How Delta Air Lines staff took great care of my 80-something parents

On Tuesday, with the snowstorm heading for New Jersey and having hit Atlanta the day before, I sent my 88- and 89-year-old parents on a Delta Air Lines flight from Newark, connecting in Atlanta, and headed to Sarasota, Fla.

My parents were in wheelchairs from the moment they checked-in in at Newark Airport to their eventual arrival in Sarasota, about 12 hours later, because they can't handle walking the long distances from check-in to the gates or baggage claim areas.

After parking my car curbside and dashing in to get my parents wheelchairs in Newark Terminal B, a Delta agent -- a distance from the check-in counter -- checked my parents in and didn't even charge them for their two bags.

My parents trip was off to a great start.

We'd all seen horror stories on TV after the Christmas storm of people getting stranded at airports for days on end.

But, with all of their anxiety about getting stuck at the airport in Atlanta, their ultimate nightmare almost happened.

While they were flying from Newark to Atlanta, I got notified by Delta via my mobile phone that my parents' connecting flight to Sarasota was cancelled.

So, were a bunch of other Delta flights from Atlanta to Sarasota that evening, Jan. 11. With icy conditions in Atlanta, Delta was running a light schedule.

When I started searching Delta.com, there was no availability shown for any Atlanta-Sarasota flights that evening.

Nothing for any other airlines, either.

It looked like my parents were going to get stuck in Atlanta for the evening, and would have to figure out how to gather up their luggage and look for a hotel.

They would have been totally stressed out.

They had originally booked their flights on Delta.com and had no travel agent to get them out of this mess.

But, I called a travel agent friend, Bonnie Salt of Planet Travel in Newburyport, Mass., and she suggested I try to rebook as fast as possible on Delta.com and to phone Delta and hang on the phone for as long as it takes.

I called a couple of times and just got a recording. Another time I called and was promised by Delta that someone would call me back in around 20 minutes.

Fortunately, Salt provided me another phone number, Delta's agency number, and I reached Tricia Maris, a Delta customer service rep in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Maris sprung into action right away and got my parents on an Atlanta-Sarasota flight, slated to depart at around 8:55 p.m., about four and a half hours after they arrived in Atlanta.

It didn't matter -- at least they wouldn't have to spend the night at the airport and would be heading home, if the Delta flight didn't get cancelled in the interim.

Maris seeminly pulled some strings, got my parents seat assignments, 24B and 38B, explained to me what to do if their baggage didn't make it onto the connecting flight, and really brought me some "good news," as she put it.

Maris had provided me with the phone number for the baggage claim area in Sarasota because I was concerned that my parents' luggage, with all of their medicine, wouldn't make the connecting flight.

In Sarasota, I reached Drucilla Russell, the baggage claim floor supervisor, who was very kind and advised me that if my parents' bags didn't appear, then they should fill out a lost baggage claim form that night at the airport, regardless how late they arrived, because then Delta would ensure that the bags would get sent to their home the next day at the airline's expense.

Well, my parents' flight from Atlanta to Sarasota took off a few minutes late, but everything went smoothly. The gate agent had managed to place them next to one another in the first row of coach.

None of the Delta staff members gave my parents any special treatment because I write about travel. They had no idea I have this blog and am North America editor of Tnooz.

It was a really long day for my parents, a travel marathon for them, but when they arrived in Sarasota, they were happy and their bags were there.

Two Delta staff members handling their wheelchairs retrieved their luggage at baggage claim in Sarasota, wheeled them out to a taxi -- and loaded their luggage into the taxi.

The cab driver obviously didn't work for Delta, but even he (maybe it was a she) pitched in, carrying my parents luggage into their condo.

People who work for airlines take a lot of crap, often deservedly, but the Delta people whom my parents and I came in contact with on Tuesday acted so admirably and with such kindness, that they all deserve this blog post.

Nice work, Delta.

And thanks.

Update: Travelzoo's Twitter Account Hacked and Just Try To Get Someone from Twitter on the Phone

I reported yesterday that Travelzoo's Twitter account was suspended.

Travelzoo spokeswoman Mindy Joyce told me today that the account, which has some 8,000 followers, was hacked by an unknown party on Sunday. Travelzoo couldn't even get into its own account, and the deal-publisher on Monday asked Twitter to suspend the account, which it did.

"You are basically locked out of your own account and you are seeing tweets that are not even you," Joyce said.

And, that's a nightmare for Travelzoo and any other company or individual interested in brand protection.

High-profile Twitter accounts get hijacked all the time, according to Mashable, and Twitter's ability to service its users, the Twitterati, is severely limited.

Joyce said Twitter, which is investigating the situation involving the Travelzoo account, was quick to suspend the account at Travelzoo's request, and Twitter's online help desk has been responsive.

However, as of this writing, Travelzoo, a public company with a market cap of $215 million, has been unable to get anyone from Twitter to answer the phone to discuss and possibly speed any resolution of the issue. Voicemail messages have not been returned, Joyce said.

"It's not like Twitter has a huge help desk and they are ready to talk to you," Joyce said.

The Travelzoo spokeswoman said the company was using its network of contacts to try to reach someone on the phone at Twitter. After all, Twitter says that its research into these sorts of matters can take up to 30 days.

Joyce said the hacker was tweeting inappropriate material and a link to a sweepstakes that had no connection with Travelzoo.

"This is something we take very seriously," Joyce said.

Joyce said Travelzoo was not guilty of any transgressions regarding its Twitter account, and wants to resume tweeting "quality travel deals" as soon as possible.

She noted that hackers are very sophisticated these days and that perhaps the only thing that Travelzoo -- and other companies might do -- would be to change their Twitter-account settings and password more frequently.

Meanwhile, will someone from Twitter please pick up the phone for these folks?

Hyatt Extends Concierge Service to Twitter

Hyatt has quietly branded its dialogue with customers on Twitter as HyattConcierge Service.

In an e-mail to Hyatt Gold Passport members, Hyatt announced that it "is extending its hospitality and service to accompany you at all times during your travel journey. Whether it's before, during or after your stay, Hyatt hospitality will be on-hand to make your travel experience easier and more enjoyable through our new service called HyattConcierge, which can be accessed through Twitter by any web-enabled device."

Hyatt advised the twitteratti to just "send us your tweets" if you "need directions to the Grand Hyatt New York? A restaurant recommendation in Hong Kong? A spa appointment at Hyatt Regency Waikiki? HyattConcierge is there to assist you with your travel questions and requests."

Actually, HyattConcierge has been using the Twitter account since May 18, but you have to work out all of the kinks before going public.

So, an hour ago (as of this writing), Joan Toth sent the following tweet: "Hi, having a problem making a Hyatt Crystal City reservation for 7.21.09 - can you help? Mtg room block is sold out. thanks!"

And, Hyatt Concierge responded, within minutes: "Glad to assist! Please DM the name on the block of rooms and the # of nights you wish to stay, so I can find out more. Thank you."

When it comes to customer service issues, many travel companies from JetBlue to United often take the conversation private through DMs (Direct Messages), or private e-mails on Twitter.

In one of my daily Travel InsideOut editions the other day, I picked up a post from the UpTake Travel Industry Blog, which said people at the recent HITEC conference were bemoaning the fact that the lodging industry just doesn't "get" Twitter.

Au contraire.

Obviously, some people and companies in the lodging do understand social media's potential.

Anyway, kudos to Hyatt for using Twitter as a marketing and customer service arm. It makes a lot of sense for a hotel chain to do this because its customers can tweet questions and issues from their cellphones when they are on the go and facing a problem.