Learning On the Road

For many years, I’ve been traveling on airlines to
different events and conferences. Admittedly traveling is hard on your bags and
suitcases. I’ve had to replace bags and once I even had to send my my laptop bag
sent off for repair.







With all of my travel, I’ve never gotten my
bag off the plane with damage—until this month. My travel goes in spurts and
during the month of March I am making four different trips and a series of
flights each time. On the first flight to celebrate the
89th birthday of my mother, I landed in Lexington, Kentucky and
pulled my suitcase off the baggage carousel. Several hours earlier in Denver
when I checked in the bag, the suitcase had four rotating wheels. Now in
Lexington, my suitcase had three wheels. With the missing wheel,
it wobbled.



My sister suggested I file a damage bag
report with American Airlines. I learned these
damage reports have to be filed immediately before leaving the airport. I went
to the ticket desk and filled out the report, then went on with my trip to
celebrate time with my Mom. A few days later, I returned home with my broken suitcase then noticed the
bag sustained additional damage—a missing zipper. With a damaged bag, you have
to give it back to the airline empty. Then they will either repair it or replace
the bag. 



I emptied my suitcase and  took it with me to
the Denver airport on my second of four trips. American
Airlines took my bag when I checked into the
airline with my bags for travel. I made my second trip and returned home. Then I
called American to check on my bag
repair. They told me it could take as long as three weeks so I assumed I would
not have my suitcase for my month of travel. Also they told me the broken zipper
(which happened on the return trip) was not on the original claim and likely
would not be repaired. I wondered what would happen with my bag.



Between my second and third trips, the FedEx
man delivered a huge box to my front door. It held my repaired suitcase and everything including
the broken zipper was repaired.  I hear a lot these days about the challenges of
travel and the poor customer service from the airlines. I
believe it is also worth praising the airlines when they serve their customers
well and do something exceptional. It’s why I believed I should include this
article.



Several things:


1. If your bag is damaged,
report it immediately to the airline.

2. Praise and thank the airline for
their good customer service when you receive it. 


I love having a good news
travel story to report to you.



Tweetable:



Catch a new lesson this experienced traveler learned on the road. (ClickToTweet)