For years I loyally flew Northwest Airlines. People told me tales of their messed up, headache causing trips on NWA, but I never had those problems. NWA treated me well, and I dedicated my flier points to their program.

Then came Delta.

Flights cancelled. Times changed. And rude people – big, fat, stinky Leroy pushed me right over the edge. I wanted to give my business to someone else, but it’s not that easy. The only other airlines that fly out of my airport have reported even worse customer service than Delta. Other options, including Southwest, are available, but only if I drive hundreds of miles to their nearest port. That’s not such a problem in the summer, but winter is unpredictable in Michigan – no one wants to drive through a blizzard to make their flight.

Since driving is one of my least favorite activities, right behind running and going to the dentist, my local airport left me with one question: how much do I want to pay for bad service? Since I was already accumulating frequent flier miles with NWA/Delta, and since they routinely have the cheapest fares at my port, I booked with them again and prepared myself for the worst. Last month gave me the worst – a blizzard.

Scheduled to fly west for the holidays, our airport cancelled all flights in and out for two days, pushing us back at least three days before we could book another flight. After some hurried phone calls and weather checks, the hubs and I decided to rent a car and drive downstate to where the blizzard wasn’t a problem and our connecting flight was still scheduled to leave on time. I put on my big girl pants and dialed Delta.

Long story even longer, Delta was awesome.

Once I got through the automated call center, everyone at Delta was polite and beyond understanding, doing everything possible to get us on the plane. Somehow my husband, aunt, and I made it to the gate without ever actually being checked-in to the flight. That didn’t matter, though. They still made sure we not only ended up on our plane, we got to sit together.

What could have been a traumatic, frustrating experience turned into a wonderful experience (as wonderful as it can be when you have to drive through a blizzard and only get four hours of sleep in a 36 hour period). Ticketing agents, flight attendants, and gate personnel – thank you all for making it possible for my family to enjoy our Christmas together.