Delta Airlines: Flight Attendant's Actions Restored My Faith in Customer Service

My husband and I recently took a Delta flight from Georgia to West Virginia for a week of vacationing with his family. As the flight progressed, I was impressed by the friendliness, lighthearted banter and small talk with the passengers of one of the flight attendants. She had a ready smile, a helpful gesture and reassuring comments for everyone with whom she came in contact. I quietly observed her conducting her duties with professionalism and poise; never once did she waver from her pleasant disposition and helpfulness. It had been quite a while since I had observed such customer service skills so fully embodied in one employee. At first, my reaction was one of disbelief and doubt, wondering if this whole behavior was a "put on". As the flight progressed, I was convinced that her actions were genuine.

In this day of disgruntled air passengers and even more unyielding airline policies, it is a breath of fresh air to see good customer skills at work. No doubt, if you have flown within the past few years, you undoubtedly have experienced flight delays, lost luggage, long waits in the airport waiting area hoping to catch a flight to your destination within a reasonable time frame and at times surly, impolite airline personnel. We have read and heard news accounts about this or that passenger being asked to deplane because of situations ranging from a child who is uncontrollable and refuses to remain seated, to a crying baby who will not be comforted, some illegal maneuver attempted on board the aircraft and to most recently a young lady being criticized severely for wearing improper clothing. While I believe in modesty of dress, the young lady later pictured in the news did not, in my opinion, fit the bill for being indecently dressed and I hardly think it was worth the furor that was raised. At any rate, perhaps Delta as well as other airlines is taking a cue from the expressed dissatisfaction of its passengers and is making at least a feeble attempt at improving customer service and promoting better customer relations. Goodness knows it's about time the passenger was considered a partner instead of an enemy! Things have progressed to such a low level that a movement is afoot to have a passengers' bill of rights drawn up to ensure that passengers are given some respect and consideration when flight difficulties occur. As it stands now, we have practically no rights or at least it appears so and we truly are at the mercy of the airlines. Whatever they do is right and should not and cannot be questioned! There seems to be no viable way to resolve issues. I was promised a fifty dollar voucher off my next flight (not Delta) and was given an authorization number and told to use it when I booked my next flight on that particular airlines. Well, I never received the voucher. Reason: I was told their office had no record of such a transaction. I vainly tried to appeal the decision but to no avail. I did not carry on the fight to get the voucher, choosing rather to devote my energies to other matters.

So, perhaps it was a good thing for me to be on that recent Delta flight to observe the model flight attendant in action. I would hope that her actions might signal good things to come for us humble, embattled airline passengers. All we want is a little respect, perhaps Delta is forging the way.