There's a saying in sales, "if you don't ask, you never get."
Within 3 hours this morning, I had upgraded my flight from one-stop to non-stop, picked up a free travel voucher, laid the groundwork for 30,000 free miles, and taken a sedan instead of a shuttle to the airport.
All at no cost.
Here's what happened...
My flight was scheduled for 8.30am from Seattle. On Wed. night at 8pm, I called the Shuttle Service. I was prepared to order a sedan (less risk, I figured), but they were all booked. I reserved a spot on the Shuttle.
"We will pick you up between 5.30am and 5.50am," the woman said. "Do you want to give your credit card now or to the driver?" Wisely, I said I would pay when the service was completed.
I was in the lobby at 5.30am. Nothing.
I saw a sedan outside and had a hunch.
The driver said, "Are you Dan?"
"I could be," I smiled. "Where are you going?"
"The airport."
Interesting, I thought. It was 5.45. No shuttle yet. Also, no Dan.
I called the Shuttle Service and was on hold.
Dan came into the lobby.
"Sir, this may sound crazy, but my shuttle was supposed to be here at 5.50...any chance I could share the ride with you?"
"Sure!" he sure was cheerful for it being so early.
I looked at the clock. It was 5.49 by now.
The operator comes back and says, "he'll be there in 5 minutes or so." [that 'or so' part always makes me nervous...especially since the punctuality track record of this company was now in question]
At this point, I felt that my ethical obligation to ride the shuttle no longer existed because the implied social contract was a pick up during the stated time. Once they were late, I felt I could cancel.
Which is what I did.
Dan, who is a sales manager for a Washington state based winery, was a big talker...which was good for me. I wanted him to feel good about his decision to let me tag along.
We were at the airport in 30 minutes and after yet another snafu in attempting to upgrade to First Class on United (which I subsequently cancelled), I made it to the gate well in time.
On the way, I saw one of those "earn 15,000 miles if you sign up for a credit card offer."
I figured, I needed to re-bank my 15k miles from the outbound trip, so I inquired.
Now, thanks to some prudent financial management as a youth, I am fortunate to have a decent credit score, so I figured I could absorb the impact of another credit card application. In other words, leverage my credit score.
I found out the details: one purchase, 15k miles banked, no annual fee for first year, cancel anytime.
The young, pre-dental, female student manning the booth went through her less than polished sales presentation (which I coached her on).
Eventually, she revealed her compensation structure...a small bonus for each new application. Then, it dawned on her, "hey what about getting a Business card as well? Same deal as the other card."
What the heck, I figured, I was feeling giddy and enjoyed the upcoming challenge of managing the process. So, now I've got 2 credit cards that will each need one latte purchase on them. (oh, and I picked up a t-shirt and a travel bag for free)
Ok, on to the gate, ready to go.
Then the announcement comes: "We're overbooked, looking for volunteers. You'll get on the next flight and a free round-trip ticket anywhere United flies."
I jumped, figuring I'd put my name in the hat and be first on the list and sort out the details later.
Originally slated to get to DCA at 5pm, the new plan would have me there at 9pm.
I called Tamar, who was quite justifiably not thrilled with the plan. She's been doing a ton of heavy lifting vis a vis kids over the past 2 weeks and was, understandably, looking forward to my return.
Being the insensitive guy that I am, I was thinking about my brother's wedding in Minnesota in November and the need to finance 4 airplane tickets.
A few other calls in between (trying to arrange child care for that night, since Tamar was supposed to go out and I was supposed to be home)....it was starting to look like I'd have to pass.
The gate agent calls my name...."Ok, here's what we are going to do. We're going to put you on the Alaska Airlines non-stop to National Airport, plus since you are going to be getting in before you were originally scheduled to, we will have your bags delivered to your house."
"Let me get this straight," I said, "instead of one-stop [at O'Hare-world's busiest airport], I am going non-stop? You are delivering my bags to my house? I am getting home earlier than I was supposed to? AND I get a free round-trip ticket anywhere United flies in the US?"
She nodded.
"Everybody's a winner!" I yelled.
And then, to top it all off, I get to Alaska's check-in and they give me a middle seat (ugh), which was to be expected, but it was an Exit Row! Giddy up!
Of course, when I finally did arrive in DC, I had to go through the process of retrieving my bags. You see, my bags were still on the United flight (stuck in Chicago) so I
- went to the United baggage claim, where I was told that it was Alaska Air's problem
- went to the Alaska Air baggage claim desk (shared w/American) only to find a sign that said, "if you need help w/Alaska Air, please go to the ticketing counter upstairs)
- At the ticketing counter of Alaska (after a few minutes of confusion) was sent back downstairs to baggage claim
- Waited for 20 minutes while baggage claim was processed
They will supposedly deliver the baggage to my house.
While I was waiting in step 4 above, there were 3 other passengers in the same predicament. One of them said, "hey, should we go get a beer and come back?"
Then, I said to the Alaska Air rep.
"Calvin," (I had learned his name), "since we've had a bit of a hassle, maybe you could give us a voucher for a beer, eh?"
It wasn't that easy (I repeated the request a few more times), but when all was said and done, each of us got an $8 voucher for use in the airport (anytime). I told the other guys I would waive the commission. :-)
Life Lesson: Opportunity surrounds us at every turn. Identify it, don't be afraid to ask, and act on it...quickly! Oh, and don't forget to cancel your credit cards on time :-)
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