On our way to California to speak, we left a day early so that we can have an extra day to work on our presentation before the seminar starts.
We had a layover in Chicago, and our plane was delayed due to mechanical problems. Obviously, we missed our connecting flight to California.
Luckily, the Chicago Airport Hilton was nearby. So we stayed there overnight. Our luggage was still checked, which is fine. Hilton provided emergency supplies, such as toothbrushes and such, to keep us going in the meantime.
We then left for California the next morning.
Everything went well. The seminar was great. But when we left early Monday morning, an incredible series of events followed that seemed to be nothing short of a scene from a Tom Hanks’ movie.
As you know, a pretty big storm stretching from north to south swept through the United States.
It started on the west coast, then made its way through the country — hitting the mid-west with unbelievable snow squalls and freezing rain downpours, and causing freakishly devastating tornadoes in the south.
(My thoughts and prayers go out to the people caught in the crossfire. The devastation on the news looked surreal at times.)
Anyway, since the storm was somewhere between California and Illinois at the time, our flight was canceled for obvious reasons.
We were stuck at the airport and decided to get a hotel room near the John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California.
Everything was booked!
Of course, the reason was clear.
Our plane wasn’t the only one grounded for the day. Many flights were canceled, and all the surrounding hotels were booked solid with disappointed air travelers.
After walking from hotel to hotel, we finally found one. (And believe me, this one was far from being a Hilton. Let’s just say that I’ve seen cleaner cheap motels.)
The next day, as we waited at the gate inside the terminal, our plane was delayed. So my wife and I decided to go restaurant- and shop-hopping to pass the time.
When our flight was ready to board — bound for Chicago to catch a connecting flight to Ottawa, Canada, as originally scheduled — it was already delayed by an hour and a half.
Fine.
Once we were getting close to the Chicago area though, our plane was held in a holding pattern, above the storm clouds, for about two hours.
(As we landed, you could see that the Chicago airport runways were drenched in ice and rain. Think we were scared? You bet!)
We knew we were going to miss our connecting flight. So we checked with United and booked a room at the nearby Hilton. Again. (This was Tuesday evening. Remember, we’ve been “stuck in transit” since early Monday morning.)
Our flight was rebooked for the next morning. And, as the week previous, we had no luggage. Plus, since the hotel was almost sold out, filled with passengers of canceled flights, the room was $400 a night.
Fine, again.
The next morning, we got to the airport, went through security, and the moment we arrived at the gate, the monitors showed that our flight was delayed.
“It’s only 10 minutes,” I said to Sylvie.
So we decided to stay around the gate area. Then another 10 minutes was added to the delay. And another. And then another. Next thing you know, the flight was canceled once again.
Lucky for us, we didn’t check out of the hotel room. (We normally just leave the door keys in the room.) So we asked for a second set of keys, went back to the room, and requested a late checkout.
But this time, to prevent any more useless back-and-forth to the terminal, we decided to use United.com’s email notification system.
It was “deja-vu all over again,” as Yogi Berra would say.
10-minute delays became an hour, then a three-hour delay, until finally, the flight was canceled. And this happened with each and every subsequent flight. They were canceled at the last minute, one by one. Not one or two flights.
But five of them.
In a row.
Throughout the entire day, we were on the edge of our seats, trying to figure out when we were finally going to get back home.
But as flight after flight were canceled that day, we called the hotel each time to ask for an even later checkout — until we finally decided to ask for another full night in the room to stop the needless requests.
The next flight was very early the next morning. It was Thursday. We have been literally stuck in hotel rooms and airport terminals since Monday morning — without any luggage, and wearing the same clothes we had since we left.
(Of course, we bought a change in clothes at the hotel gift shop to hold us over, many of which were souvenirs embroidered with fine reminders of our wonderful stay in Chi-Can’t-go O’Hell Airport.)
But the funniest thing was, while we were getting homesick and desperately anticipating to get on the next flight, we slept in that morning!
We snoozed right past the wake-up call.
(Do you blame us? We were exhausted, barely sleeping in the last few days while incessantly checking flight times!)
Luckily, our marketing friend who lives in Chicago, Tatiana Korol, wanted to meet that day if the flight was canceled again.
The day before, I told her we were waking up at 6:00 AM to catch the 8:00 o’clock flight, so she called our room at 6:15 to find out if we were delayed once again.
Lucky for us, she woke us up!
(Thank you, Tatiana.)
So we got up quickly and sprinted to the airport. Once again.
But this time, the airport was packed. I mean filled to the rim. Almost all flights were canceled the previous day, so we knew airport security would have long, excruciating lineups. But 45 minutes later, we made it through. Barely.
We finally made it home late in the afternoon.
Now we know how Tom Hanks’ character felt like in the movie “Terminal.” (Or “Castaway,” depending on how you look at it.)
Throughout this process, United never once offered us a hotel discount, a reimbursement, or even a simple apology.
Granted, they did offer us vouchers that gave a discount on a hotel room. But the hotels that accepted them were 15-20 minutes from the airport, and we didn’t want to go too far to miss our chance to get back home.
Well, the lesson here is that we’ll never fly United ever again. Sure, the storm and canceled flights were out of their control. But their customer service was exceptionally poor for an airline.
Each time we called their customer service department to rebook our flight, we had to grapple with non-stop prompts in voicemail jail, then we were put on hold waiting for an attendant for 20-30 minutes each time.
(The representatives we spoke with were incredibly rude, curt, and unhelpful. Granted, they must have had an earful that day. But their treatment of our situation could have been a little more pleasant and comforting, doncha think?)
Nevertheless, while this event may have been a nightmare on some levels, there was a silver lining behind those storm clouds, since this ordeal turned out to be one of the most potentially profitable times in our business.
Why?
Well, first off, the downtime gave my wife and I a chance to discuss our vision for our businesses. Without letting the cat out of the bag just yet, let me simply say that I’m going to make some radical changes in the very near future.
(You’ll be the first to know. Promise.)
Secondly, I wanted to commemorate this occasion in a way that turns this from a negative into a positive. Here’s how…
My good friend, John Tanner, the creator and programmer behind ScribeJuice,™ has notified me that our software’s newest version has been officially launched!
Yes, ScribeJuice has been overhauled once again. It has some cool new features, but even more importantly…
… ScribeJuice™ 3.0 is now web-based!
If you’re new to the scene and haven’t yet heard of ScribeJuice, it’s my groundbreaking software that helps you write high-response copy — even if you don’t have the knowledge, skill and experience of a professional copywriter.
Seasoned copywriters like it too, because it helps them recall techniques, and use powerful, persuasive words and phrases that might not be at the forefront of their minds when writing copy.
You can read more about it here and here.
For those of you who’ve gotten attached to your PC-based ScribeJuice, keep using it. But you now also have the option of using ScribeJuice on the web. This has several advantages:
Lower Cost: We’ve been able to drop the start-up investment.
Anywhere access: Access ScribeJuice from any Internet-connected computer.
Mac-Compatible: Users can now use ScribeJuice without modifying their machine or changing it.
Faster Development: We can deploy updates, improvements and upgrades to you faster than ever!
Not only that, but we’ve also added many new features, too — some I’m sure you’ll love.
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