People on a check-in line and passengers on a plane are part of short lived communities. Shared experiences, common goals and a whole host of other things regardless of whether they are good or bad. One of our Social Media brethren has been off on a “Delta Skelter”. Based on my recent experience where Delta caused me to miss my flight to South Africa, I have thought a lot about the meaning of the power of community, partnership and dialogue.

Honestly, with airline travel, expect to be delayed and expect problems, and you will be pleasantly surprised when things go right, and not that stunned when there are bumps along the way. My “horrorific” experience with Delta was related to getting back to South Africa for my parents golden wedding anniversary. I arrived at JFK and being a new route for Delta, I asked where to check in and was told to stand on a specific line by TWO different Delta staff members. 40 minutes later, I still was not checked in and there were still 4 or 5 people ahead of me. I asked again and was told that not only was I on the wrong line, I was in the wrong part of the terminal. I rushed over to where I was supposed to be, got to the front of the line through a supervisor, and the representative took her time squaring away the person in front of me and then tapping keys with me for a bout 5 minutes before looking up and saying, they just closed the flight, you missed it!. And I should head over to rebook my flight. I flipped. I now ran the risk of not getting to my parents 50^th Anniversary celebrations due to Delta’s incompetence. Was I uptight – Hell yes. Did I get screwed over? Hell Yes. Was I fuming on the rebooking line? Yes. Did I try to get on that closed flight? Sure – but there was no way. Did I calm down superfast to try and get rebooked in time for the festivities? Yessiree. The faster I calmed down, the quicker and more eager they were to help. And they got me on two days later – but with no two day extension for the days missed.

So I called customer service when I got home. Great conversation. Very apologetic and would you know – they extended my return date by the 2 days I missed. Being a frequent flyer member is also being a part of a community - and it is a community that does have its rewards.

Moral of the story: How one behaves often determines the reaction one gets. Threatening and cajoling, bullying and shouting only succeeds in pissing off the representatives.