To start off 2011 we have been to state auctioneers association conventions in Colorado, Idaho, Wyoming, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Kansas, Manitoba, North Dakota, Iowa, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Illinois, Oregon, Ontario and if it wasn’t for mother nature taking a double shot at Nicole’s travel plans we would have been in Oklahoma as well. Add in trips to Affiliate Summit in Las Vegas and a booth at AgDays in Brandon Manitoba, it made for a wild travel schedule.
Dwayne, Nicole , Lee, Chris, and even David for the first time attended these conventions, and for the most part enjoyed every minute of it. Auctioneers are a very welcoming group of people and the Executive Directors and organizing committees usually roll out the red carpet for the exhibitors. For companies who have not gone to the smaller events, I’ll let you in on a little secret…..the smaller the group the happier they are to have you there and the better response you will get. This is why we have not exhibited at the NAA conference for many years. Their focus is not on the tradeshow and we have never had a great response from being there. So we prioritise our marketing budget where we do get a good response and the state level is where it’s at.
For the 2012 convention season we will be offering a brand new Internet marketing seminar, so be sure to book us early as a speaker for your event as we can only be in 3 places every weekend.
But the intent of this post was to get on my soapbox and rant about the current state of the travel industry.
Worst Airport – Toronto’s Pearson Airport
I am not the only one, here is an article from the CBC today. And my gripe isn’t what people are complaining about in this article, it is the hoops you have to jump through after.
Why must you go through Security again when connecting domestic from a US flight? Or a UK flight for that matter? I have had to do this twice in the past 6 months and can be the difference in making your connector. From landing in Toronto you can expect a minimum of an hour to get to your connecting gate. It is not Customs fault, they separate the people with connectors to get them through asap. But after picking up your luggage there are huge lines to leave the luggage area, drop it onto a connector belt and then lining up for security again in a small area with a temperature of 80 degrees. Chicago O’Hare is a dream compared to this circus.
There is a lot of good things going on in the airline industry despite what the main stream media chooses to comment on daily.
99.9% of the people you interact with when traveling are good natured and happy to have a job.
If you get chosen for a TSA patdown, don’t be worried. Simply thank the agent for the free massage you are about to receive. Non airline travelers actually have to pay to get a massage that day.
The greatest thing to come to the travel industry has been the iPhone and now the iPad.
Instead of having to be so worried about lack of information when traveling, now there are so many apps available that in some cases you know more than the gate agent.
There is nothing better to pass the time waiting for a flight than to be watching a movie on your iPad with your bluetooth noise canceling earphones and have your TripDeck or FlightTracker app pop up and let you know your flight is now 30 mins from leaving and it is on time.
After using Kayak HD or HipMunk apps to originally find your best flights, you can instantly search out your other options when you hear that dreaded announcement that your flight is canceled.
If you are unlucky and have your flight is canceled, and you can’t be at the front of the line at the gate to be reticketed, grab your cel phone and immediately dial the airlines reservation number.
You did have that number in your contacts in your phone right?
There are usually shortcuts available to bypass most of the Voice prompt hell, check Google for your airline specifically but on the United phone reservation line simply say “Agent” and you will move into the queue as quick as possible. Odds are you will be booked on the next available flight before they have got to the 3rd person in the lineup.
The new luggage fees don’t bother me for the most part, I have to check my large luggage and their is no options for me. But I wish with United you could pay your luggage fees for all segments of your trip at the time of ticket purchase or at the initial check-in rather than being forced to do it when checking in for each segment. A 2 minute check-in becomes an 8-10 minute ordeal when using your credit card on your mobile device.
I was upgraded once to business class so far this year, but with most of my flights being on small commuter jets with no first class it is not worth the bother to pay for an upgrade.
Except for one reason.
With so many people trying to bring everything including the kitchen sink in their carry on luggage, it makes for a very long deplaning process.
I am not worried about getting on the plane and fighting for overhead space as I travel with a small bag that fits under my seat and I pride myself on being the last one to get on the plane. If I am walking up to the podium just as they are reaching for the mic to call my name it is perfect timing. Who wants to be the first one on the plane so you get to be scrunched in your seat 20 mins longer than others and have people drop luggage on you while trying to cram it into an overhead?
But when deplaning, why do people not have any courtesy to let people get past them instead of having 200 people behind you waiting a minute so you can get your suitcase out of the overhead.
For every person that takes 30 seconds holding up the line there is somebody at the back of the plane that just missed their connecting flight by 30 seconds.
If you do not have a connector, sit in your seat for 5 mins. Or wait until their is no traffic coming down the aisle because someone else is holding up the line.
If you have a long layover, sit in your seat for that 5 mins as a courtesy to those that need to get off ASAP.
That is the biggest rant I have had in the past few months. You can you guess that I flew through Chicago many times this year, and in one instance I walked off one late flight and walked straight on to my next flight. If I had been seated further back on my first flight I may have missed my connector.
But in first class, you are the first people off the plane and have the best chance of making your connector, even if your luggage doesn’t.
But that’s a completely different rant…
Safe Travels to everyone in 2011
