I Live in the Aiport

I love to travel. I love to meet new people, experience other cultures, learn other languages, study the art and architecture, and dine and speak with the locals. Traveling is a privilege. It is not something I take for granted.

My husband and I recently visited Spain.  We love Spain and we were so excited to visit the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. The museum is designed by Frank Ghery. If you have an opportunity please visit. Seeing how this city was reinvented in 6 years is remarkable. The Guggenheim is simply stunning. We enjoyed breathtaking rooftop views from our hotel where we drank Spanish wine and watched the sunset on this piece of art. It was one of the many highlights of our trip.  

At the airport in Bilbao, at our terminal, the only option to check-in was a self-check-in kiosk. The kiosk will scan your passport, ask a series of questions and eventually, if you do everything correctly, issue a boarding pass and luggage tags. It is not ideal; in fact it is a far cry from ideal. But airline companies are not interested in the customer experience. They are only interested in making money and if they can increase their revenue by decreasing headcount they will do so and that is exactly what many airlines have done. The entire experience becomes a headache and creates anxiety. The customer appears to do everything correctly but the ticket is not issued nor are the luggage tags produced.

As my husband and I were attempting to check in I saw a man assisting a number of passengers. I thought this gentleman was part of a tour group and that he was assisting members of the tour. I noticed he was helping quite a few different groups and I overheard him say “I live in the airport.” He said he knows how to work the kiosks and volunteers to help passengers and if they would like to help him out with a donation it is appreciated.

This man spoke English very well, in addition to Spanish. He saw that we were struggling; he came over and he offered to help. I was grateful. He noted that sometimes the kiosks are finicky. He scanned our passports and within a matter of minutes, our boarding passes and luggage tags were issued. I thanked the man over and over and gave him 10 Euros.  Another individual gave him $5 US dollars. He asked if I would be kind enough to exchange it for him and I gave him 5 Euros. I saw another woman whom he had helped hand him some change. He was grateful for each and every donation. I, however, was how shall we call it, flabbergasted.

Imagine having the privilege to travel and someone helps you with your check-in and you think that it is appropriate to give that person a few coins. Do you know what that says? It says that you are lesser than me, it says you life is worth very little. It says, I could not check myself in and when someone volunteered to help me the most I could do was give that person a few coins.

Here’s a reminder to those traveling. You have the means to travel, so when someone offers to help you, for example at a kiosk in Spain, and without that person you might still be standing at that self-check-in kiosk today, you thank them appropriately, not with a few coins, but with paper money and in the currency of the country you are visiting.

The audacity of people to think they are better than someone else so much so that they can be dismissive of an act of kindness and reward that act with a miniscule donation is unacceptable. And before you come at me with the “maybe that was all she had” or “maybe she only had large bills” spare me.  First, you are traveling. Secondly, when you travel you know that you will be in situations where you will need a variety of bills and if you don’t have the right denomination, you tip up. Plain and simple. Do better tourists or don’t travel.

Sweet Dreams,

Ava

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