I’m writing it from my phone, stuck in an airport. My wife and I had planned to take the week to jet down to Puerto Rico for a getaway celebrating our wedding anniversary, and it’s turned into a nightmare. In my house, I’m the one who makes all the travel plans. It’s my job to book the flights, choose the hotel, and plan the itinerary. Lucky me – when things go right I get all the love. But when they don’t? Well – I’m the fool.
My wife took one look at our hotel and our “beautiful” dumpster view and put her foot down. Noooo way. She was so put off by the bad hotel experience, she called the whole thing off! “Pack it in, Bob,” she said, “I just want to go home.” But when it came time for me to book the flight home, I think the clerk didn’t hear me right, or maybe she pushed the wrong button, because now we’re stuck in Milwaukee. As for our luggage, who knows where it is? The airline says they have no idea.
I’m the fool, right?
Or….did we get ya? April Fool’s! The truth is that this week I hit sunny Puerto Rico with my beautiful wife, and the hotel view wasn’t what I expected, but the hotel staff were incredibly nice and they moved us to a room with a better view as soon as one became available. My wife, Amy, is always a great sport even when they are travel mishaps. And, we’re having a wonderful anniversary celebration.
To be fair, when it comes to corporate travel pranks, I wasn’t as intense as some companies have been. In 2009, Hotels.com pranked their customers on April Fool’s Day by offering Lunar and Martian getaways. But come on…isn’t the hallmark of a good prank that someone has to fall for it? Who would fall for that one?
In 1992, the Los Angeles airport marked April Fool’s Day by rolling out an 85-foot yellow banner that simply said ‘WELCOME TO CHICAGO.” Now as someone who just went through the early-morning, disorienting labyrinth of navigating airport corridors, that’s a good prank!
I think the best corporate travel pranks are the long-standing silly ways companies try to make their customers panic. Southwest Airlines famous for their no-bag-fee policy and their great sense of humor, made this video announcing exorbitant baggage fees and encouraging travelers to check their bags a full year prior to their flight.
I bet it worked in their favor – after a particularly stressful prank, you just might need a vacation.
Don’t get fooled this weekend,
~Bob
