Beyond “Above and Beyond”: Behind the Scenes of ACIS Support
We recently posted about how the ACIS support network took great care of a group whose connecting flight home was cancelled over St. Patrick’s Day weekend. Now hear from Group Leader Melissa in her own words on how the staff turned a challenging moment into a wonderful memory.
Jill and Tom from ACIS were amazingly helpful during a stressful situation on my last trip. Thanks to a perfect combination of everything that could go wrong going wrong, my group missed their final flight home from Boston to Memphis. Not only did Tom find us a place to stay and have us in the hotel in just over an hour, the next day turned out to be a bonus day for my students since we were in Boston on St. Patrick’s Day.
For almost a decade, I have talked to Jill on the phone, but we had never met in person. On a Sunday – her day off! – Jill met us at the hotel, arranged a water taxi ride to see seals outside the aquarium, took the group to brunch, walked us past Faneuil Hall and the Boston Commons and then got on a shuttle with every other parade goer in Boston to take my kids to a parade that she herself had never been to. My kids took photos, got necklaces from parade floats, danced with strangers, and overall just had a blast. Once Jill got us on our water taxi back towards the hotel and airport, they literally chanted “We love Jill” and “Give Jill a raise” as we pulled away from the dock.
This could have been a terrible ending to a terrific trip, but it became a vacation day part two. Simply getting us a hotel, food, and a flight home with little disruption would have been more than enough, but Jill managed to turn then entire thing into a day that rivaled what we had on the actual trip. Companies throw around phrases like “above and beyond,” but this was not just above and beyond. This was next level care from someone who gave up their day off in their hometown to take care of people she had never met, and things like that are incredibly rare.
“Companies throw around phrases like “above and beyond,” but this was not just above and beyond. This was next level care from someone who gave up their day off in their hometown to take care of people she had never met, and things like that are incredibly rare.”
ACIS Group Leader Melissa B.
I have traveled with ACIS for almost a decade now and have run trips for two decades, and I have many, many stories about how ACIS has taken care of my students. This, however, becomes the story of how the people at ACIS like Jill are the true heroes who turn things into adventures and fun when they didn’t have to.
Sarah Bichsel
