May 2, 2025
Scottsdale Arizona

“This area looks pretty sketchy. Sure hope we don’t break down!”

(Can’t read the full email – click here for the online version.)

I first got an inkling that there was trouble when I saw 8 emails, all the same, from the airline we were flying with that evening.

The subject read: “Customer Appreciation”. 

The email then started like this: 

“Hello,

“I’ve always found that when things go wrong, it’s best to start with a simple apology. I’m sorry for the recent experience you had with us on your flight to New York/Newark.

“I know it can be frustrating when things don’t go as planned. In an effort to make this right, I’d like to invite you to visit the following link to our United Cares page.”

The email continued saying that the link would be open for 90 days and if you were traveling with family or friends – share it with them. Then ended with a thanks for traveling with them and hope to see you soon.

The letter was signed by the Vice President, Customer Care.

Note: We had not yet taken our flight to Newark. That was still 13 hours in the future.

Here was a “sorry about your experience” letter but I had yet to receive any email or notice that there might be a problem with our flight.

I then immediately opened up the airline app to confirm the status of our upcoming flight; one that I had just checked us into the evening before.

And there was this notice.

“The flight from JNB to Newark is canceled.” A mechanical issue was stated as the reason. And that we had been rebooked on flight XYZ departing on day/mth/yr. 

At first, I did not look too closely at the rebooked date. I had just woken up after all, and without the benefit of a nice cup of espresso – I wasn’t too sharp.

Upon closer inspection, however, I noticed that the new departure date was for 2 days hence. Two days! That meant extra hotel, meals, and the challenge of changing all of our other travel plans. 

Thus began a couple of hours of online chat and phone calls that would get dropped, with “customer service”.

Finally, I got a hold of a live agent. Unfortunately, she did not or could not expedite new flight arrangements that made sense to us. With my wife’s prompting, I asked for and got connected to the agent’s supervisor.

Now we were getting some action.

Eventually, we got booked onto a flight the next day that saw us traveling from Johannesburg to Cape Town; Cape Town to Washington DC, Washington to Phoenix, our final destination.

And we received decent instruction that the airline’s desk at Johannesburg would give us hotel and meal vouchers for the extra day we would be stuck in Africa.

We did indeed receive said vouchers from airline desk at the airport. It was fortunate for us that the original flight wasn’t until 9 pm and the cancellation had occurred early in the morning. When we arrived at the desk, sometime around 5 pm – most customers had already been and left. The line-up was small. 

Only one wrinkle remained.

Our flight to Cape Town the next day was with a partner airline, and we had been given only a hour to connect. Thinking that with checked bags and being an international flight, that wasn’t much time, we asked if we could get onto an earlier flight. 

You’d think that would be easy, but this one request alone took another 30 minutes, including walking over to the other airline’s desk.

Finally, we made our way to the hotel shuttle area; to get our ride to the hotel we were being put up in. That shuttle turned out to be a small mini bus, without even a trailer to handle the small crowd of similarly stranded passengers and corresponding luggage.

The sun had set by the time we were underway. The highway was dark. As is the case in South Africa, some parts of the road have streetlights that work, other areas they do not. The road was dark. The area we were traveling through did not look safe. It was a relief to all when we arrived safely at a nice-looking hotel, lit up and modern.

The next morning, we learned from other travelers who had been rebooked onto the 2-day later flight, that that flight had just been cancelled! We sure were happy that we had not accepted that automatic rebooking.

Now, while all of these travel woes may be entertaining, you are probably wondering – what is lesson in all of this?

The first should be obvious.

Customer service matters. A lot. In fact, I’d say how you handle problems and misfortune, even when it is not your fault, says a lot to your customers and clients. Do this well and you can find your reputation improves as do your referrals.

Do this poorly, and the opposite happens.

Secondly, on a personal level, I’ve found that one should never accept the first solution given to you by bureaucrats or low-level customer service reps. Always ask for a better one because most of these people are not interested in your welfare. Your request caused them to work more than they want to. But if you persevere and are persistent without being rude, you usually get the help you desire and deserve.

Until next week, 

Stay healthy and focus on profit! 

 - Hugh 
The “Profit Accelerator” Expert

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