Getting Where You Want to Go: Sometimes it’s Not Easy

21 Dec 09: UN Plaza, NYC, from 37th floor of Millennium Hotel

Like me, my spouse works in a consulting capacity, which often requires him to do a fair amount of travel to meet with clients. For the last quarter of 2009, the travel destination has been New York City – for nearly 8 weeks running.

Since he had one last trip just before Christmas, my kind husband surprised me with a ticket to join him. I was pretty excited by the prospect of spending a few days in the city of iconic Christmas images like Rockefeller plaza, Madison Avenue windows, and Macy’s. Our travel plans arranged for 20th December worked perfectly with family and business obligations (have laptop, can set up office anywhere).

Perfectly planned that is until a mega-snowstorm blew up and down the eastern seaboard. Not that I dislike snow. The prospect of seeing Manhattan covered in white was an additional gift – except when the amount of it triggered flight cancellations en masse.

Skipping ahead – I was one of the lucky ones. I’m actually sitting here now, happily looking forward to dinner at the 21 Club tonight. But for thousands of travelers fighting to get home for the holidays, and people missing meetings, my sympathy goes out to you. I spent about 16 hrs ‘traveling’ yesterday. Plans? Scrapped. Yesterday was all about patience and persistence. Oh, and flexibility.

Really, dealing with the crisis required the same skills I draw on to reach a successful conclusion for work challenges:

1. Stay calm: It’s nobody’s fault when the weather mucks things up. But you can apply this equally to unforeseen circumstances when running business projects. Anticipate the unexpected.
2. Think creatively: When Delta reps insisted there were ‘no flights available’, asking them to check alternate airports turned up some happy options. Don’t give up with the first negative response.
3. Remain civil: Expressing anger and frustration, or worse – shouting, using foul language – does not provide a better outcome. It’s surprising to me that in tense business negotiations or when faced with aggravating travel disappointments people act out in such ugly ways.
4. Look for a bright side: OK, so I ended up waiting around for hours that I hadn’t planned on having. This allowed me to catch up on correspondence, reading and meet some interesting people caught in the same circumstances. One woman had been working her way slowly home to Berlin from Buenos Aires and spent way more time in the process than I had. But she was still cheerful and fun to talk to. I learned some new things from her.
5. Thank those who help: As I said, I was fortunate to get to my destination. And I know it! I had a very helpful agent go the extra distance to find me a seat – an exit aisle no less – even if it meant getting in at 11pm. And I thanked her profusely. I’m also writing an email to Delta to tell them how pleased I was with the service.

So I’m ready to take a nice long walk along the bustling city streets and check out some window displays. AFTER I finish a couple of client calls. Today I’ll be smiling at everyone – just happy to be where I wanted to go, and more thankful than I might have been because it took additional effort.

Can’t wait to face the next challenge!

– Donna