This past weekend my flight to Toronto was cancelled. Not delayed. Cancelled. Staff at the Departure gate announced that we could pick up our luggage and make our way to the customer service desk in Arrivals. As I watched the crowd of passengers from the fully booked flight follow these instructions, I hesitated. A lengthy lineup to book a new flight wasn’t exactly how I wanted to spend my Saturday afternoon. So … I pulled out my trusty phone.
Who did I call and what happened to my Saturday afternoon?
First, I called my husband. He’s a bit of a superhero in these situations and I knew, wherever he was or whatever he was doing, he’d gladly change plans and come to the airport. I reached his voicemail and left a detailed message, and I also sent him a text. Combining these two communication methods has often allowed us to be more efficient.
My flight to Toronto, on behalf of a client, was booked through a travel agent. While this profession is often overlooked due to our wealth of online, self-booking alternatives, travel agents also have superhero qualities. My first call, to the office, went unanswered but on both the voicemail message and my travel itinerary, the company provided an emergency phone number.
This number connected me to Csaba Mate (his first name is pronounced Chubba) a cheerful, funny, helpful young man with Corporate Traveller. While my suitcase was gliding toward me on the carousel, Csaba was clicking on his keyboard, chatting with me about the fog, and booking my new flight for early Sunday morning.
Moments later I walked past my fellow passengers in their snake-like lineup. Some of them were going to be there for at least another hour and frustration was tangible.
Looking out the window through the fog, I could see my husband arriving to drive me home. On my phone, email delivered my flight confirmation for the next day. And only 15 minutes earlier I’d been waiting in Departures. While it felt like luck, or a bit of a miracle, it was really about combining old and new technologies, using each to its best advantage.
When it comes to *new*, perhaps we need to think less about replacement and more about partnership.
Where’s The Phone Lady
May 15 – Telephone Talent: Effective Phone Communication Skills, Futurpreneur, (Tele-training)
May 16 – Creating Consistent Revenue, CEED, Halifax, NS
May 16 – Telephone Talent: Effective Phone Communication Skills, TD Canada Trust (Tele-training)
May 17 – Telephone Talent: Effective Phone Communication Skills, RBC Royal Bank (Tele-training)
May 17 – Creating Service Excellence, Javelin Technologies Inc., (Tele-training)
May 18 – Telephone Talent: Effective Phone Communication Skills, RBC Royal Bank (Tele-training)
May 18 – Telephone Talent: Effective Phone Communication Skills, Javelin Technologies Inc. (Tele-training)
May 24 – Phone Skills for Job Search & On The Job, Teamwork Cooperative, Halifax, NS
May 25 – Helping Patients Book Appointments, Webinar with CallHero
May 25 – Telephone Talent: Effective Phone Communication Skills, RBC Royal Bank (Tele-training)
June 1 – Telephone Talent: Effective Phone Communication Skills, RBC Royal Bank (Tele-training)
June 2 – Phone Skills for Job Search & On The Job, Job Junction, Halifax, NS
June 7 – Telephone Talent: Effective Phone Communication Skills, RBC Royal Bank (Tele-training)
June 13 – Telephone Talent: Effective Phone Communication Skills, RBC Royal Bank (Tele-training)
June 21 – Telephone Talent: Effective Phone Communication Skills, RBC Royal Bank (Tele-training)
June 27 – Phone Skills for Franchisees, Prep Academy Tutors, (Tele-training)
July 9 – Phone Fear to Phone Fabulous, CEED, Halifax, NS