So I’m flying home from White Plains, New York – yet again. Sure enough, the same crabby airport employee was working and was in the same wonderfully depressing mood. (I actually saw her roll her eyes after turning her back on a passenger – fabulous!) During our flight from White Plains to Chicago the flight attendant asked if there was a doctor on board. Apparently a passenger was having a seizure or something and needed assistance. After we landed, the paramedics came on board and escorted him off. As he was walking by the cockpit, the pilot said to the ailing man “Have a good day!” What? Really? Have a good day? Is that really the correct thing to say to someone being escorted to an ambulance?
So it started me thinking. What would have been better? “Have a nice day?” No. “Have a good weekend?” No. “See ya?” No. Oh, I got it. How about “Take care.” I like that. That phrase works whether someone is having a good day or a bad day. In fact, in the customer service seminars that I teach for healthcare workers, we teach that very same phrase.
Z-Tip: When saying good-bye to someone, and you don’t know what kind of day they’re having, say “Take care.”