April 20, 2011 at 10:20 pm
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Saying Thank You
April 20, 2011 at 11:43 pm
Steve,
Although flights arn't always smooth, we appreciate your willingness, and in fact, your good attitude when things don't go quite right. It's a nice example for us all to model.
SQLSaturday #63 in Dallas was a blast; the local UG did a great job in putting it on! I'm looking forward to SQLRally as well; already registered. Hopefully I won't have any flight issues to report. And yes, I also booked through Expedia and love them. No problems so far. It is a great site in my opinion.
Jim
Jim Murphy
http://www.sqlwatchmen.com
@SQLMurph
April 20, 2011 at 11:44 pm
Well put Steve. Love field involved in a minor (in the grand scheme) mishap, and then your reaction, how appropriate 🙂
There are no special teachers of virtue, because virtue is taught by the whole community.
--Plato
April 21, 2011 at 3:14 am
I had the same experience with Expedia a few years ago when they reserved flights to LAX for me and my family (5 people) out from London Gatwick and back to London Heathrow. On that occasion, BA dug us out of the hole but it still cost £125 to change the flights.
It is expedia's policy to find the cheapest flights for each leg of the journey, so if you leave the choice of airport open, you run this risk.
April 21, 2011 at 5:35 am
Did anyone notice the question of the day has a misspelling? It says service boker, instead of service broker.
Anyway, Thanks Steve for all you do to make Sql Server Central the great site that it is.
Ben
April 21, 2011 at 6:14 am
I attended a customer service conference a while back where an attendee told of an experience not dissimilar from what you experienced. And though I commend you on your patience and positive outlook on such a situation, we talked at the conference about how the internet and computers can tend to dehumanize people.
You, in your case became merely a 'piece of data', along with many others, flowing through a system. When they decided to change airports on you for your return flight, how many people discussed altering some code to accommodate that - and how many others actually thought "there are people on the other side of this change..."
This may well be the biggest challenge facing developers, database people and software architects; how do we bear in mind that system changes often have real people on the other side of them? Or saying it another way - how many other people were affected by the change you maintained your patience with, and how many of them went berserk feeling like a slab of flesh, a piece of data, a victim of some far-away programmer.
All my adult life I have hated the phrase; "The computer says..." as though these machines think for themselves - they dont. Was your patience a good thing? ...or should someone have gone to greater lengths to ensure you knew the airport changed.
I dont have the answer - but I know when someone says to me "The Computer says...", I always ask "if it told you to pour gasoline on your head and light your scalp afire, would you do that too?"...
April 21, 2011 at 6:48 am
Whoa Nelly! Hold the phone! Stop the presses!
Someone on SSC actually said something nice about developers!?!
Things are looking up! 😛
Thanks, Steve for all you and others do at SSC. However, I would invest in a spell checker and grammar checker. 😉
April 21, 2011 at 7:11 am
OCTom (4/21/2011)
Whoa Nelly! Hold the phone! Stop the presses!Someone on SSC actually said something nice about developers!?!
Things are looking up! 😛
Thanks, Steve for all you and others do at SSC. However, I would invest in a spell checker and grammar checker. 😉
Hm, maybe that's why you don't hear more praise around here, except from exceptional folks like Steve...
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How best to post your question[/url]
How to post performance problems[/url]
Tally Table:What it is and how it replaces a loop[/url]
"stewsterl 80804 (10/16/2009)I guess when you stop and try to understand the solution provided you not only learn, but save yourself some headaches when you need to make any slight changes."
April 21, 2011 at 7:25 am
It could have been worse; at least they didn't lose your luggage or subject you to a strip search.
😀
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
April 21, 2011 at 7:40 am
I think they should have been much more careful about letting you know that they were booking flights from two different airports. Depending on your hotel location, it could be a big difference in travel time, and the two airports are about 40 minutes apart if traffic is heavy.
What is the distance limit on the airport switch? I doubt many people would want to fly into Philly and have a return flight from Newark.
April 21, 2011 at 7:50 am
I like your responce to a bad situation. I often feal bad for the ticket agent in airports as they get screamed at. I think people forget that the person they are talking to had absolutley no control over the situation. The flight crew determines when boarding can begin. The captians pre flight often results in more delays than anything else. The computer dictates all the rest. The person behind the counter has often had no part in a persons travel up until the point they get screamed at.
Dan
If only I could snap my figures and have all the correct indexes apear and the buffer clean and.... Start day dream here.
April 21, 2011 at 8:27 am
Nice one Steve. I had a similar experience at Laguardia with Expedia once.
There are two terminals there with US Air flights and the flight I was supposed to be on switched Gates and we ended up being in the wrong terminal when we got to the Airport.
I called Expedia and they were very nice explaining to me that only the Airline could help me, and then went on to tell me how to "ask for help". We ended up being on the next flight out of NY with only a minor reroute through NC.
April 21, 2011 at 9:55 am
OCTom (4/21/2011)
Whoa Nelly! Hold the phone! Stop the presses!Someone on SSC actually said something nice about developers!?!
Things are looking up! 😛
Thanks, Steve for all you and others do at SSC. However, I would invest in a spell checker and grammar checker. 😉
It's a balance. 256 complaints, one complement. :w00t:
Actually, I am trying to be better about thanking the devs I work with for things that look good.
April 21, 2011 at 9:56 am
Dan.Humphries (4/21/2011)
I like your responce to a bad situation. I often feal bad for the ticket agent in airports as they get screamed at. I think people forget that the person they are talking to had absolutley no control over the situation. The flight crew determines when boarding can begin. The captians pre flight often results in more delays than anything else. The computer dictates all the rest. The person behind the counter has often had no part in a persons travel up until the point they get screamed at.
I try to remember this when I'm talking to CS people on the phone. I know it's not their fault, and try to not make it personal.
April 21, 2011 at 10:52 am
I *try* to start with "Your team has always done such a good job, I was surprised when things got off track. Can we work together to find a resolution?"
Sometimes if those tactics aren't successful, I still need to bring out my evil twin, but don't we all go an extra mile for the people we like?
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