The Weekly Checkin – 5/19/2024

Issue Three

Events of The Past Week
Celebrations, Travel Troubles, ER Trips and Lessons of Life

• Birthday Dinner – Amanda through me a “surprise” birthday dinner together with friends. Unfortunately, my feelings of loneliness due to a lack of personal friends came to light and tainted Mother’s Day celebrations the next day. Fortunately, it opened the door for a deep conversation, understanding and path forward. I have an absolutely amazing partner in life I proudly get to call my wife!
• Preparations for Travels – as a solo owner and operator of a services business, traveling means preparing for the workshop to be closed. Ensuring production is planned out and completed accordingly, informing clients that I will be away, and posting the necessary information about the shop being closed. It always comes with a smidgen of anxiety that everything is taken care of and there won’t be any “fires”. It almost always turns out that my clients are supportive of me taking some time away and the business keeps flowing in.
• Held Captive at TPA – the first delay came in soon after we got in the car headed for the airport. At the airport, we witnessed a couple flights to Charlotte being cancelled/reboarded. There was an odd sensation in the air. We boarded our plane, rolled out to the taxiway, and were notified that “due to the weather delays, air space was backed up, and we would be sitting in line for an hour plus”. One and a half hours later, we received an update that “the ATC (air traffic control) computers went offline”, one hour later an update of “there are flights in line behind us that are ‘timing out’ and ATC is clearing the taxiway”. Another hour later, we arrive at a gate and the pilot tells everyone that we will be getting off the plane, our luggage unloaded, and the gate attendant will provide us with information about rebooking flights and where to retrieve our luggage. The gate attendant holds everyone at the gate, stating that we will be reboarding the plane. TSA is closed; no one can leave if they do not want to forfeit/miss the flight. Our pilots leave. I start trying to call American Airlines customer service. Thirty-minutes later a supervisor tells everyone that they are trying to find a new set of pilots (it’s 1:30am). At 2:00am, the gate attendant comes out from the bridge and informs everyone that the flight “is now scheduled to leave at 11:30am and that there will not be any reimbursements” and that we may retrieve our luggage from baggage claim. A few members from the mob of passengers begin airing their disgust at the gate attendant. We retrieve our luggage and head towards our car. I finally get connected to Kathy (or Cathy?) at American Airlines Customer Service, explain our situation and that we need to be in Washington DC and at the Supreme Court by 7:30am. Our flight is refunded.
  • How to get what you want from customer service staff.
    • After witnessing (and experiencing in my previous occupational roles) the misplaced aggression of unhappy guest/customers towards customer service representatives, I feel inspired to write an article/course on how to use human nature (compassion, vulnerability, honesty, openness, relatability) to get the resolution you want – and sometimes more – from employees in the customer service industry.
• Making the most of it – with our Washington DC plans cancelled, we moved forward with our time off and filled two days with some much needed Husband and Wife, Mommy-Daddy relaxation time. We ate at Speaks Clam Bar, got mani-pedi’s, worked out, ate at Sun Garden Cafe and El Toro Bravo. Picked up our girls and headed into the weekend.
• Poison Control and a Trip to the ER – Sunday morning, as we’re getting ready to start the day, Amanda comes running into the bathroom with fear in her voice; Clara got ahold of her sister’s ADHD meds. Clara admits to swallowing the unaccounted for medication. Amanda calls poison control and informs them what our young and very curious daughter consumed. We are directed to go to the nearest hospital and Poison Control calls ahead so that we don’t have to wait for treatment. We get checked in to an ER room and Clara gets the VIP treatment – toys, stickers, and a Charcoal Chocolate milkshake. We are told that she will need to be held for 6 hours of observation and to help her consume as much as we can get her to of the Charcoal concoction to counteract the medication. Clara is hyper-focused and extremely calm for the 6 hours. Thank fully she is very healthy and all is well. In that 6th hour she starts returning to her normal self and is ready to run free. Two more hours later, another Play-Doh toy, some Graham Crackers and Apple Juice later, she is cleared and we are discharged.

Time to return back to the norm. Monday brings, a second round of dental cleaning, a return to work, the last week of school for the girls, and preparing to go out of town the following week (a trip to New Jersey/Pennsylvania originally for a wedding and my birthday….the wedding got canceled).

Until next week….