It finally hit me yesterday–it’s not that when you travel, you are likely to negotiate. We’ve written and talked about that before. (See our posts from our Israel trip here.) Traveling is negotiation…. at least in terms of preparation. So, yesterday morning I was flying out of Harrisburg to get home in time to teach my two afternoon classes. (I had been visiting Nancy Welsh at Penn State–no the riots were not started by me–no, my hero, Joe Paterno, has not yet called for me to negotiate on his behalf although that did make for outstanding conversation in my ADR and Ethics classes yesterday.)
Back to the flights–I show up, my flight is 90 minutes late, I’ll miss my connection, and I can’t get in until after at least one class. Not great, given that I had already cancelled class this week to speak at Penn State and Cardozo. Agonizing with the ticket agent as to whether I can get a car service to Phili and then it hit me–I had a prepared an alternative! I knew that other airlines flew that day to Chicago–perhaps I could get on one of those. Sure enough, cancelled out my return, ran to the United desk, and got on the 8:00 a.m. flight to Chicago, connected to Milwaukee and landed 20 minutes before I was scheduled to on USAir. wooohoooo! crisis averted!
Lessons: Have an awesome assistant (yes, she is dictating this as we speak) or at least have looked at and prefereably fully reviewed what other arlines and/or options are available. (And, given that I did this all on my own while she was still sleeping, she was quite impressed.) Knowing alternatives is really important when you are connecting since there is no magic these days to connecting in one place versus the other. Half the time the airlines have you flying the wrong direction anyway in order to connect. Other lessons–keep pushing–the gate agent’s first response will be to try to put you on a later flight on the same airline. Shockingly, they are not really concerned with your personal schedule. I was the one to suggest switching airlines, she agreed to cancel it out, etc, etc. Quick brainstorming can work. And, kudos to the other ticket agent, who while I was pondering how to get from Chicago to Milwaukee (bus or train) noted that she could put me on the commuter which then knocked my ticket price over $200.
So when you prepare your packing list, don’t forget to add your BATNA.
Your last sentence in this post got me thinking about not forgetting to create a BATNA when making other lists, such as grocery lists. As is evident to everyone, law students operate on a pretty tight budget. That means Roundy’s foods are quite commonplace in my apartment. Not only is Roundy’s typically at least $.50 cheaper on most items, there is usually not a drop in quality (at least to my taste). However, mostly through trial and error, I have found some brands that are absolutely necessary to purchase instead of their Roundy’s counterparts.
First, I have concluded that it is absolutely necessary to buy Kraft Mac n’ Cheese. Roundy’s simply doesn’t come close to the deliciousness of a good box of Kraft Mac n’ Cheese. The same can be said for popcorn – for me, it’s Orville Redenbacher’s. But even Act 2 and Pop-Secret have more taste than Roundy’s popcorn. Finally, Roundy’s does make great ice cream, but if you want chocolate syrup, it has to be Hershey’s; Roundy’s chocolate syrup simply doesn’t have the same chocolaty goodness as Hershey’s syrup.
So while I am obviously hungry this morning, it is clear to me that, despite the more expensive price tag, some brand name foods with better taste will always operate as a BATNA for me when comparing them to Roundy’s cheaper offerings.
Professor Schneider, your lessons about travel negotiations are spot-on: preparation and quick brainstorming are vital when you’re on the road. On that note, I might add a few battle-tested lessons:
Show up at the airport knowing more than the airline thinks you know. Know your airline’s hubs, alliance/codeshare partners, and their hubs. Have a back-up plan based on them – you can catch agents off-guard, and they’ll be more willing to do as you ask. Be ready to execute the plan, too. When option 1 cancels, you need to be the first one to the gate for the next-best option, not the 10th. Have a sound contingency plan and know when it’s needed.
Know who you’re negotiating with – it’s not the airline, it’s people who do specific jobs for it. Gate agents are understaffed and often have a flight to meet down the concourse, and they hesitate to rebook passengers when dedicated rebooking agents are a few gates away. Know where those agents are, and know a supervisor when you see one. As Danielle said, they often wear different color coats and carry things you want. Elites have a dedicated phone number with a good agent (usually) on the other end. Be comfortable with the resources at your disposal, but empathize … your resources are people, too.
Know what you’re negotiating for. Do you want a voucher (ticket? meal? drink?), an upgrade, a better connection, any connection that won’t make you overnight in Newark? Expand your part of the pie. There’s more to be achieved than a middle seat on the last flight of the day, and agents (and airlines) want to get your problem (and theirs) out of the way – use that to your advantage.
Know there are federal rules governing some of this stuff – involuntary bumps require compensation, but delays, cancellations, and weight and balance bumps (in this CRJ world we live in) do not. In some cases, an airline has to be given a reasonable chance to perform its contract with you before you back out and demand a refund. Then, the negotiation best not end in “no.”
But if you are delayed or canceled, by all means, get your Professor Schneider on and spend the next flight in seat 1C with a nice Spanish red, or get your Professor Hinshaw on and score tired students some nice rooms at the InterContinental. As Professor Schneider said, preparation and quick thinking are keys to negotiating your way through the friendly skies.
As I prepare to travel over Thanksgiving weekend, I admit I am afraid. Lately, my luck with flights has eluded me. I have missed flights, been stranded, been delayed, sometimes it was my fault, but usually not. I agree that the key to traveling and actually getting where you need to be, when you need to be there, involves knowing your alternatives. Normally though, I have ascertained these alternatives on the go when I am in the midst of whatever frustrating situation (insert name of any airline) has thrust upon me. I’d like to say that being prepared in these situations is easy, but I don’t know if that is entirely true. So, I wonder if another lesson might be the ability to adapt and change your strategies/BATNA as you go. Because, so many airlines experience delays and cancellations that can’t be anticipated, sometimes it is important to be able to survey the entire landscape in the moment that you find yourself in a tight sitch, and pick your best alternative. Of course, knowing the general lay of the land in advance would be helpful, but I have created the most successful outcomes by thinking on my feet, adapting to an agent’s style of negotiation and picking the best approach in accord with that. Sometimes that has meant abandoning negotations with a certain agent, and finding a party willing to negotiate with me. Being able to adapt and being creative is very important, especially, in conjunction with the other lesson you highlight in your post, to keep pushing.
A while back I met a seasoned traveler while stranded in Charlotte. He too was stranded, and told me that he was no stranger to this happening, and that in these situations persistence was his only ally. He had a routine down, which included finding a representative in a specific color coat (unfortunately, I cannot recall the exact color at the moment), whom he knew carried free food/drink tickets in one pocket and 100$ vouchers for flying in the other. According to this man, there are no rules governing what the __insert color_ coats can give you, but they are told to offer the food/drink coupons first. My friend, the seasoned traveler, never settled for these though, he always got the 100$ vouchers, and usually a few of them. His secret was just aggressive persistence, without being rude or offensive, he noted. The truth is sometimes you just get screwed. Pardon my language. And, when it looks like your not making it where you need to be on time, you still shouldn’t give up on making the best of the situation. Like my temporary friend of happenstance said, persistence is key.
Taking these lessons back into the realm of the ADR setting, obviously it is much easier to prepare for the ADR setting in advance, but I still think that adaptability is key. Because, learning the communication style/goals of another party is not always easily ascertainable in advance; thus, thinking on your feet is a great tool to pack when traveling, along with persistence and your BATNA, too.
I had the opportunity last fall to learn this lesson firsthand, and about the value of a smartphone too. I was planning on flying to my cousin’s wedding in Michigan, flying out of O’Hare (saves about $250 by not flying out of General Mitchell). I was taking a charter bus from Milwaukee to the airport, but unfortunately the bus that would have gotten me to the airport on time broke down. The company was not going to send an emergency bus, so those of us waiting had to wait an extra hour until the next bus rolled around. We thus arrived at O’Hare an hour late, giving me 10 minutes to check in, make it through security, and down to the gate before the plane left. While waiting in line to talk to the representative, I was able to use my phone to find other flights the airline had going to Detroit that night. I was able to work with the representative to figure out which flights would work and would not cost me an arm and a leg in fees. I ended up missing the wedding ceremony, but arrived just in time for the reception to begin.
I also know the importance of being open to options when flying as well. Being a typical, poor student, I always have on my mind the lack of financial resources that I have. Whenever I travel, especially on days and times that generally have a completely full plane, I always try to not plan anything special for the day after I arrive at my destination and the day after I return. I try to make myself available, whenever the flight is overbooked, to take the bump to the next day’s flight, so long as it includes some good perks. I guess the lesson for flying it so be flexible.
Since you mentioned this issue in class last week, I have been thinking about times when I would need to have a BATNA ready. Such an opportunity presented itself to me yesterday in fact! I had to call my landlord about getting the heater fixed in my apartment (it has been making loud noises which have woken me up every night for the past few weeks; obviously, this is not acceptable.) I had already called once, but the problem has been left unfixed so I decided to call again, but this time I was prepared to discuss alternatives if the issue was not fixed in a timely manner. The alternatives I came up with before calling included withholding rent until the problem was fixed (and likely throwing in some legal jargon about failure of the company to maintain a habitable living environment so that my complaint sounded more legitimate), turning my heater off altogether and buying a space heater in my room, or offering to find someone myself to fix the heater granted that I be reimbursed by the company. Fortunately, I did not have to resort to any of my alternatives because they were pleasant to deal with and guaranteed that someone would be in to remedy the problem soon. The situation just reminded me of how these issues can come up in everyday life, similar to your recent travel experience.
And thanks, Andrea, for a couple of great presentations here at Penn State. Can’t wait to read your article on law students’ salary negotiations with employers. And I’m looking forward to publication of our co-authored article on the potential integration of mediation into the investment treaty context, in the inaugural issue of the Penn State Journal of Law and International Affairs.
It is interesting when mediation tips or best practices will insert themselves in our lives when we don’t expect it. That’s a great ‘aha’ moment.