Mamacita says:
I just got back from Blog World Expo in Las Vegas and I’ll tell you honestly that I didn’t want to leave it. I love blog conferences and I love Vegas. Can you tell? Does it show?
Jim Turner of One by One Media did a FANTASTIC job on this conference. I’d like to have a nickel for every person who stopped by the booth and mentioned his name. Ditto for his radio spots. Excellent. Best social media director ever.
Now, how did I get to Vegas? Southwest Airlines. The trip there was flawless – every detail was smooth. The flight attendants were hilarious and helpful and the pilot kept telling jokes over the intercom. (I am put at ease by funny people.) On the trip back, Southwest made a little error in that the boarding pass guy gave me a boarding pass with someone else’s name and destination on it, which I didn’t discover until I was in line to remove my shoes and submit to a full body cavity search because I’m ALWAYS that random person who gets such attention. When it was almost my turn, I looked closely at the boarding pass and saw the words “Laura” and “Nashville” on it. Since my name is not Laura and I wasn’t going to Nashville – although it is a lovely city and I’m sure I would have had a good time there – I turned to the heavily armed guard waving people through and asked him what I should do. He sent me back downstairs where I found a very helpful woman who took me back outside to the curbfront boarding pass kiosk, and all was made well. The young man who made the mistake was genuinely mortified, but I told him it was all right; I wasn’t mad, and I certainly wasn’t one of those nasty dirty people who sue at the drop of a hat, or demand freebies over some well-intentioned person’s simple piece of human error. I got a pass with “Jane” and “Indianapolis” on it, and rejoined the line of barefoot people, the contents of their pockets in bowls sliding along the table towards the curtained x-ray machine and the eyes of two women who have GOT to have the most boring job in the world. Well, until the crazies show up.
Right now, Southwest is my favorite airline. On the way home, both attendants sang all the instructions to us, and told jokes almost all the way from Vegas to Indy. I thanked them for the flight and the show. Oh, and for the peanuts, which were in a package clearly labeled “Peanuts.” Under which was printed “Warning: contains peanuts.”
My second favorite airline is Frontier. Flying Frontier is easy and organized, and I’ve never had a single problem with them. Nobody sang to me, but since I really didn’t expect that kind of entertainment, I didn’t miss it.
I cannot say the same for any other airline I’ve used. Nope, can’t do it. (The worst so far: American.)
Oh, and that “problem” with Southwest today? It only raised my respect for the company. A company that admits a mistake and immediately fixes it is far superior to a company that denies making any mistakes and makes you jump through hoops and fill out forms to get it “fixed.” Seriously. I’d patronize a business that allowed negative consumer comments before I’d go near a business that is seemingly perfect, because we KNOW it’s not perfect – they just don’t let anybody know about any complaints. The business that isn’t afraid to let it be known that it’s run by imperfect humans who occasionally mess up – AND WHICH DEMONSTRATES AND PROVES THAT ANY PROBLEMS ARE IMMEDIATELY FIXED – is my kind of business. I know for a fact that there are many businesses online that will not publish any but the positive comments. I call bullshit on that practice. Consumers KNOW businesses make mistakes, and when businesses admit it and fix them and show the WORLD they make mistakes and fix them, well, that’s the kind of business we’re ALL seeking, isn’t it? The “extra mile” isn’t really extra at all; it’s necessary, vital even, if you want to succeed in today’s world. The honest way, anyway.
As far as the conference was organized, all I can say is: FANTASTIC. I have not a single complaint, and if you know me at all, you know that’s some kind of amazing.
Okay, one complaint: it’s over now. I’m at home, and I’d rather be in Vegas, catching sight of the people I’m fast becoming acquainted with who show up at all of these conferences. It’s like going to summer camp as a kid: every year, the same kids are there, and you search the sea of faces for THOSE PEOPLE and THERE THEY ARE! Awesomeness at its most awesome.
The following will be entirely too much information unless you love me:
I’m going in for a colonoscopy on Friday. How I’m going to lecture with all that laxative running through my system, I really don’t know. Yet.
Key word: “running.” And it’s not the laxative I’m worried about.
Frankly, I don’t want my students to know for sure how full of “it” I really am.
Did you really read all of that? I love you, too!
Fanbloodytastic, Jane. You’re the best writer on the ‘net. I swear, I never encountered anyone before who could blend humor and seriousness together and succeed so well at both. I hope your phone is ringing off the hook with Random House, etc, begging for your manuscripts.
Fanbloodytastic, Jane. You’re the best writer on the ‘net. I swear, I never encountered anyone before who could blend humor and seriousness together and succeed so well at both. I hope your phone is ringing off the hook with Random House, etc, begging for your manuscripts.
I really hope everything’s okay, but I’ll keep you in my prayers just in case. 🙂 I’ve never been able to fly Southwest or Frontier yet, but I’ll keep them on my short list of good airlines (which now consists of two airlines…)
I really hope everything’s okay, but I’ll keep you in my prayers just in case. 🙂 I’ve never been able to fly Southwest or Frontier yet, but I’ll keep them on my short list of good airlines (which now consists of two airlines…)
I also had a great experience the last time we flew, and it was also with Southwest. I was VERY sick on the plane, and I SO wanted to get off at the next stop. (We actually had 4 ascents and descents without actually getting off the plane, and I just couldn’t take it).
anyway, the stewardess took me off ot the plane, and I told her I wanted to get off but my husband didn’t want us too and was afraid we’d be stranded. She said to me, “Well, if you feel you’re too sick to fly, we cannot let you back on the plane. What we CAN do is get you on the first flight to your destination in the morning and tonight we can give you a discount voucher for a hotel.”
She also leaned down to me and said, “What is YOUR decision? Don’t worry about what your husband wants – what do YOU want?”
We got off the plane, stayed in a hotel that night and were happily on the next flight out in the morning. I was SO happy to be in a bed and off of that plane!
I loved how they handled it – oh, and I forgot to say they had 8 paramedics there to take my vitals and make sure I was okay when they took me off of the plane. They really took care of me. No other airline has EVER done that for me, and I’ve been sick on many of them 🙂
I also had a great experience the last time we flew, and it was also with Southwest. I was VERY sick on the plane, and I SO wanted to get off at the next stop. (We actually had 4 ascents and descents without actually getting off the plane, and I just couldn’t take it).
anyway, the stewardess took me off ot the plane, and I told her I wanted to get off but my husband didn’t want us too and was afraid we’d be stranded. She said to me, “Well, if you feel you’re too sick to fly, we cannot let you back on the plane. What we CAN do is get you on the first flight to your destination in the morning and tonight we can give you a discount voucher for a hotel.”
She also leaned down to me and said, “What is YOUR decision? Don’t worry about what your husband wants – what do YOU want?”
We got off the plane, stayed in a hotel that night and were happily on the next flight out in the morning. I was SO happy to be in a bed and off of that plane!
I loved how they handled it – oh, and I forgot to say they had 8 paramedics there to take my vitals and make sure I was okay when they took me off of the plane. They really took care of me. No other airline has EVER done that for me, and I’ve been sick on many of them 🙂
You are such a good writer! This made me smile just to read it.
You are such a good writer! This made me smile just to read it.