02-11-2008
10:58 AM
4 Loves
Is there any better than: "Marry me and fly for free!"
I think not. 🐵
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That's hilarious! But, ummm...Bill? You might want to place little Rocky J in a ziplocked bag, instead. And no where near the ice tray.
Just sayin'. 🙂
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10-05-2007
06:31 AM
2 Loves
Leah,
I think your job provides great customer service experiences. As a CSA, at times I do have to work within the framework of groups - when I make gate announcements, when I'm helping to coordinate the checkin of a large group (elementary school kids going to the state capitol or high school kids going to an important competition) or when I have to lead a group of passengers from one gate to another during irregular operations. I think it's wonderful that you have experience in the "big picture" tasks!
Good luck!!
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10-04-2007
03:14 PM
3 Loves
Bill,
I gotta tell you, you folks in SWARM amaze me. I can't tell you how many times I've looked at the bookings at the gate and thought, "142? I better start my oversell announcements pronto!"...only to find myself closing the flight with *exactly* 137 customers and a list of volunteers I didn't need afterall.
Keep up the GREAT work!
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Hi Bob,
I think the only thing you may be misunderstanding about the process is the element of time. We perform 20 minute turnarounds - which means our Ramp Agents have 20 minutes to unload all the inbound bags into tugs and load up the all outbound bags into the aircraft. Most of the time, we're talking about hundreds of bags and three Ramp Agents.
And while Ramp Agents generally do make the fair assumption that all the bags in the Oakland cart are supposed to be headed to Oakland, they absolutely *do* catch mistakes while loading and unloading the aircraft.
If the correct flight hasn't left, the bag is simply brought back to T-point and placed on the correct cart. But if the "caught" bag missed the flight our customer traveled on or arrived at the wrong destination, the Ramp Agents let us Customer Service Agents know in the Baggage Service Office. This way, we can give a heads up to the Baggage Service Office in the correct city so our customer can be paged in the baggage claim area when they're flight arrives. We'd much prefer to inform and take care of them immediately rather than have them standing around waiting for a bag that's coming in an hour or two.
I hope this helps!
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Hi Bob,
I don't know what the percentage of destroyed bags is but I can tell you that in my experience in the Baggage Service Office, it's got to be extremely low. I've seen very few "runover" bags over the years.
I'm glad that you got a brand new bag and that nothing inside was ruined (we'd have gladly compensated you if it had been). It's not a pleasant experience to have to tell someone that they're bag has been "totalled" - even less of a pleasure to hear it said to you I'd imagine.
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You applied at SWA?! Terrific! Got my fingers (and toes!) crossed for ya!
And welcome home.
:)
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Yea Bert!
Thanks for posting the brilliant explanation and those wonderful tips to our customers. As your Baggage Service Office counterpart in Orange County, I can attest to the former BNA/SNA bag confusion. And I'm happy that the steps taken has significantly reduced the confusion to nearly none. Of course the ramp crews are humans (like everyone else!) and will make a mistake from time to time, but I'm proud that we're always looking for new ways to minimize our errors.
All the BEST to you in BNA!
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I agree with you. You did the right thing; the kind and compassion thing. I feel bad for the non-Judy woman (but...yikes!).
Being nearsighted and often found walking the airport without my glasses I have waved at and given a hearty "Hey (name of person)! How are you today?!" at random people wearing khaki shorts and oxford shirts that I *thought* were my coworkers. It's a smidge embarrassing.
I have learned my lesson. Oh, I still "Hey, how are you?!" folks I think I know. I just no longer address people I can't clearly see by name! 🙂
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Sounds like a blast! If I were in the bay area this weekend, I'd be there with bells on! I don't know who thought up this cool idea but they, like Ferris, are one righteous dude (or dudette).
Btw, for the record, I'm a SWA CSA and I'm not cheap or rude :)
Luv to all!
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"Quadratic formula?" Ummm...yeah. Sure. I know what y'all are talking about (ahem!).
Excuse me...but I was hired for my sparkling personality. Or so I tell my SWA superviors when my ticket counter petty bag is off by $1.45
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Franciso,
Great blog! As exhausted as I can get at working "a double," I can't imagine putting in the 24 hours a day that you do. Thanks for keeping us safe! And tell your mom she did a good job with her boy.
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It's good to hear from you, Francisco. Know that you and your shipmates carry the thoughts, prayers and LUV of many with you. Stay safe and write again soon.
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03-30-2007
07:13 PM
I once had a customer come up to the gate to ask if he could preboard. He told me he wasn't feeling well and then proceed to throw up several in the trash can front of my gate. Thankfully, I managed to gently talk him out of flying that day and didn't have to resort to dening him boarding (which by the way, I would have most certainly done if he hadn't "see the light.").
While in-flight medical emergencies are rare (and a situatiion best avoided), having seen my SWA family in coordinated action both in the air and on the ground, I gotta tell you I'm impressed with both the professionalism and heartfelt care we provide our customers.
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03-30-2007
06:43 PM
6 Loves
Marcus & KIm - Thanks for enlightening me! Being an "info geek" myself, I should have figured out that y'all had computers and were sometimes researching your own flights! BSWA (Before Southwest Airlines), I used flyte.com on my home PC to follow the progress of my husband's flights. Now I can pull up the nifty little displays at work with a couple of clicks on my mouse. If you ever find yourself at SNA, come find me. If I'm not super busy, give me a couple of minutes and I'll be happy to supply you with interesting trivial info about your flight.
Paul - I envy you. I have the opposite problem. I fall asleep on *every* flight - just give me 5 minutes of "wheels up" and I'm out like a light. And Shelley, I happy to report that haven't ever cuddled any strangers...well, at least I don't think I have....Hmmmmm...
:)
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03-29-2007
06:55 AM
5 Loves
I'm not annoyed but I am curious. Every day that I work the gate, a few customers will come up and ask me, "Where's my plane coming from?" Don't get me wrong, I don't mind looking it up for them but I do wonder why they wonder. Especially since the aircraft was last doesn't tell you much about where it's been all day.
By the way, if the person asking seems to have a sense of humor, my standard answer to "Where's my plane coming from?" is:
"Boeing!"
:)
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03-29-2007
06:14 AM
4 Loves
You stopped the engine with your fingertips. Very good, Grasshopper. But remember, when you lift the 85 pound bag...use your legs, not your back.
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02-24-2007
09:29 PM
2 Loves
Thanks for posting this clip! I can't imagine WHO thought holding the customers onboard for hours was a sensible, compassionate idea.
My heart goes out to the Jet Blue passengers and to the frontline employees that continue to deal with the aftermath. While rare unforeseen events do happen I'd much rather tell my customers, "You are now free to roam around the gate area" than to keep them in the aircraft waiting on the tarmac.
Laurie SNA/CSA
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01-25-2007
09:28 PM
4 Loves
Umm...Duffer? I think you just did. For free. :o)
Since my airport has no outlets available for passengers; I can tell ya that these would be most welcome!
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10-26-2006
07:37 PM
2 Loves
Count me in as another fan of the SWA blog! I love the fact that I work for a company that not only welcomes comments from customers but from employees, too. I especially enjoy the behind-the-scenes blogs from people in different departments. It's like a day getting a day in the field while I'm in my PJ's sipping coffee (I read the blog at home!) I agree with Marcus - keep 'em coming!
Happy Anniversary!
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10-25-2006
09:35 PM
9 Loves
Brady - I work in the baggage service office for Southwest at SNA so delayed bags are kinda my specialty. Not having access to my work computer (I'm presently at home), I can't speak to the reason why your bag didn't arrive with you. I can say that I'm sorry that it didn't - which I sincerely am. Despite the fact we do an awesome job getting people and their things on their merry way, we do make mistakes from time to time. Sometimes a destination tag is misread, or a bag is held up in security or is mistakenly removed from a direct (not a non-stop) flight... Most people have no idea how many different people handle their bag from the time they check it in to the time they pick it up from the carousel (roughly 5). All it takes is one of them to make a single mistake and you'll get a delayed bag - this is the case with all commerical airlines. I will say that since the security directive on liqiuds has been in place, we have seen the volume of delayed bags increase slightly. I think this is due to the increased volume of bags being checked in coupled with the fact that the TSA hasn't hired additional people to screen them. You have more bags being screened by the same amount of people that were in place prior to the restrictions.
That said, you don't have your bag and you're frustrated - which is perfectly understandable. Please know that the person who is behind the desk in the baggage service office is doing their best to reunite you with your bag as quickly as possible. Sometimes, a customer arrives on the last flight of the day or there isn't another flight from where your bag is to where you are. These are the most difficult situations as our hands are tied until morning. Either which way, I sincerely apologize for the hassle you've experienced.
Oh, and for the record, there are no round-trip vouchers handed out at the gate.
Wishing you the all best, Laurie
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08-09-2006
12:49 PM
2 Loves
Seeing stars is very cool - so is seeing a picture of one of your CSA training classmates on the SWA blog! Just giving a little shout-out to Brian who was lucky enough to meet Charo!
Great pics! Every one of them!
Laurie SNA/CSA
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As a customer service agent for SWA, I have been interested in reading what people have to say on the subject of assigned seats. My opinion is that those that haven't had the opportunity to experience the advantages with open seating don't like it. I believe this isn't a seating problem but a problem in how we are communicating the advantages of open seating to potential customers. I think much could be done in this area with TV commericals, messages at our website and agents at our gates taking a more proactive role.
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Whoa Francis! The inventory is the available SEATS! We don't sell customers (that'd be sorta illegal). We sell seats on flights! The inventory for a flight is reflected in the boarding passes that are issued. Knowing the inventory is how I get exactly 137 customers into 137 seats on flights. Having 142 folks in a aircraft that seats 137 tends to make about 5 people more than a smidge testy.
As a CSA and very frequent SWA flyer, I wonder what the attraction of assigned seating is to those customers that prefer it. The same principle applies: "first come, first served" and it isn't like other airlines don't have middle seats. They do.
I see the "other guys" board their flights everyday when I work the gate and it's a mass of confusion. I see their customers crowding around the departure gate waiting to hear their rows called while the SWA customers are neatly lined up waiting to board. Seems to me, even with assigned seats, people will *still* get middle seats and people will *still* have to board in groups and it'll *still* be based on "first come, first served." Seems like much ado about nothing. Just my humble .02.
Laurie SWA/CSA
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04-30-2006
06:52 PM
2 Loves
Hi Liz,
I am a Customer Service Agent for SWA and I'd like to address a few of your comments.
You brought up an excellent suggestion about knowing how many open seats we had on any given flight once it has departed and streamlining this process online. Please know that we're always looking for ways to make traveling with SWA easier and more enjoyable. I am sure the right SWA folks are reading these blogs with open ears and minds to customer suggestions.
As far as the customers with a body-odor, please know we take them aside and quietly address the issue with them as well. We offer to assist them in finding a place to freshen up a bit or help them find other clothing options.
While we do let small children, elderly customers and customers with disabilities fly, you may not be aware that behind the scenes we do make absolute sure that there is someone to personally assist them if they cannot physically disembark the aircraft by themselves. For these customers, it means prior to boarding the aircraft we must verify that they are traveling with someone to assist them or we find a kind-hearted customer who will offer to sit next to them and assist them in case of an emergency. If we can find neither of these things, we'll attempt to find an SWA employee who will volunteer to fly with them. In a round-about sort of way, you could say that it takes two seats to accommodate these customers as well - but given the fact that the second seat is already paid for in two of the scenarios (traveling with someone and finding a volunteer customer) and in the third (SWA employee), the person is volunteering and catching the next flight home - we don't charge them for the seat they aren't physically "in."
Listening to screaming infants can be unpleasant. As a mom to four "little darlins," I can attest to this through a few hundred hours of "screaming infant" personal experience gained over the past 13 years! However, neither a screaming infant or their parents are physically taking up area in the seats next to them - well, unless the parents have have their elbows out when they stick their fingers in their ears!
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04-29-2006
10:38 AM
11 Loves
Hi Eric!
I am going to agree with Robin here. I've been a Customer Service Agent for SWA for four years now. I, like everyone else that works for SWA, was hired in part, for my personality. This is a fact I like to mention incessantly to my supervisors when my cash drawer is a couple cents over or short! When looking for prospective employees, SWA looks for compassionate, caring people that like to work hard and have FUN. In turn, they treat us like family - which inspires us to treat each other and our customers like family, too.
There are a couple of terrific books on the subject of our unique company culture that explain the concept in depth. You might want to check them out. One of the most informative is called "Nuts!" by Kevin and Jackie Freiberg.
Good luck on your research paper!
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