Our Amazing Delta Experience Part Three

It’s funny. A year ago, as we rushed to our gate to board our Orange County flight to Minneapolis after the Nuru Summit, I looked ahead to see the weather forecast for Minneapolis and Pittsburgh, our eventual destination. Very cold. Very, very cold. I then thought, “You know, with the weather looking as it does, what is the likelihood that we will encounter delays.”

With that, I sent a quick text to my good friend Steve Powell in Minneapolis just to see if he was home. Again, I thought, “Wouldn’t it be cool to connect with my friend during our brief stopover.” And then I thought, “And if something happens with our flight, wouldn’t it be amazing to hang for a little longer and see his family?” He was in fact home and planned to stay alert for our call. Steve and his wife are incredible people, and both of them were elite shooters on WVU's rifle team. 

When we landed in Minneapolis, we found out our flight was delayed for at least two hours. That meant we would be landing in Pittsburgh close to midnight, and then driving from Pittsburgh to Mogantown in some pretty nasty cold conditions. I decided to approach the ticket counter at our gate to ask about the likelihood of further delays, and told her that if the situation is looking uncertain, we would love to schedule a flight for the following day, and that we had friends we could stay with. She was amazed that we would step forward in that way and sent us to Delta’s help desk to inquire further. When we arrived, we were greeted by a young woman named Diamond who thought it might be likely we could make the adjustment and sent us to talk directly with a booking agent.

The big key for me was that I did not want to be trapped in paying a change fee or an exorbitant uprgrade fee—my concerns were quickly relieved. A gentleman named Ray helped walk us through a new itinerary which would allow us to stay the night in Minneapolis, arrive in Pittsburgh during daylight hours, get some rest, AND catch up with some amazing friends.

Delta offered us incredible flexibility, and we were able to connect with friends we had not seen in nearly three years. We also had the distinct experience of being able to travel through subzero temperatures in Minnesota with amazing company.

My wife and I are incredibly grateful to Delta for their flexibility and their willingness to help make a potentially difficult travel itinerary incredibly pleasant from start to finish. I am completely impressed with their customer service, and grateful for the way so many of their staff went above and beyond in service to help make our journey incredible.