working.  I often wonder what exactly gate agents are typing all the time that is so important, or if their keyboards are extra-clicky.  ANYWAY...there was a family with a couple of kids that were flying standby.

Since I had a 2 hour layover in Dallas, and my table (with the outlet) was a nice place to be nosy,  pretend to blog and recover from my 4 1/2 beers, I went up to the gate agent and let her know that since I had such a long layover in Dallas, I would be happy to give up my seat so that family could get on.  She thanked me and said she thought they would be OK, but she took my name anyway.

Fast forward 1/2 hour later to boarding time, and she pulls me out of line and handed me this:

Yes, that is a First Class Ticket.  My First First Class Ticket EVER!!  And all because I offered to wait a bit.  I didn't offer to be kind.  I offered because I had a great table (with an outlet) and I've been through the Dallas airport before.  It's big, it's loud, it's confusing...there is that crazy train that you are sure is going to jump the rails.  I would much rather wait a bit longer in Austin.  That was all.

But when she gave me the ticket, she said that most people don't realize how difficult her job is, and that my generosity made her day, and she wanted to express that with the upgrade.  I'm not lying...I thought she was going to cry.

See what I mean???  We, the American Travelling Public must SUCK!!  To get a gate agent choked up because I offered to wait?  They must be screamed at, abused and bullied on a regular basis for her to react that way.

My First Class experience only lasted 35 very bumpy minutes and we were landing in Dallas.  Didn't even have time to finish my coffee...IN A MUG!!  But that's OK.

Got off the plane, made my way to the train, rode to the correct terminal and found my next gate.  No table, no outlet.  As soon as I settled in, I received a text alert that my gate had been changed.  Made my way back to the train, rode back to the terminal that I started in, found my gate, got something to drink and settled in again.  At this point, the negative effects of the previous evenings peer pressure had settled in.  There was no pretend blogging, there was no eavesdropping, there was just the internal desperation for my Tylenol to kick in.

Fast forward 2 hours and we are in the air.  I'm in seat 27D.  It's nearly the back of the plane, but at least I have an aisle.  It's also a pretty bumpy ride again.  It was the first time I had ever flown and watched the cabin bob up and down and back and forth.  ANYWAY...the lady next to me was kind of chatty.  Which was fine.  She was really nice, and if I hadn't had 4 1/2 beers the night before, I probably would have been even friendlier, and exchanged names and phone numbers with her.  She was heading to Indiana to work for 3 months at some assembly plant.  She wouldn't get to go home for the holidays.  I still feel guilty that I didn't invite her over for Thanksgiving.  ANYWAY...since we were in the back of the plane, it took a while for us to get our drinks or have the opportunity to buy overpriced snacks.   She had barely made her connecting flight and was really hungry.  She had cash in her hand, but I wasn't thinking clearly, so when the flight attendant told her they didn't take cash, only credit cards, she looked devastated because she didn't have a credit card.  I just bent over, pulled out my wallet and gave the flight attendant my card, and told my seat mate she could just give me the cash and I'd pay for it.

Seriously...it wasn't a big deal, right?  I mean...you would have offered too, right????

Because from the reaction of the flight attendant, you would have assumed I just offered up my kidney to a perfect stranger.  I overheard her telling 2 other flight attendants on the plane what I had done.  I was shocked.  I even overheard her tell the captain as I walked off the plane.

Seriously???

I'm not telling you this because I think I am the poster child for good manners or generosity.  I'm telling you this because I was simply astounded that two simple acts could have had such reactions from those employees.  Gate Agents and Flight Attendants must be regularly subjected to the worst in us.  Travelling through airports must bring out the dark side of the American public.

So next time you are on your way out of town...kill them with kindness.

Do you have any travelling stories like this???