Thank you: Continental, Rio Hotel & Las Vegas Hilton

[debgeisler]

In all of this travel mess, there were some bright spots. Linda at Continental Airlines spent more than an hour doing what she could to make things right for us, and we were very happy with her service. She was hoarse from talking so much -- these storms really take a toll on the reservations people. She kept apologizing for delays, but since we were safe, at home, warm, with hot drinks...and didn't have to do this all from the airport at 5 or 6 a.m., we weren't complaining.

The folks at the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas understood that we weren't able to make our reservation. Even though there was a 72-hour cancellation clause, they let Mike cancel without penalty, saving us from having to pay for a room we couldn't use.

And the delightful woman at the Las Vegas Hilton Box Office told me I could change the name on our show tickets, then this morning let me transfer them, ensuring that someone would have some fun tomorrow night. In this economy, it feels really good to be able to do something nice for a stranger. (The lady who got the tickets said if we're in Las Vegas again sometime, to get in touch. She can get us tickets to one of the smaller shows. That was very kind.)

Of course we're not happy about not getting to Las Vegas. But there are so many ways we could have been much more miserable, that I'm counting this all as blessings. :-)

Comments

[ckd]

Whenever I'm dealing with customer service folks during something like this, I make it a point to tell them I think they're handling it very well (obviously assuming they are, but they usually are). This isn't to suck up for better treatment, it's to offset the screaming a-holes they're also having to deal with.

(At times it does result in a little bump-up, and I don't complain about that, but it's not why I do it.)

[debgeisler.livejournal.com]

I try very hard to be considerate, pleasant, and as kind as I can, too -- particularly at this time of year. It helps that if we're stuck somewhere travelling, we can afford to stay in a hotel while they sort things out. (It's even better if we're stuck at home, where we don't have to worry about where our luggage is!)

This is a hellish time for people working in the travel industry, and the more we can all do to ease that, the happier it will be for everyone.