When online is better than face-to-face

In-person interaction doesn’t always deliver a better result than online communication

Last month, I needed to change a number of flights at very short notice. A relation had died and I needed to get home. I was in the top tier of my loyalty program for Aer Lingus, the airline I booked the flights with. I rang the special number I was given.

The person who took the call was very polite and, yes, there were seats available but I would have to pay an awful lot more for them than the original fare. I had no choice but to accept. That’s the way it is with airlines. When an emergency occurs they sympathize with you by absolutely ripping you off.

Anyway, I arrived at the Athens airport to find out that none of us were actually booked on the flight. Panic. I went to the support desk where I was told that there were some seats left but that they couldn’t access them. They gave me a number to call. I called and waited for at least 15 minutes. Then I had a crazy idea. I whipped out my laptop, went online, and was able to book some seats on aerlingus.com. The people behind the desk were not able to do this, strangely enough.