Sitting on a Delta airlines jet waiting for pushback from the gate, the senior flight attendant politely asked, "What can we do for you?" I was silent for a moment as I thought about my reply as she continued to speak, "Mr. Bauer, we checked your Delta file and you have about a zillion miles, so it wouldn't do any good to offer you those. However, the flight crew would really like to do something nice for you . . . maybe we could all take you to dinner tonight -- on us?"
Imagine this for a moment . . . this very attractive senior flight attendant inviting ME to dinner with she and her whole crew? This is a single guy's dream come true! She was accurate that I have about a zillion flight miles; however I have never, ever, had a flight attendant ask me to dinner, let alone the whole crew! I could honestly say I felt blessed at that moment in time.
My reply was simple . . . "no thanks, just pass along the good gesture to someone else." Looking puzzled for a moment, she processed my request and stated, "I'll pass that along to the others in our crew . . . we really appreciate what you did."
You see, about thirty minutes earlier I was at the gate waiting to board my flight. It was a typical day for me, a day that I have repeated hundreds of times; the hustle and bustle of Dallas/Fort Worth airport in full swing.
Near the ticket counter I noticed a young soldier waiting to catch the same flight. There he was in his freshly pressed Army uniform, standing tall with a coach ticket in hand. He looked to be about 21 years old and I wondered . . . was he coming back from Iraq? Or was he just going? Had he participated in battle? Would he be on TV . . . or had he already been? Does that young man know how I and countless others appreciate the sacrifices that our young soldiers make - day in and day out?
Peering down at my boarding pass with a First class seating assignment, as a sign of appreciation, I thought how nice it would be to switch seats with this young man. This could be my way of telling him thanks for a job well done and to let him know that as an American, I appreciate the sacrifices made by our young servicemen and servicewomen.
The plan was set in motion. I boarded the aircraft and upon passing the galley I interrupted the flight attendants and told them I had a special request. I shared with them my observations of the young serviceman at the gate and my desire to switch seats with him. They nearly lost their breath! The senior attendant, along with the others on duty, was delighted with the request! After receiving permission to change seats, I quietly passed the first couple of rows and settled into my soon to be ex first-class seat. The waiting began . . .
The plane was almost full and the young serviceman finally appeared. As he approached my seat, I stood up and excused myself to him. I stated that I wanted to offer him my first class seat in exchange for his coach seat as a show of appreciation for our young men and women in the military. Needless to say - I didn't have to twist his arm! I'm pretty sure I just witnessed the quickest seat exchange in the history of Delta airlines.
I was excited to see his level of enthusiasm and after making sure he was set, I walked back and sat in his assigned seat in coach. I watched up the aisle as the flight attendants took extra good care of our serviceman - he was being spoiled by all the attention. I knew he was pleased and excited - and I think I just made his day! What he didn't realize though, is that he made mine, too.
There was communication in the cockpit between the flight attendants and the crew. All of a sudden the Captain of the plane was walking down the aisle. (Isn't he supposed to be completing his pre-flight checklist about now?) As he approached my row, I began to wish he would ask me to fly "jump seat" up in the cockpit, every private pilot's dream! He walked right up and shook my hand as I stood up to meet him. He introduced himself and said, "On behalf of Delta airlines and the crew, we really appreciate your gesture and were pleasantly surprised by the good deed that took place on our flight."
Sitting in my seat I began to think about what had happened. I wondered about the principle that I share in many of my seminars and speeches - the principle of "Giving Back To Society." In my own life, do I get so busy that I often miss opportunities like the one presented to me today? Am I so focused on myself that I forget to give back to others? How many of these missed opportunities happen each day? It really made me think.
I was grateful to that young soldier, but little does he know what he did for me today - the opportunity to give something back. Sure, I know I made his day, but the opportunity REALLY made mine. Watching him in baggage claim as he waited, holding a small baby in his arms, I saw the excitement in his
body language as he shared his story with his family members of getting to sit in first class. I thought to myself, "Wow, when can I do this again?"
Incidentally, while writing this article, I had the opportunity to share the story with a few friends of mine. Michele Odems from the Washington D.C. area told me about some news that appeared in the Washington Post where a similar situation occurred. A first class passenger gave up his seat to a soldier, and then the entire first class section followed suit, giving up 12 first class seats to 12 soldiers.
Beyond first class stories, Mike Doviak from Dallas shared this: "I look for opportunities to pay for someone's lunch. Typically an older senior citizen. I pick up the tab while paying for my lunch and leave. I always ask that the wait person not say anything until I've left and only when the individual is ready to leave. I never want to bring any attention to myself and I never want to embarrass the person."
Mike went on to say: "One day I returned to a favorite pizza shop only to have the waitress tell me that the person I bought lunch for some time back had not had her lunch paid for by someone since her husband had died some years before. She was beaming from ear to ear. One last thing, spreading good will is easy when you have money to spare, but it's a true test to do it you're down to the last $10.00 in your pocket. And I've been there before too."
Quite possibly, today's flight will be forever remembered by both of us. Personally, today's event is a constant reminder - that possibilities like this are endless, as long as we slow down and open our hearts to opportunities just like these. Wow, when can I do this again?