Have you ever had an experience that makes you want to shout from the roof tops - good or bad? I recently had the opportunity to fly on Virgin America from San Francisco to Fort Lauderdale and I want to shout from the rooftops - or do the modern day version - BLOG! 
It was an amazing experience -considering that we were flying in an airplane over a holiday period with two kids, getting sent to another airport to sit on a tarmac for two hours until the rain stopped and we could proceed to our destination.
First, we drove 4 hours from our home in Incline Village to San Francisco stayed overnight at Larkspur Landing (they have a great park and fly program and it was a wonderful hotel for our needs). Next morning we caught the shuttle to the International Terminal at SFO - a plus as the food options are much nicer and the staff seems to be more pleasant in the International Terminal. You notice the difference with Virgin from the second you board the plane. Each seat has a mini TV screen that shows free satellite TV (great for the kids who watch non-stop Disney Channel), Virgin was running a free WIFI special sponsored by Google so I was able to work the entire flight and managed to even put a house in Escrow while on the airplane! They really thought of the things that would make their passengers more comfortable and less antsy on a long flight.
They have brought innovation and technology to a new level in the airline industry. Instead of having service carts clogging up the aisle and blocking the path to the bathroom you order food and drinks right from your TV screen and swipe a credit card to pay for those items that are not free. The food options were excellent and arrived moments after you ordered. You can Instant Message someone in another seat (they must accept your invitation) - for my husband and I who were sitting in different sections of the plane it was nice to see how the kids were doing. The bathrooms are larger - now if they only had a way to let you know if they were occupied on screen that would be helpful.
Virgin staff communicated well - when we were diverting to another airport they kept us informed as to why and how long. We could walk around while on the tarmac and the WIFI and TV kept working the entire time we were on the ground.
This whole experience got me to thinking...are we as Realtors doing the same for our clients? Are we using technology to help our clients have a better experience? Are we really innovative in ways that are meaningful to our clients? Let's face it we can all say one airline is the same as another...our clients can say one Realtor is the same as another...but is it? I can't wait to fly Virgin America again and I am going to make sure my clients can't wait to use my services again too!
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