When Things Go Wrong but you have Great Support
When you travel enough things will go wrong from time to time. We have had a few times where we were stranded at a destination trying to get home or trying to get to our destination. Having great support and customer service really does make a huge difference. Here are a few stories from our travels of where we had issues but we had kind people going above and beyond to help us!
Aer Lingus and The Isle of Man
We got dropped off at the airport on The Isle of Man and we breezed through the security line to find a terminal full of people in the small airport. It was extremely foggy with a light rain and we saw no planes moving at the airport. I checked the radar on an app I have and planes bound for the Isle of Man were circling the island since the airport was not visible for landing. We waited an hour and then as we expected our flight was canceled to Dublin. I contacted John (our guide) and he was wonderful giving us advice on a great hotel to stay at in Castletown and information on the weather and flights the next day. We got booked for The George Hotel that sits on the town square across from the Castle Rushen in Castletown, got booked for a flight the next day and then headed out on the well-done public buses in the Isle of Man.
The George Hotel was a very nice small hotel with around 8 rooms located above a pub. There were no lifts (elevators) in this quaint and beautiful hotel. With a nice wooden staircase and a room with a fireplace and all the amenities of a larger hotel in the room. The room also did not have air conditioning but that was not needed with the window open. The wonderful staff at the hotel reserved us a table at the very busy small pub so we got some traditional Fish and Chips for dinner and took a walk around the very quiet town of Castletown.
Since our flight was not until noon we decided to spend a little extra time seeing the wonderful Isle of Man. John gave us some great walking suggestions and we took a walk out into the countryside along the coast after a great breakfast that was included at the hotel. We past beautiful horse farms and nice homes. We walked through a field on a public walking path and met some nice teachers from a local school who gave us some directions and we talked a little about Texas as they have always wanted to visit Austin. After the walk we headed back into Castle Rushen to tour it a little more in depth than we had the day before since we had a little more time. We met up with some of the guides we had seen the day before and toured up to the top to get some great views and toured all the other rooms. The neatest thing we got to do while touring the castle was one of the guides allowed us to wind up the town clock that was from 1597. Queen Elizabeth II herself has wound that clock in 1955. It made what was a little bit of a difficult situation into a great day getting to do something so unique. After saying goodbye to the wonderful people at Castle Rushen we picked up our bags and headed over to the airport to try again. We once again breezed through security and this time our flight made it out just fine. As we flew away from the magnificent Isle of Man I caught the steam strain heading towards Douglas and got one last view of Port Erin and the coast of the Island.
Rail Trouble on the Highlands of Scotland
On our way back to Edinburgh after our great visit with Gordon and seeing the highlands we were going to head back to Edinburgh on the 7:15pm train. Keith is small but still gets a good number of trains stop by. Gordon noticed our train wasn’t on the list anymore and ScotRail Customer Service said it had been canceled due to an equipment problem, so a bus was coming to keep service going. We headed up to the station that was pretty empty and had no staff there. They did have a help button that gets you in touch with customer service. After pressing the button, we got help almost immediately. The representative listened to our situation and that we were trying to make it back to Edinburgh to take a tour the next day and had a train to catch in Aberdeen. After our talk we went to wait at the bus stop nearby for it to come and the representative said he would watch us on the camera to make sure we made it on the bus ok. A little later I heard a voice in the distance asking for me to come back. The representative had been researching if the bus was going to make it in time for our connection and it wasn’t. So instead of leaving us stranded like is fairly common in the states, they booked us a taxi for the hour drive to Aberdeen! The taxi picked us up and we were off through the Scottish countryside at sunset.
We hit some traffic, so we ended up missing our connection by 10 minutes! We headed to the ticket off that had already closed but they were willing to stay to help. They were very friendly and called customer service who was waiting to see if we made it. There were no more trains for the day, so they decided to book us a nice hotel so we could get the early morning train. The hotel was in the historic Station Inn that was the first hotel for the station in Aberdeen. It was a very nice hotel built in 1890 in the Victorian Style. The room we got had plenty of room, nice decor and a nice bathroom. We were very happy with ScotRail’s choice and everyone’s hospitality.
The next morning, we got up very early to catch the 5:50am train so the sun was just coming up in Aberdeen, so we enjoyed a quiet morning walk. There is a large shopping center at the station that looks like a mall but was of course closed. We headed on the train and the kind conductor had a rough start due to someone without a ticket and having to ask them to leave. She still served the train with a smile, and we gave her a thank you card (we carry them with us as a way to thank people on our travels). She talked with us as she had time and was upbeat. The train ride was great with an absolutely gorgeous sunrise over the North Sea and the cliffs of Scotland. We got there right on time as from watching ScotRail they do work hard to keep things moving even if there are difficulties. We got to Edinburgh safe and sound and continued on our trip. While things didn’t go as planned ScotRail did everything they could to get us there on time with a taxi, people watching over us and being kind, and people going the extra mile to help us. I was impressed with them and their service and would absolutely use them again and recommend them to anyone taking a trip in Scotland!
Great Texas Ice Storm - 2021
In 2021 we went to visit Phoenix for a quick weekend trip that ended up being multiple days longer due to our flight being canceled due to airlines canceling flights with the rare statewide ice storm. We had moved our flight earlier in the day to try to beat the storm in but that didn’t work out. We were very anxious as we listened to reports of pipes bursting and the horrific power outages. We had our cats at home and had no idea what was going on since no one could check on the house. Hobby Airport was iced over, and we were there for two extra days. It might not sound too bad, but when you are worried it seems like an eternity. We finally got a flight out and we headed to the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. All was good as we passed through security. Right after security we saw our flight had suddenly been canceled and more icy weather was on the way. We immediately went to two kind gate agents to see what we could do. They quickly checked that a flight was boarding to Houston as we were talking and we could get on it. They quickly got us on the flight and let us know we needed to hurry to the next terminal to make it. They called for a cart to take us and told us to start moving and it would meet us. We thanked them for all they did and the kindness and was off. The cart did meet us, and he showed his concern for us by moving as fast as he could while honking his horn to let his pass. We made it as many people had already boarded and headed on and caught our breath. We had to all board quickly since we had no idea if it could be canceled. We taxied quickly and took off to Houston. We made it back and it looked like a warzone from the air and ground with huge swaths of the city without power. The drive home was icy and, dark but we made it and our cats and home were just fine. It was one of the few times all five of our cats slept with us on the bed after a trying ordeal. I am still grateful to the gate agents and the cart driver for all they did for us!
Conclusion
There are many other stories where people helped us any way they could while we were in need during travel. When we were stranded in New Mexico during Hurricane Harvey a park ranger offered for us to stay at her home, and while going to an Albuquerque Isotopes Minor League Baseball game a family stopped us from buying tickets and gave us free tickets their daughter got for being a great manager at Burger King. We were so thankful for their kindness and getting the chance to talk to them during the game.
You never know when people are struggling during travel or anything in life so when you can try to help others that need help or advice as we try to do to return the favors to others as people have done for us! Let’s be kind and show empathy out there in a stressful world!
