What Does 1X Mean?

While coming home from my last trip, I thought about this statement.  What does 1X (x being anything you can think of) really mean? 

One minute early means I made the connection in a busy airport. 

One minute from a person is the difference between being a customer and being a nuisance.

One car breaking at an intersection means minutes of ripple effects in the flow of traffic. 

One point difference changes the label from loser to winner or vice-versa. 

One piece of trash in the park can start a collection of trash, while one person picking up a piece of trash could mean a cleaner park. 

One smile can change the attitude of multiple people and one frown can impact the attitude of even more. 

One sentence can make you fall in love with someone or, make you despise someone. 

Eventually, all of us will be in that last one minute of life and one last breath.  Therefore the difference between being alive and dead. 

The power of one cannot be discounted.  Of course you are want to win by 20, but winning by 1 is still the same; a win.  Someone coming to a complete stop on the freeway has more than a ripple effect.  Think about that one minute, that one point, that one smile and remember that power of one is impactful.  While I keep going, I do so more mindful of the power of one. 

With a Heavy Heart

The blog I intended to post this week will have to wait.  Today, we mourn more lives lost in the act of terrorism.  With a heavy heart I pray for the people in Brussels and in Belgium as a whole.  As with Paris, the world is mourning with you and we pray for you to be strong resilient and come out of this on the other side; as city and country united. 

We cannot let those with hate in their hearts win.  We must....keep going. 

An Airport in Turmoil

In case you missed it or haven’t had the privilege of checking in at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport (MSP), there is a challenge there! 

I was there almost a year ago and I was thinking it was a fluke; the TSA process can’t ALWAYS be this bad.  I was in line for 30 minutes with pre-check.  I am hearing that 40 minutes is standard and that it’s not uncommon to have it be an hour wait during peak travel times!  I would lose my patience if that was something I had to do once a month, once a week would make me lose my mind. 

Today, I hear that help is on the way; Senator Amy Klobuchar is stepping in to help address the problems in MSP. 

So, while this is a challenge for the travelers that got into and out of the MSP, what scares me is that a member of the Senate needs to step in to fix it!  Does that mean that the airport authority in Minneapolis has no power?  Maybe TSA can’t figure out that they need to have additional resources?  Does this mean that no one is monitoring this stuff?  Look at Yelp, Trip Advisor or the local news and you can see the travelers have been upset for a long time, but not until a Senator steps in, will something be done about it?  That’s crazy to me! 

If my wait time at Starbucks is more than company standards, I get an apology from the barista.  If my hold time is more than 4 minutes when I am on hold with the bank, I get an apology message and am assured that someone will be with me soon.  Starbucks and the bank are monitoring that stuff, but you mean to tell me until Klobuchar stepped in, that the TSA advisors for MSP were not doing anything about it? 

I feel for the travelers that have to endure the MSP situation.  I am happy that the issues are being addressed, but I do worry about a system that cannot fix itself without the government stepping in to force action.  I hope eventually, travelers in MSP will be able to keep going, without monstrous delays. 

An Award Show Worth Watching

I have seen photos, tweets, posts, articles and chats about the Oscars and I am proud to say, I didn’t watch a second of the show.  Not because of the racial controversy, but because honestly…who cares!?!    The award those Hollywood folks deserve, they have already been given; people’s time to watch their production and their hard earned money.

Now, if there was an award show called, the Global Human Awards Show, I’d probably watch that!  Imagine if awards were given to people who deserve them!?  For instance:

- The middle school teacher who spends countless hours to ensure their students are learning and cares more about the person than a grade.

- The police officer who died in the line of duty to help protect me and my family from people set to do harm.

- The lawyers and judges who see to it that the person, who has malice in their heart and actions, pays for them.

- The doctor who yesterday delivered bad news to a family that the cancer was back and today, got to tell a different family their loved one was cancer-free. 

- The pilot who landed a plane on a river and saved the lives of every person on board. 

Some might tell me that all these people are doing their jobs.  When was the last time you put on Versace gown and Harry Winston jewels to go in for a parent/teacher conference and say thank you to a teacher for doing their job?!  Why, when TV, movies, music or productions are involved, do we think we need to “put on the dog” and make a big deal out it?! 

Don’t get me wrong, I love a good Sheldon Cooper moment as much as the next BBT fan, but I don’t think Jim Parsons should get an award for entertaining me, that’s his job! 

The viewership of these awards show is going down and for good reason!  People are starting to realize that this crap doesn’t matter.  Let’s start giving awards or appreciation for the people who really make a difference every day…or at least, stop paying attention to these shows in hope that they simply go away and not keep going. 

How Dollars Make Sense

Payment options exist everywhere I go and seem to be changing all the time.  One day I am in the grocery store and the chip reader is covered because its not working, the next day, it's alive and well and that annoying sound is heard loud and clear.  At Starbucks I can pay using my app or Apple Pay.  At the airport, I can pay for a meal using my frequent flyer miles.  I can check into a hotel with a virtual credit card picture on my phone, but ideally, they already have that number and I simply smile and get my room key.  I can buy and sell items online using a service like Pay-Pal. 



Yesterday, I read something about how Amadeus is improving their virtual payment solution.  This made me think about the broad spectrum of companies with virtual payment options.  The obvious is banks and credit card companies...well duh!  To that, you add can GDS's, TMC's, expense solutions and a number of new entrances who are trying to make payments simple.

The draw for managed travel is improved policy compliance, ease of use for travelers, decreases in credit card fraud instances and improved expense/reconciliation processes. 

The challenge for managed travel is moving the massive payment ship.  Internal systems are using traditional credit card data.  Reconciliation processes are set up to manage those card swipes instance by instance. 

Payment is the next frontier of change.  The trade of dollars and cents is making dollars and sense for a variety of companies.  If we are trying to make the lives of the travelers like their everyday lives, payments just make sense or cents...however you want to look at it.  Change is coming, keep going.  (Did you catch the pun there?!) 

Simple Isn't a Bad Thing

Last night I read the words “Daring Simplicity” in a book.  It was one of those moments when you read them, go back to read again and then stop to think about the real meaning.  Those words can mean so much. 

Last week my husband went to an AC/DC concert.  There were lights, thunderous booms and lots of extra activity.  It made me think about AC/DC fans who are fans simply because of the music, not the show.  Just like going to a high school choir concert, it’s the daring simplicity that makes it amazing. 

Now I turn that to travel.  Last week, when Brian was enjoying AC/DC, I was traveling and found myself in San Francisco, Sacramento area and Austin, TX.  Looking back, I saw lots of great moments of daring simplicity.  The smile of the guy at TSA, the greeting from the flight attendant, the warm welcome from the hotel front desk agent and being able to drive a clean car.  All those, simple and impactful. 

Here is a small list of items that with daring simplicity, can make the day of a traveler:

- Friendly staff.  That could be gate, front desk, flight attendant, pilot, driver

- Meeting people’s requirements.  Working internet.  On time arrivals and departures.  Room ready when needed. 

- Clean, reliable and comfortable.  Travelers want to drive a clean car, sleep in a comfortable bed and know the aircraft is safe and well maintained. 

None of these come with anything extraordinary, just people doing what they need to do, everyday, for every customer.  It’s people enjoying their jobs and wanting to do them right.  

In 1985, AC/DC didn’t send out firecrackers and canons with their albums, it was simply the music and people became hooked.  Sure, the extras are nice once in a while but my husband was a fan before he saw them in concert simply because of the music.  Suppliers, who are your fan and why are they your fans?  Is it because you do the simple stuff well?  When you hear from an unhappy customer, it is because you failed in simplicity?  Probably.  

I am striving for daring simplicity in my life and all the while, I keep going. 

The TIAs

I both love and hate this time of year.  I love the build up to the SuperBowl (although, as a Vikes fan, I don’t want to talk about Sunday’s game!)  I love thinking about the upcoming vacation to someplace warm and sandy.  I love the feel of a new year with new possibilities.  I, however, am NOT a fan of all the awards shows…so I thought I would put my own spin on awards and award shows and give out some awards of my own! I am calling the awards, the Tias.  (Travel Industry Awards)

Best Drama in the Travel Industry – Consolidation of any sort.  Hotels, Airlines, Technology, Association, you name it.  All of the consolidations cause drama…but like with most good dramas, when the dust settles, everything works out. 

Best Comedy in the Travel Industry – The hold out states in the Read ID Act.  Seriously, you mean to tell me you still, after all this time, don’t have your act together?  It’s no laughing matter, but it really is kind of comedic in a way. 

Best Leading Actress in the Travel Industry – This award goes to Mary Bastrentaz, Accenture.  She led the way for women on the buyer side of the industry and showed us all that hard work, relationships and taking care of people are what matter. 

Best Leading Actor in the Travel Industry – Jeroen Van Velzen, CEO of Roadmap.  Not only is he “bringing sexy back,” he is giving the traveler what they want. 

Best Director in the Travel Industry – The traveler.  In the wake of the Paris bombing, they were not afraid to get back to work and do what needed to be done.  They are the ones we take our cues from on what we can do to make their production the best one, trip after trip. 

Best Score in the Travel Industry – The award goes to United Airlines.  You can’t argue that the United Airlines Score is synonymous with United.  Every time I hear it, I know what it represents.  It’s one of those trademarks that I hope they never move away from. 

Best Supporting Staff in the Travel Industry – This honor goes to every hotel maid out there.  Think of the things they have to do, see and put up with; day in and day out.  They come to work early, they clean up others people mess and are, at time, taken for granted.  This is a group I always remember to say thank you to, good morning to and leave something for them.  They are the bedrock that keeps the industry on the road for without them, hotels would close.