Grace Under Pressure

As my husband and I walked off the plane in San Francisco, we glanced at our watches. We had less than an hour to get through immigration, retrieve our luggage, walk through customs, and then re-check our luggage to Denver. And then race through the concourse for our flight home. We could do it, but time was not on our side.

And then it became apparent, neither was United Airlines. Our flight from Seoul, South Korea and another flight from Frankfurt, Germany was greeted by one, just one United Airlines employee.

We stood in line with over one hundred international travelers and watched that one employee as she graciously processed each one of us. Because there was only one employee, we were all very, very delayed. That in turn complicated her job by causing her to re-book each traveler on a later flight.

Our cramped line, filled with exhausted travelers, was anything but pretty. We were mumbling and grumbling and oh-so less than pleasant as the minutes turned to hours. And yet she remained gracious as she worked diligently to send us on our way.

Here's to one United Airlines employee, based in San Francisco, who had at least a partially lousy day last week. Your grace under pressure impressed me in that moment, and for days now beyond ...