Recall a time when someone told
you that you weren’t doing a good job. You probably felt attacked or
unappreciated. It likely made you angry too.
Today, as I was waiting at an
airline gate, I witnessed an airline ticket agent taking a verbal lashing. A
young mother with a one-year-old daughter and two-year-old son demanded that
her kids be assigned seats adjacent to each other. The ticket agent responded
that every seat on the plane was occupied. She shouted, “My children can’t ride
alone. So, what are you going to do about it?” A passerby tried to make a joke
as he pointed to the young boy, “He is at least 15 months old and he can surely
take care of himself.” The mother didn’t laugh, instead she escalated to a new
level of accusation against the gate agent.
I agree with her that sitting
near her children is important, but the agent was not the one who assigned the
seats. He was doing what he could, including making an announcement on the
intercom asking if anyone would be willing to change their seat in exchange for
exit row seating.
Instead of thanking him, the
mother insisted, “So, how are you going to fix this?” He responded that he is
working on it. She said, “What does that mean? What am I supposed to do in the
meantime?” He said to check back five minutes before boarding was complete. She
told him that wasn’t good enough and demanded to have their seats moved
immediately. With a little irritation in his voice he said, “I can’t just give
you someone else’s seats. How would I choose who I was going to move out of
their seats which have already been assigned?” She spun around on her heel,
with the two kids in tow, and left the ticket counter in a huff.
I was next in line intending
to ask for a new seat assignment closer to the front of the plane. After that verbal
abuse, I knew he wasn’t going to be too excited to help me. I said, “You have a
very difficult job.” He nodded his head and said, “Sometimes.” I thanked him
for being patient even when he didn’t feel like it. I asked him about changing
my seat and he told me all that he could give me was a middle seat. His next
move was one I have never seen before. He asked me to come behind the counter
and see the seats that were available. I thanked him for his courteous service
and for trying to help me. He reassured me that my current seat was a good one
even though it was in the second to last row of the aircraft where people line
up waiting on the bathroom.
Today’s gift was to
acknowledge the patient, kind behavior of someone who felt unappreciated. I
know that sick feeling when someone is acting in a mean spirited way. I’m glad
that I had the opportunity to help the gate agent know that some people are
grateful for his efforts and that he does do a good job.
In Giving,
Robin
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