Now, in the words of Angel Rachel:
"I looked up and saw the sweetest-looking old man standing with a cane. He walked very slowly over to the counter, and in the faintest voice told me that he had to go to New Orleans. I tried to explain to him that there were no more flights that night and that he would have to go in the morning. He looked so confused and very worried.
"I asked if he had a reservation or if he remembered when he was supposed travel, but he seemed to get more confused with each question. He just kept saying, 'She said I have to go to New Orleans.'
"It took a while, but finally I was able to discover that this old man, named Mr. McDonald, had been dropped off at the curb by his sister-in-law on Christmas Eve and told to go to New Orleans where he had family. She had given him some cash and told him to 'just go inside and buy a ticket.' When I asked if he could come back tomorrow, he said that she was gone and that he had no place to stay. He then said bravely that he would 'wait right here until tomorrow.'
"Naturally, I felt a little ashamed. Here I was feeling sorry for myself about being alone for Christmas, when this angel, named Mr. McDonald, was sent to me as a reminder of what being alone really meant. It broke my heart to see him standing there.
"I told him not to worry, that we would get everything straightened out. Cynthia, another agent on duty, helped book him a seat on the earliest flight the next morning. We gave him a senior citizen's fare, which left him a little extra money for traveling. About this time, he started looking very tired, and I stepped around the counter to ask quietly if he was all right. That's when I noticed that his leg was wrapped in a bandage. He had been standing on it the whole time, holding a plastic bag full of clothes."
"I called for a wheelchair.
"When the wheelchair came, we both stepped around to help him in, and I noticed a small amount of blood on his bandage. I asked how he had hurt his leg, and he explained that he had just had bypass surgery and that an artery had been taken from his leg. Can you imagine? This man had heart surgery, and shortly afterward had been dropped off at the curb to buy a ticket with no reservation to fly to New Orleans alone.
"I had never really had a situation like this, and I wasn't sure what I could do. I went back to ask my supervisors, Kathy and Mercedes. When they had heard the whole story, I asked if we could find a place for him to stay. They both said absolutely.
"We gave Mr. McDonald a hotel room for the night and a meal ticket for dinner and breakfast. When I came back out, we got his plastic bag of clothes and cane together and gave the nice World Services employee a tip to take him downstairs to wait for the shuttle. I bent down to explain the hotel, food, and itinerary again while I patted him on the arm. I promised him that everything would be okay.
"As he was about to be wheeled away, he said, 'Thank you,' bent his head, and started to cry.
"I cried, too.
"When I went back to thank Kathy, she just smiled and said, 'I love stories like that. He is your Christmas man.'"
The best customer service is always of the moment and from the heart.
Merry Christmas to You and Yours