I originally interviewed for a ticket agent position, but was offered a position within the Finance Department after the recruiter discovered my banking background. It never dawned on me that there were other positions within the airline industry other than pilots, flight attendants, ticket agents, and ground operations. I joined the Southwest Family April 1, 1980 (April Fool’s Day). I have always wondered who was the joke on? Me...or did Southwest know what they were getting? I remember arriving to work on my very first day of work bright and early at 7:30 a.m. to discover I was the only person there! The joke was on me! But to my surprise others began to casually arrive to work by 8 a.m. Within our small, 25-person department, I was responsible for inputting the credit card transactions which included only TWO price points that we lovingly referred to as our "SERIOUS" and "KIDDING AROUND" fares. Our "SERIOUS" business customers paid our $45 fare, and everyone else paid our "KIDDING AROUND" $37 fare because they were normally headed somewhere to PLAY! I've seen our department grow from 25 to 350, while holding various positions on the Ticket by Mail Team, helping to open Ticketless, and currently on the TOPS team that protects the Company’s revenue from fraud. During my 31 years, I've been blessed to work in HDQ with my late husband J.W., who operated the very first cafeteria at our current HDQ; my three daughters (Athena, Trisha and Wanda); son-in-law, Bill; and sister-in-law, Margarita. But it was the showering of LUV and support from my Southwest Family during the unexpected death of my 5-year-old grandson, that proved why we have remained the best in the business for the past 40 years. The LUV that is shown to each Employee, I believe no other company can duplicate. Southwest has been a member of my family for the past 31 years, and I have all the T-shirts to prove it!
... View more
