I wanted to take the time to share with you a traveling experience I had recently. I flew from Sarasota, Florida, through Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) into Manchester-Boston Regional Airport (MHT) in Manchester, New Hampshire, to attend a fundraising event for Windham Academy, where I sit on the Board of Trustees.
After I boarded the plane in Sarasota, I realized I no longer had my driver’s license. I spoke with a man, who worked for the airport’s lost and found in Sarasota. He told me his office wouldn't get a driver's license from TSA and that there were "no public phone numbers to call TSA about a matter like this." I called his office again, asking if, by chance, my driver’s license showed up. He told me no and that my only option was to go online and submit a form. I told him that wouldn't work as I was flying back to Florida in two days (on Sunday). And again, he said there was nothing else he could do.
While in the boarding line at BWI, I happened to casually start a conversation with Tom Labrie (I noticed he had a badge on signifying he worked at MHT). He told me the information I was given didn't make sense to him. He then gave me the name and number for Colleen Kiernan, a TSA employee (MHT Stakeholder Support Liaison), and said if anyone could track down my license it would be Colleen. And that's when "going above and beyond with customer service” took place.
Strangely enough, when I landed in Manchester, I asked a TSA officer where I could reach Colleen, and the officer informed me that Colleen wasn't located at the airport terminal. The person also told me that Colleen was "tenacious" and if anyone could find the license it would be her. So, two people pretty much described her exactly the same. And they were both right.
I spoke with Colleen on the phone, and she said she'd call me back within 5 minutes and she did. She asked me a couple more questions and told me she'd call back within 30 minutes....and she did. This time she told me she located my driver’s license in Sarasota, Florida, and gave me the name and phone number of a TSA supervisor in Sarasota to call. Long story short, they had my driver's license and were keeping it at the checkpoint where I had lost it. Colleen then fully explained the process I would need to go through at the airport in Manchester yesterday, when I flew back to Florida. This enabled me to be prepared and to understand the process better, which made for a smooth security check in.
To say I was relieved after talking with Colleen was an understatement. At my age, the last thing I wanted was to deal with worrying about stolen identities and having to get a new license.
Thank you,
John Lavoie
By Michelle Robbins, Strategic Communications & Public Affairs