I LUV Southwest Airlines as much as I HATE Cancer...

Or maybe more appropriately titled,
"This is Brandon, with Southwest Airlines...."

I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer on February 3rd. I travel a LOT for work. I love traveling. Part of the reason I love traveling is because I ONLY fly Southwest Airlines and LUV them for the exact reason I'm posting this "Voicemail" I received back in March.  And by LUV them... I mean I purposely avoid flying other airlines.  My home office is in Madison, Wisconsin and I go there quite a bit.  Southwest doesn't fly to Madison (erg! I wish!), so I'll fly to Milwaukee and rent a car and DRIVE the 1.5 hours to Madison to avoid flying any other airlines.  THAT'S how much I LUV Southwest Airlines.

After telling my boss about my cancer, he immediately "grounded" me from traveling so I could focus on my treatments, my health and my family. I equally LUV my company (of almost 19 years now) to the moon and back, but the thought of not traveling anymore (in addition to not being able to see my teammates and work with them in other states) immediately made me think.... "Crap. I'm going to lose my A-List Status with Southwest Airlines for next year, now.  And crap... I won't earn any miles this year to use for a family vacation."

I immediately got sad about that (and in case you were wondering, yes, I was more upset at the time about that, than my cancer... I know, dumb). 

After sitting on it for about a month of "not traveling", I signed into my Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards account and stared at it, sad once again, thinking, "I would've earned about 17,000 miles by now."

I saw a "Contact Us" section and thought... Sure, what can it hurt?  I clicked on the "Email Us" link on the Customer Service page and wrote my letter, fully expecting a "Sorry... Can't help you." reply in the nicest fashion that Southwest has, which still wouldn't bother me, because I knew at the very least, Southwest would respond, even with bad news (unlike any other airline who could give a rip). 

My "comment" went something like this:

"Hi, I was recently diagnosed with Breast Cancer and have been "grounded" from traveling until late fall. I will lose my A-List status for next year and my opportunity to earn miles this year. Would you consider allowing me to keep my A-List Status for next year? This fall I should be back on my regular schedule. 

Best,
Moya Brown"

I got the typical, "We've received your email and will be in touch soon." auto-response and thought nothing more of it. Like I said, couldn't hurt to try. 

Literally, later that day I received a phone call on my cell phone from a number in Texas that I didn't recognize. It was "Brandon, with Southwest Airlines."  Uh??!! Wait... I expected an email saying "Sorry...", but I get a PHONECALL?? From a real, live person?? 

SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!!

Okay, you had me at "Hi there, this is Brandon, with Southwest Airlines."

We talked thru my current situation and he listened to my every word. He assured me that he would do his best to help me achieve my request, but he couldn't guarantee anything right away. I was still just happy to get a call??!! "Brandon, with Southwest Airlines" asked me to fax him a note from my doctor on the cancer center's letterhead simply stating my inability to travel until late fall and he would "take it from there."  He said to call back at the end of the year to "...see what we could do" and then we hung up. 

Still amazed and in shock, I requested the letter from my oncologist and faxed it over to "Brandon, with Southwest Airlines" as soon as I received it. Once again, I thought to myself, "Okay, that was done... I guess I'll just see what happens at the end of the year."

Then later that day after a few conference calls, I noticed a missed call on my cell and listened to the voicemail...

Now, I don't know what will even come of all of this when I call back in December, but even if it's nothing, I won't care.  The fact of the matter is, the REASON Southwest Airlines is still in business is because they CARE.  And let's face it... if all other airlines could learn something from Southwest... it's this: 

They LIVE The Golden Rule...  Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.  In other words, hey... let's just be a NICE PERSON.

You nailed it, Southwest Airlines (and "Brandon, with Southwest Airlines").  I'm STILL and even MORE so now, a lifer.