Not Thinking Strategically …

I fly a lot. And since my residence is in South Georgia, I have to fly from Valdosta to Atlanta to get basically anywhere. On a recent trip from Valdosta to Oklahoma City (OKC), the inbound flight from Atlanta to Valdosta was late by almost an hour. All the passengers on my flight were aware […]

Sometimes, You Just Have to Step Up…

I was recently traveling from Houston, TX, back to Oklahoma City, and as usual, I was flying Southwest. If you have ever flown SW, you know the drill: Line up according to your boarding number, A1-A60 first. My boarding position this trip was A31, so I was at the very front of the second line. […]

Believe me, Good Self Service Works, Just Let me Choose …

Due to my frequent flights in and out of Atlanta, I have become a loyal Delta customer—with a status to show for it. While I generally think they offer a good flying experience, there have been a couple of instances where their efforts to provide a quality personalized service actually diminished my flying experience. Don’t […]

It Was Bound to Happen – My 1st Surly Southwest Flight Attendant

I fly a lot. So I encounter many of the good folks who keep our airplanes and airports remarkably efficient, given the number of flights, people, and bags that run through a major airport on any given day. Since I’ve moved to Sugar Land, Texas, I now wind up on more Southwest Airlines flights in […]

The Power of Misinformation

My wife Samantha and I arrived at the Albuquerque (ABQ) airport several hours early today. The idea was to check in our bags and then go find a place to have a nice lunch together; we were traveling to different destinations and wouldn’t see each other for several weeks. Check in went smoothly, but as […]

Grounded Again … But Delta Comes Through In the End

On Wednesday April 5th, I delivered a presentation on Retail Branch Transformation at a New York Bankers conference in Syracuse, NY. Everything went great, there was a big crowd and the presentation was well received. Then it’s back to the airport to fly back to Tallahassee and a drive back to Valdosta, where I was […]

I Don’t Have Time to NOT Be an Asshole

My wife Samantha and I were traveling out to Cody, Wyoming to visit with our daughter and her husband. This involved three flights; from Valdosta to Atlanta, then to Salt Lake City, to Cody. The flight from Salt Lake City to Cody is a small commuter type jet, maybe 70 passengers. As we were boarding […]

If You’re in the Info Booth, Start Giving Out Advice

I was at the Detroit airport, waiting for my flight to Atlanta, looking for a place to setup my laptop. Just adjacent to the gate, there was an information booth and the counter had a nice place for my laptop. As I stood there working, I saw no one working the booth. And then it […]