Bryan's Story

This is a true story.   My friend Bryan Townsend, a top-drawer professional public speaker/writer, travels almost constantly. Last week he had the trip from hell.   Without belaboring the points, Bryan’s trip included one late flight that caused him to miss his connection, one night spent lying on the floor of the Atlanta airport (I’ve done the same myself), baggage that didn’t arrive at his destination, ironing the clothes that he had worn since the day before, and making such a good speech that the audience bought every book he had with him.   His trip home was a little—but not much—better. One main complaint was that Delta personnel treated him rudely at every opportunity. There was also a discrepancy of $30 in the price. When he finally got home, he emailed Delta about that $30. They emailed back instructing him to fill out a form and return it so they could evaluate his claim.   Bryan then sent them an email and it was a scorcher. He listed all of his troubles in detail, then concluded with…   “...Now, you want me to look up all this information. Forget it! If you can't find it with my name and Skymiles number, keep the $30 you owe me. By the way, for awhile, I used to be a (Delta) Platinum member. It's funny, no one at Delta has ever asked why I have moved most of my business to Southwest, who, by the way, has never charged me for checking a bag, and has never lost my bag. No one at Southwest has ever sternly corrected me for pushing the wrong button, or for asking for anything. And I have never stood in any line for over 15 minutes (except of course for the TSA security line) while traveling on Southwest. Come to think of it, I've never sat on a Southwest plane for over 15 minutes waiting to take off or to taxi to a gate. I've never been charged a dollar to change a Southwest ticket. I've never been denied my luggage by Southwest like I was by you all in Atlanta last year when my flight back to Birmingham was cancelled and I decided to drive home and your people laughed at me when I asked for my bag, and I have never had to spend a night on the floor at the airport because of Southwest.†  “It's really funny. Once upon a time, I was really a loyal Delta customer. I haven't changed, but Delta sure has. Just keep the $30. You're probably going to need it.†  Perhaps I should mention that Bryan is one of the most easy going people that I have ever known. But he does have his limits. As do we all.   We’d love to post your comments. Please click the comment tab at the top.