Paradise Part 3

With coffee finished, RB glanced at the clock on his desk.  It was 6:43 AM.  There was a part of RB that wanted to call his customer back and wake him.  That would be poetic justice.  What was his name again? 

RB began looking over the emails forwarded to him from the secretary of the CEO.  He hoped there was something that would be quick and easy to work so he could get into the flow of things.  The first was a from a million mile flyer who was not happy with the difficulty of finding frequent flyer mile seats for an upcoming trip. 

Ordinarily, he would pass such work off to another area of the company.  RB’s job was to handle correspondence about events in the past.  Unfortunately, there were a couple things not handled correctly and now these things were back on RB’s plate.  It wasn’t that he minded doing them.  The problem was that he didn’t have full access to do what was necessary.  Too many times, he needed to contact other areas to get things done.  Some people didn’t appreciate RB requesting things to be done when they were outside the rules.  Frustration always built when RB haggled with these people who seemed more concerned with guarding their territory than making things right for the customer on behalf of the CEO. 

RB planned on this one being a long ordeal.  Too many times when trying to book something for a frequent flyer, it was a problem getting ahold of them since they were always flying.  Then there would be the problem of finding seats.  He was glad he had finally been given overbooking capabilities.  That would make his job easier.  Hopefully, the man wasn't traveling.

The next email had a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.  It was a compliment from a company employee for how other employees handled a situation.  The CEO wanted RB to draft a letter in reply that would bear his signature.  In the months in which RB worked with the executives, he had gotten to know them better and began to improve his craftsmanship on their behalf.  He wanted to write they way they would write.  Slowly, he was getting there. 

In this case, the email was from a pilot who had a death in the family.  He worked a flight to Tampa, FL.  Shortly after takeoff to Tampa, his wife received word his father had taken a turn for the worse and the family was being called to get to Columbus, OH as soon as possible.  Rather than contact the plane and advise the pilot, pilot management contacted the crew trackers to determine the best way to cover his trip and get him to his father.

Miraculously, a replacement pilot was found and sent to Tampa while the flight was still enroute to Tampa.  There would be a short delay while customers waited for the new pilot but it was better than a cancellation.  Meanwhile, a flight from Tampa to Cincinnati was arranged for the pilot of the dying father.  His wife would meet him there since the hospital was between Cincinnati and Columbus.  All of this was arranged in the two our flight the pilot worked.  He also noted the kindness of the Tampa agent who advised him of the dreadful news.  The people in Tampa also arranged for a private area for the pilot. 

RB needed to do some research which took about 40 minutes and had the letter done after 12 more minutes.  He waited to proof the letter.  He found that, too often, when he proofed letters shortly after they were written, he missed things.  Nonetheless, he was proud of the work he put into this letter.  Also, it was a joy to learn of how other people in the company could care for one another.  It made his heart feel light, if only for a moment.  RB knew more complaints were on the daily agenda.