A Washington, DC airport ticket agent offers some examples of why
our country is in trouble!
1. I had a New Hampshire Congresswoman ask for an aisle seat so
that her hair wouldn't get messed up by being near the window.
2. I got a call from a candidate's staffer, who wanted to go to
Capetown. I started to explain the length of the flight and the
passport information, then she interrupted me with, "I'm not trying
to make you look stupid, but Capetown is in Massachusetts," Without
trying to make her look stupid, I calmly explained, "Cape Cod is in
Massachusetts, Capetown is in Africa," Her response - click.
3. A senior Vermont Congressman called, furious about a trip package
to Florida we did. I asked what was wrong with the vacation in
Orlando. He said he was expecting an ocean-view room. I tried to
explain that's not possible, since Orlando is in the middle of the
state. He replied, "Don't lie to me, I looked on the map and Florida
is a very thin state!"
4. I got a call from a lawmaker's wife who asked, "Is it possible
to see England from Canada?" I said, "No." She said, "But they look
so close on the map."
5. An aide for a cabinet member once called and asked if he could
rent a car in Dallas. When I pulled up the reservation, I noticed he
had only a 1-hour layover in Dallas. When I asked him why he wanted
to rent a car, he said, "I heard Dallas was a big airport, and we
will need a car to drive between gates to save time."
6. An Illinois Congresswoman called last week She needed to know how
it was possible that her flight from Detroit left at 8:30 am and got
to Chicago at 8:33 am. I explained that Michigan was an hour ahead
of Illinois, but she couldn't understand the concept of time zones.
Finally, I told her the plane went fast, and she bought that.
7. A New York lawmaker called and asked, "Do airlines put your
physical description on your bag so they know whose luggage belongs
to whom?" I said, "No, why do you ask?" She replied, "Well, when I
checked in with the airline, they put a tag on my luggage that said
(FAT), and I'm overweight. I think that's very rude!" After putting
her on hold for a minute while I looked into it (I was laughing) I
came back and explained the city code for Fresno, CA is (FAT),and the
airline was just putting a destination tag on her luggage.
8. A Senator's aide called to inquire about a trip package to
Hawaii. After going over all the cost info, she asked, "Would it be
cheaper to fly to California, and then take the train to Hawaii?"
9. I just got off the phone with a freshman Congressman who asked,
"How do I know which plane to get on?" I asked him what exactly he
meant, to which he replied, "I was told my flight number is 823, but
none of these planes have numbers on them."
10. A lady Senator called and said, "I need to fly to Pepsi-Cola,
Florida. Do I have to get on one of those little computer planes?" I
asked if she meant fly to Pensacola, Fl. on a commuter plane. She
said, "Yeah, whatever, smarty!"
11. A Senior Senator called and had a question about the documents
he needed in order to fly to China. After a lengthy discussion about
passports, I reminded him that he needed a visa. "Oh, no I don't.
I've been to China many times and never had to have one of those." I
double checked and sure enough, his stay required a visa. When I
told him this he said, "Look, I've been to China four times and every
time they have accepted my American Express!"
12. A New Mexico Congresswoman called to make reservations, "I want
to go from Chicago to Rhino, New York." I was at a loss for words.
Finally, I said, "Are you sure that's the name of the town?" Yes,
what flights do you have?" replied the lady. After some searching,
I came back with, "I'm sorry, ma'am, I've looked up every airport
code in the country and can't find a Rhino anywhere." The lady
retorted, "Oh, don't be silly! Everyone knows where it is. Check
your map!" So I scoured a map of the state of New York and finally
offered, "You don't mean Buffalo, do you?"
The reply? "Whatever! I knew it was a big animal".
our country is in trouble!
1. I had a New Hampshire Congresswoman ask for an aisle seat so
that her hair wouldn't get messed up by being near the window.
2. I got a call from a candidate's staffer, who wanted to go to
Capetown. I started to explain the length of the flight and the
passport information, then she interrupted me with, "I'm not trying
to make you look stupid, but Capetown is in Massachusetts," Without
trying to make her look stupid, I calmly explained, "Cape Cod is in
Massachusetts, Capetown is in Africa," Her response - click.
3. A senior Vermont Congressman called, furious about a trip package
to Florida we did. I asked what was wrong with the vacation in
Orlando. He said he was expecting an ocean-view room. I tried to
explain that's not possible, since Orlando is in the middle of the
state. He replied, "Don't lie to me, I looked on the map and Florida
is a very thin state!"
4. I got a call from a lawmaker's wife who asked, "Is it possible
to see England from Canada?" I said, "No." She said, "But they look
so close on the map."
5. An aide for a cabinet member once called and asked if he could
rent a car in Dallas. When I pulled up the reservation, I noticed he
had only a 1-hour layover in Dallas. When I asked him why he wanted
to rent a car, he said, "I heard Dallas was a big airport, and we
will need a car to drive between gates to save time."
6. An Illinois Congresswoman called last week She needed to know how
it was possible that her flight from Detroit left at 8:30 am and got
to Chicago at 8:33 am. I explained that Michigan was an hour ahead
of Illinois, but she couldn't understand the concept of time zones.
Finally, I told her the plane went fast, and she bought that.
7. A New York lawmaker called and asked, "Do airlines put your
physical description on your bag so they know whose luggage belongs
to whom?" I said, "No, why do you ask?" She replied, "Well, when I
checked in with the airline, they put a tag on my luggage that said
(FAT), and I'm overweight. I think that's very rude!" After putting
her on hold for a minute while I looked into it (I was laughing) I
came back and explained the city code for Fresno, CA is (FAT),and the
airline was just putting a destination tag on her luggage.
8. A Senator's aide called to inquire about a trip package to
Hawaii. After going over all the cost info, she asked, "Would it be
cheaper to fly to California, and then take the train to Hawaii?"
9. I just got off the phone with a freshman Congressman who asked,
"How do I know which plane to get on?" I asked him what exactly he
meant, to which he replied, "I was told my flight number is 823, but
none of these planes have numbers on them."
10. A lady Senator called and said, "I need to fly to Pepsi-Cola,
Florida. Do I have to get on one of those little computer planes?" I
asked if she meant fly to Pensacola, Fl. on a commuter plane. She
said, "Yeah, whatever, smarty!"
11. A Senior Senator called and had a question about the documents
he needed in order to fly to China. After a lengthy discussion about
passports, I reminded him that he needed a visa. "Oh, no I don't.
I've been to China many times and never had to have one of those." I
double checked and sure enough, his stay required a visa. When I
told him this he said, "Look, I've been to China four times and every
time they have accepted my American Express!"
12. A New Mexico Congresswoman called to make reservations, "I want
to go from Chicago to Rhino, New York." I was at a loss for words.
Finally, I said, "Are you sure that's the name of the town?" Yes,
what flights do you have?" replied the lady. After some searching,
I came back with, "I'm sorry, ma'am, I've looked up every airport
code in the country and can't find a Rhino anywhere." The lady
retorted, "Oh, don't be silly! Everyone knows where it is. Check
your map!" So I scoured a map of the state of New York and finally
offered, "You don't mean Buffalo, do you?"
The reply? "Whatever! I knew it was a big animal".
