Unusually fine vegetables make my happy, while putting up
with airlines makes me cranky.
My best consumer experience: Wonderful green beans and
Brussels sprouts
Often during the winter, the organic green beans at my local
food co-op look like they have rust or something else on them and the Brussels
sprouts are moldy.
This week, both looked amazing. I bought them and cooked
them when I was hungry for a snack.
My doctor told me to eat more vegetables because I’m getting
close to being in the pre-diabetic category, a concern because diabetes runs in
my family.
My worst consumer experience: Airline customer service
I have a respiratory problem, and it works best if I sit in
the front of the airplane by the window.
American Airlines does a good job of referring me to a
special department and arranging for the seat I need. However, when another
carrier operates a leg of my trip on American, things become difficult.
I started out my recent trip to Spain on British Airways.
Its planes are configured so that the coach seats are all behind the wing. The
agents just tell me nothing can be done, unless I want to pay a lot more for
business or first class.
Then there’s Iberia. I tried without success to arrange the
seat I needed before my flight because the seat I was assigned was behind the
wing for my trip from London to Madrid. The reservation agents I talked to said
they couldn’t assign seats in advance. I called six times. They told me to ask
at the ticket counter. Often ticket agents say to ask at the gate. Neither one
of these options works very well. Most agents just don’t care.
Due to a mix up about the time in London, I was one of the
last people to get on the flight to Madrid. There wasn’t time to ask for a
different seat. It was quite frustrating. Fortunately, the trip was short, so I
didn’t have many problems.
