Customer Service Surprise

I just ran into the dangdest example of customer service. We have all heard of the "trip" from hell, but this was the "ticket" from hell. I was trying to buy an airline ticket from either Tri-Cities, TN, or Asheville, NC (depending on schedule and price), to Boston (to see my new grandson), to Reading or Allentown, or Harrisburg, Pa (depending on schedule and price again, for a speech in Hershey, PA), to DFW, then, finally, back to Tri-Cities or Asheville. If I were a rich man (sounds like a good title for a song), this would be no problem. I’d fly first class on the best schedule (or, depending on how rich, I’d fly jet charter). But I ain’t rich, and this was my money. So I set out to find the cheapest ticket that would meet my schedule. Delta told me they could not get me from Boston to Harrisburg. They offered no alternative, just said they couldn’t do it. On other airlines it was either the wrong schedule or the wrong price (as high as $1,400 plus). Then I found the aforementioned example of customer service. Continental sold me a ticket that met all requirements for a grand total of $662. I was amazed. How did Continental do it? They don’t have a flight into any of the three PA cities on my schedule either, but they do have a solution. They put me on a bus—repeat, bus—for one leg. It is their bus. It leaves from and arrives at the respective airports, and it takes no more time than waiting on and riding an airplane for that leg. Amazing. And look at the price. They say that the railroads, when they were king in this country, made a tragic mistake—they thought they were in the railroad business when they were actually in the transportation business. Continental seems to realize that they are in the transportation business, and they did what it takes to get me where I want to go. More power to them. We’d love to post your comments. Please click the comment tab at the top.