A Freddies Trip Report
 

Striking Out for the Freddies – April 23rd

Well, how bad can it be flying these days, I wondered as the wife dropped me off at ABIA. I haven’t flown in about seven years, so I was interested to see just how much of a negative effect 9/11 still had on the convenience of air travel. I was pleasantly surprised to find no lines at the American check-in counter, no lines at the baggage check-in, and no lines at the screening table. This process took less than 15 minutes total, which relieved me to no end.

Went down the corridor to find my departure gate, stopped across from it and had a soft pretzel and a bottle of water, and took in the evening news. Thirty minutes later, I walked over to the gate where Chris Proffitt, our Customer Contact Center director and the Global Director for Starwood Preferred Guest Customer Service was frantically perusing his Blackberry for incoming emails and returning phone calls on his cell phone.

Chris is a terrific travel partner and an all around nice guy. While we haven’t known each other that long, I have the greatest respect for his work ethic, which I am sure will take him far in the company. He arrives to work before I do and often leaves after I do.

American actually got us on an earlier flight than we had scheduled, so we were optimistic about the trip being an easy one. Too optimistic, as it turned out. We took off on time for what should have been a one-hour flight to Dallas, but Mother Nature had other ideas. As we approached Dallas, the Captain came on the microphone and announced that there were violent storms currently pounding the city. He said we would circle for a while and see if we could land. Approximately 20 minutes later, he came back on to tell us that the DFW airport had been closed because of the weather. We were diverting to Abilene, TX to re-fuel and wait it out.

Sure enough, we landed in Abilene. I thought it was ironic that we were probably already closer to Colorado Springs than we were to Dallas, but what’s a Bubba to do? We were on the tarmac for about an hour before the Captain got clearance to take off again for DFW. I started working over the possibilities in my head. Of course, everything depended upon our connecting flight still being in Dallas, but since we were over 2 hours late, what was the possibility that this could happen? So, I pondered having to call the Customer Contact Center to cancel our first night at the Sheraton Colorado Springs and book one at the Sheraton DFW Airport instead. Chris would be off the plane before me anyway, so I figured we would discuss it after disembarking.

As it turns out, the connecting flight was also delayed. We arrived at about 11:10 and it was scheduled to leave at 11:50. The only problem now was getting to the other side of the terminal where the departure gate was. Fortunately, one of the carts came by hauling chairs and tables. Lucky for us, there was one bench seat empty and we were there in no time.

The flight to Colorado Springs was relatively trouble-free; the only notable exception being the flight attendants. I honestly don’t ever remember a flight where I (and everyone else onboard) made comments to one another about how surly they were. I guess we have to assume they were not particularly happy with the current developments at American or perhaps they were peeved at the weather delay. I can’t say I would (was) be very happy about it either, but hell would have to freeze over before I’d let anyone outside the company know about it.

Chris went to get the rental car and directions to the hotel while I gathered my bag at the baggage claim and we were off to the hotel. It was raining and about 38 degrees Fahrenheit when we arrived, which was a nice change from Austin – for me anyway. Chris guided us expertly to the hotel and we went inside to see if we still had our rooms. It was 2 AM and he had been told that the hotel might be oversold because of a convention. Lucky for us, everything was in order. The front desk staff was probably the friendliest Sheraton staff I have ever encountered. Chris was given a room on the club level and I was given one on the ground floor. Except for the distance from the front desk, it was a terrific room; very spacious and newly renovated. I began unpacking and called the wife to let her know we had landed safely. Since it was 3:30 AM back at home, I just left a message. Since there was nothing on my plate the next day - except for a trip over to the House of Miles – I planned to sleep in some to recover from the trip. The room seemed to me to be suffocatingly hot, so I turned off the heat, opened the outside vent and put the fan on, grabbed a complimentary bottle of water and jumped into bed, which was very comfortable. Not Westin Heavenly, you understand, but still very comfortable. I was out before I knew it.

The Day of the Freddies - April 24th

Believe it or not, I was wide awake at 9:30 AM. So much for sleeping in. I still took my time moving around, having coffee, watching the news on CNN, having a room service breakfast, and reading both the Wall St. Journal and USA Today before taking a shower. Somewhere along the line the toilet got plugged up. I hate those low-flow toilets, don’t you? Anyway, I called the front desk to ask for a plunger and waited. The front desk called back in what could not have been more than 5 minutes asking if the plunger had arrived. Nope. Apologies and assurances were flowing. Honestly; I had only been waiting for a few minutes. It was really not a problem. Almost as soon as we hung up, there was a knock on the door; maintenance with a plunger. A couple of plunges later and he’s gone. Five more minutes pass and the phone rings asking if the problem had been taken care of to my satisfaction. “Well, the toilet works now, so I guess so”, I replied, trying not to let on that I was a little more annoyed by the constant calling to check-up on things that the actual event. It was probably my fault, after all. I’m just used to a little better water pressure in the toilet tank at home.

Anyway, this is probably way more about my morning than any of you really wanted to know, but here are some hotel-related things you might find interesting:

*Shower pressure – perfect; the toilet and combo shower/bathtub were separate from the sink, which is nice if other people are in the room
*Bath amenities – Sheraton branded (they’re just not as bad as some of you think they are)
*TV size/distance from bed ratio – perfect
*Complimentary coffee or tea – first hotel that I have ever seen that stocks real half and half and not that dreck that comes in a foil packet; but, I brought my own coffee along with sufficient coffee filters because I’m addicted to Ethiopian Yirgacheffe.
*Work area – nice wide desk and very comfortable chair
*Iron, ironing board, & robe in closet
*Nice closet with lots of hangars
*HSIA access; also dataport connections
*Two bottles complimentary water (sad to say that these were not replaced on the second day)
*Room service/dining menu – the selection available was very nice, but I was a little disappointed that it ended at 10:30 PM. Allegedly, there were late night snacks and sandwiches available in the lobby after that, but I was never hungry enough to make the hike to check it out. Service was fast and efficient. They roll the usual service charges and gratuity into the check, but if you ask the server, he will tell you they have already taken care of him this way. I asked just to be sure, but gave him a token amount more. The breakfast I had consisted of a three egg cheese and mushroom omellette, a short stack of pancakes, and milk. Absolutely some of the best food I’ve ever had in a hotel and really too much as I could not finish it. The pancakes are huge. God help anyone that orders a full stack.

Like a said before, the room itself was very spacious. It had a nice chair and ottoman near the window next to a small table and plenty of room to move around in despite the king-sized bed.


I'll add more as I able

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

[email protected]

[This message has been edited by Starwood Lurker (edited 05-02-2003).]

Starwood Lurker, welcome to the trip report section. Thanks for taking your time and writing a wonderful report http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/thumbsup.gif http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/thumbsup.gif http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/thumbsup.gif (instead of having to read always our reports/complaints/...) .


[This message has been edited by LH738 (edited 05-02-2003).]

I;m suprised that you haven't flown for 7 years!!

Great report. Look forward to more...

r http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/cool.gif http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/cool.gif
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/thumbsup.gif http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/thumbsup.gif http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/thumbsup.gif http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/thumbsup.gif

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kpc

I suppose that these flight attendants won't be earning an Industry Impact Award anytime soon! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

now that's TMI. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

j/k. good report.

William: Thanks for posting. What you saw was what you get. Multiply this by about 40 flights a year, and 40-50 hotels, and you see why we all watch this board for pointers, tips and tricks to make it easier and more rewarding---- if you had to do this drill (which I personally love, despite the tribulations), can you see why we take this very seriously?

I certainly appreciate your participation here, as Starwood, it seems "gets it": Staying in touch with types like us lets you make the most of the properties you have, bad water pressure and all.

BTW, I just can't agree that the toilet deal is "probably your problem". Barring an, ahem, major incident, ANY hotel room toilet NEEDS to work perfectly EVERY time, and there's just no excuse for any other result. It isn't exactly a high tech, not-well-understood piece of equipment. Hope you can let them know, and effectively get them to examine however many of this model they've got. Cripes! How very basic. I'm reminded of the phrase "No Surprises at (insert competing chain here)". No guest needs that sort of surprise.

Were both of your flights with American Airlines? What do you think of More Room Throughout Coach? Or did you fly up front in First Class?????

I was very suprised by that statement as well.

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Visit FlyerTalk Dining http://flyertalk.com/diningfr.shtml

William,

Thanks and welcome to our world. Now as someone above says multiply these insignificant headaches by some large factor and you understand why we all watch out for those little things.

Glad to see that your own property took such good care of you (BTW that heat issue is one that really gets me a lots of properties-except some do not have windows that open), must say I am surprised by no air trips in 7 years as well.

I think Starwood should be sending you on 1 or more all expense paid vacations/trips (with your family) per year not just for a reward but as market research for what we go thru. Including staying at some of your competition as a guest. No better way for you to understand our pleasures and pains.

[This message has been edited by 200 ngts/ 200 legs/year (edited 05-03-2003).]

I think its great you made this trip report. I'm also surprised you haven't flown for so long. Flying and hotel stays go hand in hand as far as I'm concerned. You can now see how we look forward to getting to the hotel after a day of flying. What you described is a typical business trip. Delays are common (though not usually as bad as yours), you arrive at the hotel late, they may have given away all the good rooms to others that arrived earlier, the free water almost always doesn't get replaced after the first night, room service is lmited by the time you actually get back to the room or are in need of it.
Great information and welcome to our world of flights, car rentals, wrong directions, hotels, surfing the net late at night (Flyer Talk) when you can't sleep and restaurant food. Its a great life (no it really is!).

Bigshaker

Starwood Lurker, you must have stayed at another Sheraton in Colorado Springs!

The one I stayed at in September was not as you describe (admittedly the front desk staff was very friendly). The room sounds quite different - renovated perhaps. I left after one night and moved down the road. I've since described it as being like a "Holiday Inn circa 1979". It's actually scared me away from Sheratons (except for Edinburgh - nice).

Keep traveling so we can compare notes!

Thanks for the interest. As I am able, I'll post some more.

I just don't travel that much. I got my fill of overseas travel as an oil company dependant back in the late sixties. These days, whenever Mrs. Starwood Lurker and I travel, it is usually within driving distance or we go via Amtrak. Back in the day when we used to be able to earn Sheraton miles, I accumulated a handsome sum, but when ITT was bought by Starwood, we were eventually asked to redeem what we had. I chose poorly - American Express gift checks. In retrospect, I should have done an airline transfer to make the best use of the points, but that's all water under the bridge now.

Now we can accumulate Starpoints by being Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express cardholders and from having AT&T as our long distance carrier, but otherwise it's pretty limited. I'm saving up to 20,000 when I will send it to an airline - either Continental or American. Once I do this, I think I'll take Mrs. Starwood Lurker to Hawaii - probably the Lodge at Koele since that is more our style.

Other than that, I'm looking forward to going to Washington DC and New York next April for about a week.

Sincerely,

William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

[email protected]

The House of Miles

Around noon, I gave a call to Chris to see if he wanted to drive over to the House of Miles. He had some emails and phone calls to finish, but said he would meet me in the lobby at 1 PM.

When we got in late last night, I had asked about where the House of Miles was in relation to the hotel. The night auditor did not have a clue, but one of the guys behind the front desk said he would look it up for us. He brought over the phone book that listed the address and having taken note of it, I went down to my room. To my surprise, this morning there was an 8 X 11 envelope shoved under my door. In it were a couple of maps of Colorado Springs – one torn from the Yellow Pages and another from a car rental company. Also, a hand-written note on hotel stationery that gave the address and phone number as well as a short exhortation: “Good luck at the Freddies tonight!” I was amazed that anyone from the hotel knew that is what we were in town for.

Ordered a small snack from room service while I waited. It was a dip made of artichoke hearts, Parmesan cheese, mushrooms and cream served with garlic toast on the side. Delicious.

Met Chris in the lobby and we headed out to the address in the phone book. Unfortunately, Randy had moved his offices since this phone book was printed. We called over to the House of Miles and got directions. A few minutes later, we walked in and introduced ourselves as being with Starwood Preferred Guest. We were shown to the glass encased conference room across from Randy’s office where a spread of hot food and cold drinks awaited. Curiously, there was a huge bowl of Red Hots in the middle of the table. We spoke to some of the Lacek folks who had gotten there just before us and then met Comicwoman before settling down to a seat and talking with 777globalmilehound. Chris had something to eat, but I was still full and opted for some Perrier instead, along with some occasional Red Hots. Turns out that one of Randy’s favorite things are these Red Hots. As a result, there were large bowls of them everywhere. Soon Randy came in and we sat and talked for a few minutes. Then he took the Lacek folks on a nickel tour of the facilities. Shortly thereafter Ling came through cleaning up the food area and the table. I guess Randy was serious about putting Flyetalkers to work. We left shortly after Randy and the Lacek folks returned, but I did hear him say that the House of Miles had won some architectural design awards and I believe it. Overall, it looked like a very nice place to work. 777globalmilehound walked with us out to the car and we were headed back to the Sheraton.

On the way, Chris got a call from Jim Berra. He was curious as to whether or not Randy or anyone else had dropped any hints as to the outcome of the Freddies. Sad to report that they had been tight as a clam. Jim said we would all meet in the lobby of the Sheraton at 5 PM.

Prelude to the Freddies

I rested a bit and called the wife before heading to the lobby. There was also a message waiting for me. I called to retrieve the message and it turned out to be the Sheraton Promise people calling to offer me $15 off the room charges or a free movie. I called them back and took the movie credit since the company was paying for everything else.

To my chagrin, the room had still not been made up in the three hours I was away. As I was leaving to meet Jim and the rest of the Starwood Preferred Guest folks, I called the front desk to request maid service. I wondered whether or not there would be subsequent follow-up calls and another free movie perhaps.

Having beat everyone else to the lobby, I found the most comfortable chair (there were many of them) there and settled in. Jim came through a couple of minutes later and we talked briefly before heading to the lounge. There we were joined by a cast of SPG corporate characters that I had never had the privilege to meet, but with whom I have corresponded many times over the years – basically you know them collectively as the marketing gurus. I ordered a 15 year old Balmorie single malt and water neat and we relaxed while arrangements were made with the hotel to transport us to the Wyndham. Around 6:30, we loaded aboard the hotel shuttle and got a rolling tour of the sites on the way. It was hard not to notice that I was the only male person not in a suit and tie. Maybe I should have worn my clerical collar, jibbee, and exorasson for a more formal look. I haven’t owned a suit and tie since becoming a deacon in the Orthodox Church. But, no one from our group said anything about the 2001 Program of the Year denim shirt I was wearing for good luck, so maybe it was acceptable considering the occasion.

As we walked into the Wyndham, some of our folks remarked what a nice hotel it was. We checked in for our name tags and went to one of the conference rooms set aside for the Freddies pre-party cocktails and hors d’ouvres. This is where I met techgirl, gleff, and danial among others, including Sir Freddie Laker himself. Sir Freddie had a special request, which I am still working on for him, even though it is a little out of my ballywick. Soon we were being called for dinner.

[next: the Freddies award banquet & ceremony]

Very good report William. I appreciate you "telling it like it is" about your stay at your company's hotel.

dangge villmool (swiss german) = Thank you very much, for your insider trip report and congratulations for your well deserved Freddie!

The Banquet and the Freddie Awards

Along with our name tags, we were given a small card that listed which table we had been assigned to. Mine was table 18. Only problem is that I think I was the only person assigned to table 18. Soon the Lacek folks asked Chris and I to join them at their table next to the marketing gurus. As we got settled in, a call to action concerning dinner was made and everyone made their way to two separate food displays to choose their meal options. I have to say that Randy really knows how to throw a spread. There was a chef carving turkey, ham, and roast beef on one table, another laden with various vegetarian delights, another that had a slightly Italian/Asian theme with a focus on pasta, and another heavily laden with about 12 different deserts. We ate well. On the table was a bottle of white wine and a bottle of red wine – soon it was two bottles of wine once the Lacek folks determined everyone at their table was drinking white.

So here we are. It is Holy Week for the Orthodox and I am missing two nights at church to be here. Now mind you, a deacon doesn’t do much the first few nights of Holy Week so I was probably not greatly missed in that aspect, but it was a real sacrifice for me spiritually and not an easy decision for me to make to even come. For one, we are still fasting. True, it’s just a spiritual discipline and not a grievous sin not to fast, and it is also true that when one travels there is a dispensation of sorts that can be granted, but we are days away from the holiest night of the year – Pascha. Gratefully, the Lord gave grace, Randy provided options, and I was able to avoid the meat. Only time would tell what spiritual damage would be done later, if any.

As it turns out, Randy is able to eat for the first time at one of the Freddie ceremonies. Wow; the first time in 15 tries. Now that’s fasting. Anyway, once he finishes, he is soon up and pacing the stage. I won’t bore you with the details of all that was said or done as that is preserved for everyone here: http://www.freddieawards.com/ . What I will do is relate what was going on in my mind before he dropped the big one on me. He casually mentioned that before the actual Freddies were handed out, he would like to give a couple of preliminary awards. As he clicked for a slide, I saw the words “Starwood Preferred Guest” and a lot of writing out to the side. I thought to myself, “Wow, that’s great. He’s honoring Starwood Preferred Guest for something special.” Then, as I began to read the writing, I saw my name and the words Starwood Lurker. What a complete shock. Randy continued to tell everyone why he was giving me this Industry Impact Award, but I was just dazed. As he asked me to come up to accept it, I was a little weak in the knees. What was I going to say? Who would I thank? If I tried to thank anyone, I knew there would be at least a dozen people I would forget. So, I just stammered out, “Thank you. Thank you very much. I am pleased to accept this on behalf of everyone who does Customer Service for Starwood.” They then gave Jim a copy to take back to White Plains. If not for the fact that the Freddies had not yet begun, I was almost ready to go home. But, I’m glad I stayed. I’m not sure any of you know what a great honor you bestowed on us by voting us to win 12 Freddie awards in 2002. To win Program of the Year for four straight years is an unbelievable accomplishment in itself, but we could not do it without your inspiration and your input. When Jim accepted the two Program of the Year awards (International & Americas), he told the people there that he had gotten well-wishes before leaving White Plains from Barry Sternlicht. It was written on a job application from Starbucks. Personally, I’m happy to say that it probably won’t be necessary for him to fill out that job application. Justin the Intern rules!

But, Randy was not through with his surprises for the evening. Under the ruse of handing out a Freddie award for creative marketing campaigns in the travel industry, he called up his girl friend and another gentleman who was not in the business as judges. The he displayed several slides that depicted several ad campaigns. He got to one that said, “Was it love…or was it the miles,” and lingered a bit before revealing the next slide which read, “It was love! Julie will you marry me?” I think everybody in the room was crying at the point Randy fell to one knee and offered an engagement ring. Julie, of course, accepted. And, with that, Randy invited us to the bar for the after-Freddies party.

What a delightful evening it was. I met our folks at the lobby bar for a short time and learned that everyone but me knew I was going to get the Industry Impact Award. Chris offered his cell phone for me to call my wife, which I did, but it was way too late for Mrs. Starwood Lurker to be up, so I left a message. I took the award to the party to show it to and thank everyone. Then I had a nice conversation with the person in charge of the newly budding Emirates Airline program, 777globalmilehound, and took a group picture with the rest of the Flyertalkers before getting into a cab and heading back to the Sheraton. I was dead tired when we arrived, but we checked the awards at the front desk and Chris and I made arrangements to meet in the lobby the following morning at 10:30 AM. Then I hiked back to my room to find it well-made and turned back. No other phone messages or offers were awaiting, however. Not that I really expected there would be. I went to bed without ordering the movie. I would be asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow anyway.

next: the trip back home

Sincerely,

William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

[email protected]

Great reports, William !! Thank you !

Great report! This is the insider stuff that makes me so sad that I couldn't come over from germany to visit the ceremony... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

Thanks a lot for the great report! And keep up the good work; you 1.000% deserved the award! Hope spg management knows what they have of you...! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Likewise.

Next year in Jerusalem! Maybe one of these years I'll make it in person.

Bravo Zulu William. Si Yu'us Ma'ase!

("Well Done" in military-speak.)
("Thank you" in Chamorro -- literally, "May God Have Mercy" or ". . . Bless" [I'm not sure])

if you can get them to post. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

Starwood Lurker,
Enjoyed reading about your trip - you have always had a gift when putting words to paper. Very proud of you as recepient of the Freddie Award. Keep up the good work!

Your brother

Enjoyed your report http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

For those that may be wondering...yes, this is really my brother. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Sincerely,

William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

[email protected]

Great trip report and congratulations on the Industry Impact Award! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/thumbsup.gif

From someone who spends 50+ nights a year in a hotel, its refreshing to read a trip report that provides an insider view.

Thanks William--great report and well-deserved award! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Thanks for the nice trip report and...

Congratulations, Mr. Lurker! The Freddie for Industry Impact is certainly an award you and your organization deserve. It seems your involvement here is a natural progression for this community, which is itself a past winner of the award. Thank you for your involvement here.

The Trip Back Home

As nice as Colorado Springs was, including the hospitality displayed by the Inside Flyer folks and the Sheraton Colorado Springs staff, I was anxious to return to Austin. All I have to do is leave there for a short time to really appreciate the city in which I live. There’s just no place like it that I have ever been to. So, I woke up around 9:30 AM, packed and headed out to the lobby to meet Chris at our appointed time. Went to the front desk to pick up the Industry Impact award and thanked them for doing their part in our having won another 12 Freddies. I wrapped the award in some bubble wrap and placed in my carry-on. Then I sat in another one of their wonderfully comfortable lobby chairs and read USA Today until Chris came to pay the bill.

Afterwards, we were off to the airport and, gentleman that he is, Chris dropped me off at the departure point before turning in the rental car. I checked in using the AA Self Check-in, but needed some help from the attendant since I really did not understand it at first. Chris was close behind and we proceeded to the security gate. As I rounded the corner, I saw about 200 military people all dressed in fatigues. I asked one, “Are you all waiting to get through security?” He said, “No, we’re waiting for some of our folks who are returning from overseas.” Whew. If they had all been waiting for security, I wasn’t sure we were going to make the flight.

As it was, we were able to weave through the crowd to the security gate. Unfortunately, I forgot to remove my pith helmet and the rivets in it set off the alarm. I was asked to step aside for wanding and a pat-down. No problem. After the pith helmet was removed, I passed through with flying colors. Then the woman screening bags brought my bag over. “There is something in your bag that we’d like to check.” It was then that I realized that the award, being Tiffany crystal, was likely showing up on their screen as a huge black object. Sure enough. They took it out, confirmed what it was, and had me put it back. Still, I wondered…this thing weighs about ten pounds. It could probably be considered a bludgeon-type weapon, so I was probably lucky they let me onboard with it.

After going to the gate, I decided to check out what was available at the lounge for breakfast. I was able to buy a couple of bagels, a salad, and a Coke to hold me over. After I finished, Chris took a turn and by the time he got back, we were the last two on the plane. No problem for me anyway. I prefer for the aisles to be cleared before boarding, but while we are on the subject of boarding, it seems weird the way AA does it. They board by groups these days, which is fine, but the order is strange. First on seem to be first class. No problem here. I mean you take care of these guys first and since there are fewer of them, they get settled in quickly. But then, they seem to board front to back. Wouldn’t it make better sense to board back to forward? That way, you don’t have people stopping in front of you storing their carry-ons in the overhead storage areas and jockeying for their seat. It’s bad enough that the aisle people always get to their seats first, which causes them to have to get up to allow you in to the window and middle seats, but the order of boarding they use now just seems to aggravate the situation even more. I guess it’s not that big a deal. It just seemed strange to me anyway.

Regardless, there were no surly flight attendants or delays on this flight to Dallas. I even managed to nap a bit after the refreshment 100-yard dash was completed. We got off and went to our next departure gate, which was about five gates away this time.

For reasons that are obvious if you’ve ever met me in person, I buy two seats when I fly. Not that I take up two seats, mind you, but I definitely take more than one. Yep, I’m the guy that everyone dreads being seated next to. I can see it in your faces when I come down the aisle. (oh God, please don’t let him be assigned to the seat next to me!) Anyway, we check in and the gate attendant gives me two seats not in the same aisle. I tell her why I bought two seats to begin with. She says, “I’m sorry. All we have is middle seats left. You will have to check with the people who are going to be in charge of assigning seats for your flight. They will be here in 30 minutes.” Great. I try to be considerate to my fellow passengers and now somebody is going to be wearing me all the way to Austin. Thank God it is a short flight.

About 15 minutes later, someone new begins manning the gate so I take this opportunity to let him know what’s up. He says, “Wow. That kind of defeats the purpose of buying two seats, doesn’t it?” He shows the seat assignments to a colleague and she says, “This is going to be a full flight, but we have to do some re-arranging anyway. I’ll take these and see what I can do for you.” Very nice.

So we wait. We watch the crews service a plane at the next gate, which as it turns out is a pretty smooth process. Chris and I are both grateful we don’t have to do this for a living, however. I can’t even imagine doing this job in Texas in August. I used to be a commercial greenhouse grower/manager before coming to Starwood, so I know what the heat in the summer here can do to you physically. After about 40 minutes, I am called up to the check-in counter. They hand me two new seat assignments – a middle seat and an window seat, and they're in the same aisle. Thank you, AA, for coming through for everyone!

Soon, we are boarding and on our way to Austin. Boarding, I come to my aisle. Sure enough, the aisle person is in her seat with the widest eyes I have ever seen. I say, “Excuse me, Ma’am. I bought the two seats next to you and I’m going to occupy at least 1 and ¼ of them.” With a sigh of relief, she was up like a shot and I wedged myself in for the flight home, which proved uneventful except that the refreshment cart 100-yard dash was even more frantic than usual.

Home Sweet Home

Down the concourse to the downstairs baggage claim, I went. I had already exchanged well-wishes with Chris, so he could move at a pace that was more comfortable for him. He had really been a prince among men to travel with and I didn’t want to hold him up any longer.

I waited for the bag to arrive in the middle of the carousel behind a plexiglass barrier. There was a guy standing just to the right of center that was not behind this barrier. I saw my bag and said to him, “Excuse me,” but he didn’t move. So, I reached in front of him and picked up my bag, which caused him to look at me like it was going to be an issue. My guess is that once he got a full view of what he was about to encounter, he thought better of it. I just left without saying anything more. I was out the terminal as quickly as I could and soon, the wife came into view. Man, was she a sight for sore eyes.

Overall, it was a pretty good trip and I vowed that it wouldn’t be another seven years before I flew again. And the rest of Holy Week and Pascha? It was glorious. But then, isn’t it always?

Sincerely,

William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

[email protected]

[This message has been edited by Starwood Lurker (edited 05-08-2003).]

After boarding the premium cabins, American Airlines boards by groups, with group 1 boarding first and the higher groups boarding in order. Supposedly, your group number should correspond with where your seat is, so that the rows in the back of the plane board first etc. The only problem is that all us elites board with group one, regardless of where our seat is. And since we generally like to sit near the front of the plane so that we are among the first to get off the plane on arrival, well...that is probably why it looks like they occasionally are boarding from front to back instead of the logical back to front.

Congrat's and thanks for the fine report William! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif