I was standing at the airport watching a scene unfold.
In front of me was a passenger laying into the gate attendant, going on and on about some issue she had.
Our flight was delayed by a few hours, and it clearly wasn’t going over well.
The employee was a middle-aged woman who looked worn out from the whole ordeal, saying, “I’m sorry, there’s nothing more I can do.”
(Airports have this incredible ability to bring out the worst in people.)
Eventually, the rude passenger walked away, and I walked up and tried to be extra nice, asking her a question about our connecting flight. I gave her a big smile while doing so and said, “Sorry people are being rude to you. It’s pretty unfair.”
She seemed to appreciate it.
And before I left, she said, “Hold on. Have you been assigned your seats yet?”
“Yes,” I replied, and handed her my tickets.
My spouse and I had terrible seats near the back of the plane.
The employee opened up her screen and typed for a few moments, then said, “Any chance you’d like seats near the door exit?”
I smiled and said, “There is indeed a chance we’d like those seats.”
After all, outside of first class, they usually have the most legroom. They are also the least bumpy part of the plane.
Suddenly, I heard printing, and she handed me new tickets with exit row seats.
I was thrilled.
And though it was never my intention to get free stuff from her, I have learned over the years that a little bit of kindness can go a long way. And it doesn’t usually cost a penny.