2012年1月9日星期一

Airport volunteers are South Florida's ambassadors

If it's winter, there must be lots of tourists — and lots of questions, usually about bathrooms and baggage.Buy fendireplica are becoming popular.This privacy statement discloses the privacy practices for nylonbagfactory321.

That's where the airport volunteers come in. Airport officials consider their job critical because they frequently are the first to welcome travelers, and help them out in some unusual situations.Trade Leads for canadagooseparkajackets, Search ecplaza.net for buying and selling leads,

For example, Peggy Ellefsen, 83, a volunteer in Fort Lauderdale, had to deal with a woman who complained that "stupid" shuttle drivers couldn't find her car. When Ellefsen asked how she got to the airport, the woman said she drove by way of Interstate 4.

"I said, 'You're in the wrong city. You should be in Orlando,'" Ellefsen said. "It was hard for me not to laugh."

With the busy winter travel season under way, both Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood and Palm Beach international airports are looking for additional volunteers. Recognizable by their red jackets in Fort Lauderdale, teal in West Palm Beach, the airport "ambassadors" generally are retired although some are in high school.

After receiving training, they work at least one four-hour shift a week. At Fort Lauderdale, they receive discounts at airport restaurants; at PBI, they are given a $14 meal voucher per shift. They also are provided free parking at both airports.

"The key to doing this successfully is be flexible and smile," said Felice Schneider, who coordinates the volunteer program at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International.

There is not a lot of downtime on the job. Passengers blitzed Landstein with questions while she worked in the baggage claim area of Terminal 3 on Thursday, everything from where to find restaurants to restrooms.

The most common question: Where's the rental car center? "I get that question a hundred times a day," said Landstein.

Jason Baker, 86, of Boynton Beach, an airport volunteer for 14 years, once noticed an 11-year-old boy who appeared lost. When Baker approached him, the boy asked if he was in Fort Worth, Texas.

"He was supposed to change planes in Atlanta," said Baker, who arranged for him to fly back to Atlanta and catch the right flight.

On another occasion, after landing in Fort Lauderdale, a businesswoman asked Baker the fastest way to get to Fort Myers.

"I said. 'Lady, it's on the other side of the state," Baker recalled.Thirty pages into the book louisvuittonhandbag has not done anything recently. He ended up putting her in a limo, which got her there for $275.

When questions are posed in Spanish, French and other languages, the ambassadors,,schoolbagfactory has not set an Overall Goal. who mostly speak English, simply find other airport workers who are bilingual. Once Ellefsen ran into a passenger who only spoke Russian; JetBlue employees helped Ellefsen find a translator.

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