I think I may be in love with Scott McCartney.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124148217828485383.html
I most especially love #9 and #10. Kindness to others and a positive attitude cost nothing to give out to the people around you. You can gift a harried gate agent or exhausted fellow traveler a smile for free. It’s honestly not their fault that your plane was delayed 3 hours, you got the middle seat in row 37, or you’re on your way to a crisis business meeting in Pittsburg in February.
It’s cheesy as all get-out, but I find that making the effort to be nice to the people I deal with while traveling actually makes my trip feel less stressful. Whether the facts support that feeling or not.
My only concern with Mr. McCartney’s recommendations has to do with loyalty to an airline. Unless there is a real chance to get to the top grade of Elite frequent flyer classes, this loyalty may not yield much. I find that upgrades and free tickets are almost never available, rendering the miles virtually worthless. Collecting lots of them doesn’t help, and some airlines will take them away after a couple of years of non-use.
By: FAH on May 6, 2009
at 8:06 am
Courtesy and good cheer in the face of adversity always makes things easier for all concerned. Yelling REALLY doesn’t help.
By: FAH on May 6, 2009
at 8:09 am
Also, being the person in line *after* the screaming jerk is never, ever fun.
By: lizscott on May 6, 2009
at 12:10 pm