When I first got back to Texas for the winter break, I (thankfully) headed up to the panhandle with my parents to spend some time with them and my grandparents instead of just opting for a larger chunk of time at the end of the trip. I had also planned to return for a few days right before flying back out.
However, when my granddad passed, I knew I needed to be by my grandma's side as soon as possible, even though I wasn't sure if I'd be able to change my tickets. As I prepared to call the airline, my expectations were pretty low, but when I explained the situation to the agent she not only expressed her condolences, but also began the process of getting me on an earlier flight. We were disconnected in the process, and I got a different agent when I called back. I explained the situation and what the other agent had been in the process of doing. After some further discussion, checking with her supervisor, and confirming the funeral home, she was able to do an even exchange for the ticket and get me back to my family sooner. Even though it was only a difference of a day and a half, that time was so precious to me. Thank you, American Airlines.
Everything in west Texas is pretty spread out - there's just a lot of land and so it can take a while to get just about anywhere. Because of that, my family decided to stay at a Hereford hotel to make the funeral arrangements a little easier. The hotel truly went above and beyond to ensure we were all taken care of, including making every effort to make my 90+ year old grandmother as comfortable as possible, not necessarily a task to be undertaken lightly. Although I don't believe I'll need to return anytime soon, I'd certainly encourage anyone visiting Hereford and needing accommodations to book a room there. Thank you, Holiday Inn Express.
My dad was asked to do a slideshow for the service and was having a little trouble with it. Since I arrived early, I decided it was a project I could take over in order to give him one less thing to worry about. Well, the incompatibility issues between mac/pc/different operating systems/etc made a "simple" project quite a bit more complicated than it really should have been. Not only that, but the system at the funeral home didn't have the cord that could make it all possible, either. So, Dad and I decided to check out the only place within about a 60 mile radius that might have what we needed - the local RadioShack/hardware store. (Yep - two-in-one...that's west Texas style.) The poor guy was swamped, but still bending over backward to try and help us with every potential option...unfortunately, none were viable. We swung over to Walmart, just in case, then back to RadioShack because a combination of cables would work, providing they had the second one that Walmart still lacked. They didn't. However, he did take the time to walk me through the process of using a different program altogether to burn (rip?) the slideshow to a DVD. It took a little longer, but worked out much better than I expected. All because someone took the time to offer true customer service, even knowing it wouldn't earn a sale. Thank you, RadioShack.
I know it sounds cheesy, but I really have missed that "small town service with a smile." It was nice to be reintroduced. Thank you, Texas.
However, when my granddad passed, I knew I needed to be by my grandma's side as soon as possible, even though I wasn't sure if I'd be able to change my tickets. As I prepared to call the airline, my expectations were pretty low, but when I explained the situation to the agent she not only expressed her condolences, but also began the process of getting me on an earlier flight. We were disconnected in the process, and I got a different agent when I called back. I explained the situation and what the other agent had been in the process of doing. After some further discussion, checking with her supervisor, and confirming the funeral home, she was able to do an even exchange for the ticket and get me back to my family sooner. Even though it was only a difference of a day and a half, that time was so precious to me. Thank you, American Airlines.
Everything in west Texas is pretty spread out - there's just a lot of land and so it can take a while to get just about anywhere. Because of that, my family decided to stay at a Hereford hotel to make the funeral arrangements a little easier. The hotel truly went above and beyond to ensure we were all taken care of, including making every effort to make my 90+ year old grandmother as comfortable as possible, not necessarily a task to be undertaken lightly. Although I don't believe I'll need to return anytime soon, I'd certainly encourage anyone visiting Hereford and needing accommodations to book a room there. Thank you, Holiday Inn Express.
My dad was asked to do a slideshow for the service and was having a little trouble with it. Since I arrived early, I decided it was a project I could take over in order to give him one less thing to worry about. Well, the incompatibility issues between mac/pc/different operating systems/etc made a "simple" project quite a bit more complicated than it really should have been. Not only that, but the system at the funeral home didn't have the cord that could make it all possible, either. So, Dad and I decided to check out the only place within about a 60 mile radius that might have what we needed - the local RadioShack/hardware store. (Yep - two-in-one...that's west Texas style.) The poor guy was swamped, but still bending over backward to try and help us with every potential option...unfortunately, none were viable. We swung over to Walmart, just in case, then back to RadioShack because a combination of cables would work, providing they had the second one that Walmart still lacked. They didn't. However, he did take the time to walk me through the process of using a different program altogether to burn (rip?) the slideshow to a DVD. It took a little longer, but worked out much better than I expected. All because someone took the time to offer true customer service, even knowing it wouldn't earn a sale. Thank you, RadioShack.
I know it sounds cheesy, but I really have missed that "small town service with a smile." It was nice to be reintroduced. Thank you, Texas.
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