I AM ONLY A NUMBER: Lessons Learned from Lost Luggage, Part 2

As some of you already know, I went on a Mediterranean cruise this summer with my family (10 of us!), and Air Canada lost my luggage on our way there (just mine). Let me just clarify who I was on the trip with: my 10 and 12 year old sons (can’t borrow their clothes for obvious reasons), my brother-in-law, his brother, my 6’6” nephew (ditto about all of them), my sister (size zero … and ummm, I am NOT a size zero), my niece (also size zero…bummer again), and my mom (she has a different fashion sense than I do … sorry, Mom if you’re reading this!).

You get the point. No one to borrow clothes from.

But that really isn’t the point of this blog. THIS is …

I am only a number.

What I mean by that is that Air Canada had absolutely, positively, no empathy for me as a human being. They didn’t care that my vacation was ‘ruined’ by them (it wasn’t ruined – I had great time, but only because I had a sense of humor about it!). And I literally laughed out loud every time I heard them say, “Uhhh, we have no idea where your bag is, ma’am.”

Long story short, I finally got it back. 6 weeks later. Even though I had to drive out to the airport to get it myself, I was still grateful to get it back.

It is not my intention to complain in this blog, because I still had a really fun vacation and I have maintained a sense of humor throughout the whole ordeal.

Here is my intention… two things:

(1)   EMPATHY: Clearly, Air Canada had no empathy for me as a human being. I was simply a number. They couldn’t care less that I had nothing to wear. And I’m not even upset about my own experience. My heart breaks for people who save their whole lives to go on a trip like this just to be ruined by Air Canada’s insensitivity – both as an organization, and also the rude individual customer service representatives.

(2)   PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY: Air Canada took absolutely no personal responsibility. I have not even gotten compensated for any of the clothes I had to buy on my trip or any afterwards to replace what was lost. At this rate, I am going to have to chase them down for the rest of my life to get reimbursed. Moreover, there were some very rude customer service representatives who tried to make me feel like it was my fault.

The point in this blog is not really about Air Canada (although I do advise that you find another airline to fly!). That company is just symptomatic of a larger problem in our world -- very few people have empathy for others. And just as many refuse to take any personal responsibility in a variety of situations.

Now think about your life. Are you an “Air Canada” sometimes? Do you need to show more empathy toward others? Do you need to take more personal responsibility? It’s way too easy to put our needs in front of others, or point the finger in blame.

We all need to stop doing that.

Whether you are a corporation or an individual, the world would be a much happier place if we all did these two simple things.

So while I still had a good time on my vacation because of my sense of humor, I will still keep sending Air Canada letters about this until my last breath. If I don’t, they will simply continue to look the other way – and I need to change that. And all change starts with YOU!!

Happy Flying! (on another airline!)

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