It's 11:15 A.M. Can this cab driver drive any slower? I'm going to miss my flight.

I arrive at the ticket counter in Jacksonville at 11:30 a.m., 15 minutes before my flight leaves for St. Louis. I say to the agent, "I'm on the St. Louis flight."

"Sir, that flight is in final boarding. I can't issue you a boarding pass."

"Sure, you can."

"No sir. They won't allow us to issue boarding passes when the flight is in the final stages of boarding. You're late."

"I'm 15 minutes early."

"No sir. You're late."

"You can do this. I'm an executive platinum traveler with your airline. Your airline has kept me waiting plenty of times."

"Sir, there's nothing I can do."

"Look. If I miss this flight it adds 12 hours to my travel today. Is your supervisor on duty?"

"Yes."

"Call your supervisor."

The agent complied. "I have a passenger at the counter who wants to board. Uh-huh. Yes. Okay."

Now the agent begins to type furiously, reminiscent of those movie scenes where the irate customer has to deal with an indifferent ticket agent. After several minutes of typing, the agent hands me a boarding pass and says, "Sir, the only reason I can do this is that the flight is late."

I thanked the agent and ran to the gate. When I arrived, I learned that my plane was still en route to Jacksonville. We departed one hour late. That made me 75 minutes early.

So, what's the beef?

How about apathy? How about being so focused on procedures that an employee forgets the fundamental mission of an airline: to transport passengers safely and on time.

Customer service is not rocket science. In this case, a ticket agent violated the first rule of serving customers: Take a little initiative. Be proactive. Why did I have to ask her to check with her supervisor? An employee interested in serving customers naturally seeks all possible alternatives. Had she responded initially by saying, "Sir, I'll check on the flight status for you," she would have discovered that the flight was late and she wouldn't have had to bother her supervisor with the request. She didn't even know the flight was late.

The bottom line: This was a mediocre employee delivering poor service while hiding behind policies and procedures. Policies and procedures are guidelines to provide better service; they are not gospel. Employees who take shelter behind policies and procedures are strong on compliance but weak on initiative. Managers who insist on rigid interpretation of their policies discourage employees' initiative and their ownership for customer satisfaction.

As a customer, I am tired of asking for better service. I shouldn't have to ask to be treated well. Those who want my business must prove they are worthy of the business, not entitled to it. I bet you feel the same way.