Worldwide Flight Services provides ticketing and ground support for Delta, Allegiant, and Frontier Airlines at the Bozeman, MT airport, and I supervise all 50 of their employees.As you can imagine, airports are hubs of chaos (no pun intended), with travelers from all over the world and from every culture passing through under unusually high levels of stress and urgency. Signs and rules and procedures are complex and frustrating for even the savviest customer, so my role is to ensure each person, family, or business group has the very best experience possible. I also want to make sure my firm is profitable, and the brands we support respected, so that means operating at optimal levels of efficiency, safety, discretion, and organization at all times.To achieve this level of excellence, and assist in the customer experience, the team energy has to be high, tasks on point, cash and credit procedures expertly reconciled, and issues promptly resolved - all while complying within strict security and regulatory guidelines. Not an easy thing to do!On an average day I'm resolving escalated conflicts, completing regulatory and compliance reports, tracking all inbound/outbound flight schedules, hosting 40-hour training sessions, and coordinating with other agencies on security and service issues. I like being the superhero to help teammates and customers in trouble, find a way to soothe particularly ruffled feathers, or to turnaround extremely challenging and frustrating circumstances like travel delays, last minute re-routings, overbookings, or intense backlogs.As the need arises I also provide white-glove concierge and logistical support for charter flights, particularly those that carry VIP’s and premier sports teams. This is where it gets fun; finding ways to expedite arrivals and departures, smoothing the way through customs, and adding little flourishes that are meaningful and memorable.

Life working for an airline is never dull. In this role I held front-line responsibility for ticketing, responding to customer inquiries, managing and reconciling cash transactions, submitting daily intake for bank deposits, troubleshooting complaints and complex travel issues, issuing refunds and credits, and managing credit card payment issues. My favorite aspects of the work were solving problems and streamlining processes so that people were happy and the work was well organized and efficient.There's something to be said for work that you find stimulating and rewarding. Being able to please people and being trusted with critical tasks really feeds me. I liked being the go-to person for strong, effective solutions.

This position was challenging, but I really enjoyed the hard work and the responsibility. My duties included supervising meals and meal planning for more than 100 students, and included drafting nutritional plans based on government regulations. As the Head Cook I handled procurement and supply management to ensure we had what we needed right as it was needed, while making certain it was fresh. I also managed the organization of storage and materials, drove the budget, and directed the scheduling and staff.Pleasing the palates of a hundred children and navigating those demanding appetites within the confines of government oversight and strict finances is a near impossible task, but I loved it and felt like I excelled under the intensity of the pressure. I'm good at knowing the rules, and operating within them - while still keeping my eye on the customer experience ball and the myriad behind-the-scenes organizational details that have to be juggled!