Coming home from Costa Rica was a bit of a challenge. Brit’s flight had been booked through the EF program (she was in CR doing their program). For some reason (read: saving money), they had her booked on a crazy schedule. She left CR at 6:30 am, headed to Houston for a few hour stopover. Then on to Chicago and a four hour stop over. Then a change from Continental to Air Canada for a final flight to Montreal. She was scheduled to land in Montreal around 10 pm. We then had to drive from Montreal to Ottawa. To make our first flight, we were up at 3 am and at the airport by 4:30 am. We didn’t get to bed until after 2 am the next day.
Heather and I tried our best to match Brit’s flight, but were only successful in traveling as far as Houston with her. From there, we headed to Cincinnati and then to Montreal. We arrived a few hours before Brit and waited for her.
Going through four different airports in one day is rather interesting. One thing really jumped out at me. And that was how different the level of service we found.
When we arrived at the airport in San Jose, we were greeted by a friendly person who processed our boarding passes with a smile on their face. It was 4 am, but you wouldn’t have known it by the attitude of everyone working at the airport. Signs clearly directed us where to go to get on our plane.
We experienced the same level of service when we arrived in Houston. The airport was so beautifully laid out and the staff so friendly, that we assured Brit that there was nothing to be nervous about as she ventured off for the rest of her trip without us. “Just find a friendly face if you are unsure where to go.” We told her.
Cincinnati (and Chicago for Brit) introduced us to more friendly faces and detailed signage. It was great.
Then we landed in Montreal. The gate used by our plane was at the far end of the airport, in an area still under construction. While there were a few signs, they were not clearly visible to us. There was no one greeting us. In fact, as we walked the five minute walk from our gate to customs, we saw not one airport staff member. All we had going for us were small signs that were not very clear.
After we picked up our baggage, we wondered if we could take the luggage to our vehicle and then come back into the baggage area to wait for Brit. Her bags were quite heavy (she had been living in CR for a year, after all), and I wanted to help her get them. I looked around for a staff member to ask if we could come back into that area, and still had trouble finding someone. Finally, I noticed someone walking quickly through the area. I rushed over to her and began to ask her my question, but she simply kept walking. I had to walk beside her in order to get her to even address my question. Her response? “Don’t be crazy, you can’t come back through customs.” And with that, she sped off, not waiting to see if there was something else I needed.
Are Canadians that pathetic when it comes to providing good service? The contrast between the airport in Montreal and the American and Costa Rican airports was startling. Heather and I spent two hours sitting in the baggage area, not wanting to leave customs until Brit arrived, watching people deplane. Over and over we saw puzzled faces, confused people, and no one — not one single staff member there to assist.
What’s your experience with this kind of thing?
