Merci, Air France.

I was a little afraid of Flying Air France again this time. Not because I’m afraid of flying but because I was afraid of being let down by my favorite airline. As I have mentioned before, I have had a long standing love affair with Air France. I travel to France frequently (on business, for pleasure and for gallery trips), and part of the excitement and pleasure for each trip always starts with Air France. There’s that little glass of champagne that is served even to those in steerage class. There’s the tasty shrimp and capers appetizer, the succulent chicken with lemon basmati rice and sautéed veggies, the cheese, the bread, the chocolate desserts, and of course, the wine. There’s even a “digestif” if you really need someone to hit you over the head to sleep. And for a Francophile like me, there’s a great selection of movies, some of which don’t even star Gerard Depardieu. And best of all, there’s my favorite radio station, RFM, playing pretty much the same music that we play at the gallery, so I feel completely at home.

In the past ten years, I have traveled on Air France so much that I know all their safety instructions by heart, I can sing the airport chime on key, and I recognize many of the flight attendants. I have loved my relationship with Air France, and up until now, it has been reciprocal. So when something bad happened recently, which included a huge lapse in their otherwise stellar customer service, I couldn’t help but take it personally. How could they do this? How could they let me down so hard? And worse yet, how could they not respond to me?

Back in early December there was a glitch in their computer system, which left me stranded overnight at JFK (where I hung out overnight in Terminal 4 – not the finest hotel on the block), missing my flight to Paris and foregoing some important business appointments. But for me, that wasn’t the bad part. After all, we know what the airlines are going through and we especially know the hardships they suffered this winter with all the weather cancellations.

The part that irked me was that I wrote over six letters, by email, fax, snail mail and even registered mail, to complain about the incident and to ask for an apology and mileage compensation . I wasn’t asking for anything unreasonable. And what I was asking for would have cost Air France nothing. But it would have made a huge difference to me.

At the gallery, we try to take customer service very seriously. We absolutely hate it if someone feels wronged. We’ll try to bend over backwards to make it right, going to great lengths at times to “take the high road” and keep our customers happy. Not that we’re any different than any other reputable gallery or retailer. Because for the most part, that is the American way. We know that if our customers are happy, they’ll spread the word and come back. It is second nature to us and we wouldn’t dream of doing it differently.

Yesterday was the first trip I’ve taken with Air France since we had our little rift. I was secretly hoping that my name would ring all kinds of bells and that Air France would welcome me back with open arms (and perhaps upgrade me to Business). But that didn’t happen. It was clear that the computer didn’t know anything about me. It put me in the back of the plane, charged me for my extra luggage (as a notoriously light packer, this particularly irked me – but that’s what happens when you renovate a Parisian apartment with American wallpaper … someone’s got to carry it! ) and it acted like it never knew me.

But here’s where it got interesting: Although the Air France brass didn’t respond to me and the computer didn’t recognize me, the people at the airport did. One of them acknowledged me as a frequent flyer, and adjusted my seat to my favorite place on the plane. The other one somehow forgot to charge me for my extra luggage. (I hope they won’t get in to trouble!) And of course, as always, the plane crew couldn’t have been nicer.

I felt a little vindicated despite Air France Corporate’s lack of response and it reminded me that for every big or small corporation, it’s the personal relationships that make all the difference. As soon as I arrived in Paris, I even wrote this blog geared towards the Air France employees, and ended it with: “Thank you! You were so kind to me and I hope that your employers can learn from you. That every day good customer service is actually at the local level, and you have the power to make a big difference. “

And then I couldn’t have scripted this one any better ...

I returned to my cozy hotel room in Paris, turned out the light and started to go to sleep, when the phone rang. Can you guess who it was? Air France! They were responding to my letter and they did what I had wanted someone to do all along, the one thing that really mattered to me, the hope that I was holding out for: They read my dossier. They apologized. They said that it was their fault and they were nice to me!

What a difference that little phone call made. Our love affair is restored and so is my faith in customer service, at every level.

Tata!

A.