Happy Trails

The best thing ever has happened today....

My travel agent got a travel-booking equipped laptop at home.  

My life has just become 100% less stressful.

I know that sounds ridiculous to the normal person.  But I of course am not a normal person.  (Yes, in many, many ways I am not normal, but for today's purposes I am not normal with regard to my relationship with my travel agent.)  I talk to my travel agent on the phone at least 10 times every day.  This is not an exaggeration.  I have a love-hate relationship with them, but in the end most times I love them.  Yes, they are excruciatingly slow at times.  Yes, they often forget some things that I ask them to do.  Yes, they are not at all good at researching options.  However, if I know exactly what I want and press them on it by reminding them and calling them if I'm up against a deadline, they always, always come through for me. They would do anything at any time for me.  I truly feel like a valued customer and friend.

Case in point:  Tonight is Sunday.  I found out at 7.30p that a complicated international ticket was required for someone going after their German visa tomorrow morning at 9am.  There was no time to wait for the agency to open in the morning.  No time for them to tackle this during regular business hours.  So I dial up my main contact at the agency at her home on her mobile phone.  She gladly answers my call and I tell her my as usual tremendously pathetic story.  Imagining a night filled with waiting on someone to go open up the agency and get a ticket issued at literally the 11th hour, I eagerly await her response to my request.

Surprisingly, she says, 'Don't worry Ma'am, I'll do it right now myself.  I have a laptop at home now."

After nearly falling off my swivel-based office chair from the initial shock of this good news, great rejoicing fills my heart and mind as I realize that the waiting will not go on and on for hours, leaving me in uncertainty that anything could actually be done.  One hour later, I have the perfect ticket in my email in-box and the night is completely saved.  I am a happy, happy camper tonight and look forward to many more nights when I will be able to 'save the day' through the service of my good friends at the travel agency.

The truly interesting part about this entire story, however, is that I, Leah Kadwell, seem to be the only person on the face of the earth that can get this type of service from our travel agency.  In fact, I have stopped referring people to the agency if I am not personally handling their travel details.  Sadly, they do not respond to others' emails or phone calls or requests.  I'm glad that I know this information now and can point people elsewhere for their travel requirements. 

But from a purely selfish standpoint, they serve my needs extremely faithfully and competently as they have for the last ten years and seem to be able to work travel miracles that seem like only fantasy to the rest of the modern world.

Thank you, thank you God for orchestrating a laptop for my travel agent to use in her home on evenings and weekends.  One giant source of anxiety and anguish has just been relieved from my life, hopefully forever.

~lk