Ambiguity: the quality of being open to more than one interpretation; inexactness.
When I first signed up for the Plus3 Ireland trip, little did I know how much this word would mean for our trip! I knew innovation and technology was our focus, but so far ambiguity has hit us hard.
During our [9+ hour] layover at Charlotte, North Carolina, we were hit with a major thunderstorm which led to an eventual flight cancellation. Now, we are stuck in Charlotte until Tuesday!
However, everything happens for a reason! So far, the whole group has learned how to improvise, be more adaptable, and make the best out of what is.
Not only that, but we have seen a lot of business functions happen and used our business skills so far. We don’t need to be in Ireland to do that!!
The first thing that really stood out to me was American Airlines and how they handled their human resources. Personally, I am very lenient and easygoing with customer service, but AA truly handled this situation extremely poorly. Over the day, they made endless time changes, gate changes, and then never even made a public announcement that the flight was cancelled. Then, it took almost a whole day for our kind [and persistent!] advisor, Liz, to finally reach them just to get our luggage back. Liz to the rescue!
Overall, AA demonstrated unsatisfactory customer service which has put a bad taste in my mouth. This shows how important human resources and customer service is, because now I’m not sure if I will ever take AA flights again.
Moving on, I want to talk about a positive business function that I saw. During the night, we visited this amazing ice cream parlor called Jeni’s Ice Cream. This place embodied effective business marketing. The line was out the door for 2+ hours, so clearly this was a hot spot. I noticed the why behind this: Jeni’s Ice Cream knew how to be unique and find a place in a niche market, as well as provide the highest customer service possible. And if I learned anything in Intro to Marketing, it is that unique product + quality customer relationship management = business success. I’m happy I got to see this principle happen in real life, and not just in the classroom! Also, their whole visual theme and aesthetics was on point too, which plays a big role in marketing as well.
As for business skills, I’ve seen two in full action. First is obviously adaptability and learning how to plan on the go and make the best out of new situations. Second is problem solving. Everyday so far, we had to find solutions to new problems such as how to get our luggage back, find a place to stay, get on another flight, and find things to do in Charlotte.
Overall, I have learned that travel horrors DO HAPPEN. I have never experienced a cancelled flight and then being stuck in a city before. But now I know what to do and how to handle situations like this. I also learned that I am more adaptable than I thought. Although slightly disappointed that I’m not in Ireland, I have genuinely enjoyed our group’s time together in Charlotte and all the things we’ve done so far!! So, unexpected events can actually turn out much better than you might first imagine!
See you next time, Michelle