Guide: How to get the best help at an airline’s customer service desk at an airport

It’s not uncommon for passengers to approach an airline’s customer service desk and ask for help dealing with a sudden issue that has occurred with their travel. That could be issues getting through security, missing a flight, having one of their flights get cancelled or delayed, or even trying to solve an issue with their checked bag. The customer service agents working these desks are often the difference between a relatively smooth and pain free trip and one that is a complete disaster. They are the last hope, gatekeepers of help for passengers with no where else to turn. <br><br>They generally do their best to provide passengers with the help they need, but there are a few things you can do to better your chances of getting a sympathetic ear and decent help.<br><br>**1: Be polite and courteous**<br><br>The customer service agents have been fielding complaints from passengers all day. If one approaches politely and respectfully, they are far more likely to be taken seriously and be offered help.<br><br>**2: Be aware of your surroundings**<br><br>If you have time before approaching the desk, take stock of the situation. Is there a line at the desk? Is one of the customer service agents on the phone? Are either of the customer service agents helping passengers already? If so, the best course of action is to wait patiently and approach when another agent is available or when the person being helped has left. You don’t want to interrupt a customer service agent while they are working with another passenger. This goes double if they are on the phone. The agent is likely dealing with an emergency and will let you know when they are ready to help you.<br><br>**3: Have your travel documents ready**<br><br>Passports, boarding cards, bag claims, whatever you have, make sure it’s easily accessible. If you approach an airline’s customer service desk without your boarding cards and passport easily accessible, you will be turned away. Having your documents out and easily accessible is the bare minimum a customer service agent expects of you when approaching.<br><br>**4: Be clear and direct with your issue**<br><br>Don’t approach with some vague issue that you expect the customer service agent to magically fix. Be direct and specific. If you missed your flight, say what flight you were trying to get on and what happened. If you are trying to solve an issue with your bag, tell them why you think there might be a problem and where you think it might be.<br><br>**5: Be open to solutions you may not have thought of**<br><br>Customer service agents generally have access to far better tools than you do. Don’t assume you know the solution to your issue. If your flight got delayed and you missed your connection, the customer service agent may know of a better flight or route that will get you to your destination. If you are trying to solve an issue with your bag, they may know where it is, why it hasn’t arrived, and what options you have to get it back. Don’t assume you know how to solve your problem, let the customer service agent help.<br><br>**6: If you are with others, have one person approach to speak with the customer service agent**<br><br>It doesn’t matter if you are with your spouse, a friend from work, or your entire extended family. Customer service agents see groups as one unit. If two people from your group approach, the customer service agent will only focus on one of you. The other person will be ignored. If you are traveling with a group, have one person approach and speak for the rest of your group. <br><br>**7: Don’t try to use your status or travel perks to get perks you don’t deserve**<br><br>Customer service agents know the perks for each level of status and paid travel perk. If you try to lie about what benefits you’re supposed to get, they will either call you on your lie or simply refuse to help you. While your status or paid travel perks may be useful on less busy days or with less busy issues, when dealing with customer service agents who are swamped and have a line of passengers, they generally don’t have time to care about your status. <br><br>**8: Don’t try to guilt trip a customer service agent into helping you**<br><br>The customer service agent you are speaking with likely has no power to change what has happened to you. If they did, it would have already been fixed. It does nothing to help your situation if you argue with the customer service agent, protest how unfair something is, or try to guilt trip them. The customer service agent is there to help. If they can help, they will. <br><br>**9: Tips go a long way**<br><br>For customer service agents, tips are rare. They look at tips as a sign that what they did was appreciated. While tipping a customer service agent won’t magically solve your issue, it will often cause them to go out of their way to make sure you are taken care of.<br><br>**10: If you are dealing with an issue with your bag, always get directions to the baggage service desk in writing**<br><br>If you want to get directions to the baggage service desk, writing down the directions word for word or having the customer service agent email those directions to you is the best course of action. It isn’t unheard of for a customer service agent to give you the wrong directions or to give directions that don’t make a ton of sense. If you write down the directions, you can make sure you don’t miss anything and that you can always go back if you are confused about the directions the customer service agent gave.<br><br>**TL;DR**: Customer service agents have a tough job and deal with angery passengers all day every day. Being polite and ready for them is the best way to get their sympathy and help.