People can be so nice! Recently, I was traveling and had to negotiate some airports. Because walking long distances can be challenging for me, I use the wheelchair assistance airlines offer. Sometimes the people helping you are distracted and you can feel like you’re just a suitcase being moved as rapidly as possible from one point to another.
And then you can get a gentleman like I had at the Seattle airport. From the second he approached me with the chair, I could see this was a man who enjoyed his job. He was friendly, went out of his way to help me, chatted and joked with me and Rhonda as we wound our way through the airport. He knew the TSA officers and other staff and everyone greeted him with a smile as he did them.
The last few times I flew, I had automatic precheck which means I didn’t have to go through the regular TSA line, remove my shoes, take my iPad out of its case, etc... This time I didn’t get it and had to go through the whole process. While sitting in the wheelchair, I took my shoes off and he leaned down and whispered, “Are you 75 or older?” “No, I said.” The TSA agent looked at me from across the aisle, pointed her finger at me and said, “Today, you are 75!” That meant I didn’t need to remove my shoes - but, I already had!
My wheelchair assistant actually started putting my shoes back on for me! Wow - what service. I called out to Rhonda and asked her to help me. I said there is no way he should be helping me put my shoes back on!
My helper told me he’s 58 years old, immigrated from the Philippines 28 years ago, and has been married for 22 years.
The custom for tipping wheelchair assistants is $5.00 for good service and $10 for outstanding service. Guess what tip this man got? It just goes to show that enjoying your work, being kind, going out of your way to provide service to your customers can reap great rewards.
The same day at a different airport when we deplaned, a young man grabbed the chair, whisked me up the hallway where a young lady took over and took me to another area, walked away and said someone would be back in a few minutes and then disappeared.
Rhonda looked at me and I looked at her. She grabbed the wheelchair and took me to the luggage area where we left the chair. She was nice but not as nice as the man in Seattle. She got a $5.00 tip! The young man and young woman got nothing.
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