Coworkers and I have been chuckling about this all day....
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/30/business/yourmoney/30MYJO.html" target="_blank">http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/30/business...ney/30MYJO.html</A>
From the Sunday March 30 New York Times
At the Gate, Enjoying the Parade
By CAROLE PREVEN, Written with Ellen Rapp
I worked in telephone reservations at British Airways for 14 years in New York. Last year, the reservations office moved to Florida, so I transferred to a job at Kennedy Airport. I hadn't worked in front of people since I was a grocery clerk in high school, so I was nervous about making the switch. Now I love what I'm doing.
I love seeing passports from countries I have never been to. Some people travel so much that their passports have extra pages and are a half-inch thick. I like looking at the photographs. One guy had big hoop earrings in both ears in his photograph but not in person. I said to him, "You look so handsome without your earrings."
I've learned certain phrases in Polish, Russian, Korean. I can say "hello," "goodbye," "thank you" and "I love you." When I say "I love you" to someone in their language, that always gets a laugh.
I really love the children. Once, a little girl was crying. Her mother said she had left her toys at the hotel. I told her that a store in the airport sold Beanie Babies and other toys, and I took $20 out of my pocket. The mother said no, but I said, "Please let me do this." She took the bill and started to cry.
Another time, on my way to work, I saw a woman outside an arrival gate with a balloon that said, "It's a boy." She said that her brother had adopted a baby from Korea, and that she was waiting for the baby to arrive on an incoming flight. I punched in and hurried back to the gate. By this time, her brother was also at the gate, with his wife and more family members. Then there was another family, also waiting for a baby from the same adoption agency, on the same flight. I waited with them until I saw the babies arrive. They were adorable. Both boys, and dressed exactly alike.
When I started at the airport, it wasn't long after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. One day, there was a man who was afraid to get on the plane. I kept telling him not to worry. He later sent me a letter thanking me, and it turned out he was a doctor. I was so surprised that I could help a doctor.
I have also assisted people who are disabled, helping them on or off the plane. One time, I walked a blind woman from the plane to the gate, and she said, "You know, you can walk faster."
Recently, I had to bring some papers to the cockpit for the pilot to sign. The pilot was a woman, and I felt I was in the presence of a celebrity.
I said: "Your mother must be so proud. Does she tell you that?"
The pilot said no. She said that she had started her career on a route carrying papers overseas, and that all her mother had said was, "You should get a better job than delivering papers."
I love standing in the jet bridge that connects the gate to the plane, and watching the plane depart. The door closes, and I wave to the pilot. I also love being there when a plane pulls in. I see the big nose of a 747; it's so exciting. And all of our guests are there.
Carole Preven is a customer service agent for British Airways, Kennedy International Airport.
