An Evening to Remember

Well...now I know why I was assigned to the Dallas turn yesterday evening - because I had the most incredible evening! God had a hand in the assignment, because lots of things came together confirming WHY I am doing this.

First off, I was super-tired...it was my fifth day in a row of flying, and let's just say I was a bit "punchy." I started the evening off by telling the Captain (who was relaxing in a reclined cabin seat watching TV before the flight), that he needed to "put his seat in a full upright position in preparation for boarding." He thought that was very clever...

Next, I just started joking around with the passengers - fitting their bags into the overhead bins like a jigsaw puzzle. One woman commented on how good I was at working that puzzle! I told her that my husband taught me well - he's an expert at packing the trunk of the car and I guess I must have taken mental notes.

Next, several passengers told me how much they love Frontier, even before the flight had taken off! I told them that that is why I chose Frontier...it's always nice to hear that I'm working for a great company!

The flight to Dallas was pretty uneventful, but the flight back to Denver was INCREDIBLE. The flight was booked solid. I had one young woman who was assigned to a window seat, but a man had taken her seat so that he could sit next to his companion and he refused to move. So the young woman defeatedly said she'd move back to his assigned middle seat, several rows back. Next, there were people assigned to the same seats, young children assigned to sit in the exit row (the FAA requires that you be at least 15 years old) - it was a mess. So during the next five minutes or so, I shuffled passengers around, swapping this person for that seat - it was SO MUCH FUN! Everyone followed my direction, I got everyone seated, and most importantly...everyone was satisfied.

I had offered free DirectTV to the displaced young woman, but she turned me down. She had had a very bad day, and was on the verge of tears...I even offered her a free drink, but she didn't want that, either. Later in the flight, she came up to the forward galley and she was crying. So Bridgette (an incredibly wonderful flight attendant who I hope I get to work with OFTEN) and I talked with her, supplied her with Kleenex, and let her pour out her troubles. She had had a not-so-good job interview that day, and was really bummed, and all the hassle with the seating just confirmed her bad day! She had a bit of a cry, and then she went back to her seat.

A couple weeks ago, I had ordered 100 yellow smiley face pins from a vendor with my own funds - I had wanted something to hand out to those passengers who really "touched me" in some way. This young woman was my first recipient...I gave it to her and told her that I know she's upset now, but that everything will work out for her in the long run, and to keep her chin up. I told her that if things don't work out, she should consider coming to work for Frontier for awhile - I'd LOVE to work with her! Then I went to the next two recipients - a young "hippie-type" couple who had seats A and B, but volunteered without even being asked to move to separate middle seats so that two young brothers could sit together. They, too, had refused my offer of free TV. They were just so sweet and kind - and I was just so impressed by their generosity. They were very touched and happy to receive my smiley face pins.

As the passengers deplaned, Bridgette and I each gave the young woman a great big hug and wished her well - she smiled and pointed to the smiley face pin on her jacket! Then the young couple came up, each wearing their pins, and gave me a "high five" on their way out the door.

Lastly, I gave a pin to Bridgette - a truly lovely and warm person. She's from South Africa, has an amazing accent, and has such a soothing personality. She kept complimenting me on a job well done (my passenger shuffling efforts, infectious humor, etc. - she really pumped up my ego last night), and during our free time we spoke often of our daughters - hers is 5 and mine just turned 19. I felt she deserved a smiley face pin on her apron. As we were riding the bus to the employee parking lot, I found out that her birthday was the same day as Jen's - the previous day! Finding that out just gave me chills...

I guess the moral of the story is that you CAN touch people's lives in a positive way (or they can touch yours), even if it's just for a few minutes, a couple hours or more. That's what my goal was - I wanted a fun, adventurous new career, where I could have a positive impact. This confirms that I made the right decision!