I Don't Get It

While going through security at DFW, just as my cellphone was going through the x-ray machine, I could hear it ringing. It was 5AM and there was only one person who could be calling me at that hour..my bride. She had gotten a call from American Airlines with the information that my flight had been cancelled. My original flight had been for 6:35AM.
Now I had already had my conversation with the ticket agent, she had gotten me on another flight, gotten me a good coach seat, and put my name on the upgrade list, checked my bag, and pointed me to the new terminal and new gate. The cause for the cancellation? The aircraft was "not air worthy" Glad they caught it on the ground. I'm betting repair at 30,000 ft. is a challenge, not to mention just a little tense.
So all the arrangements had been taken care of BEFORE the call to my house about all the changes.
Don't they tell us to be at the airport at least 2 hours early? Don't they keep harping on giving yourself enough time for security, for flight changes, for delays at the ticket counter? So why would they assume that I would still be at home at 5AM when my flight is at 6:35AM? I don't get it, either they assume that no one listens or they assume that a call to any of my contact numbers will suffice. Either way I'm sure the AA folks will shrug their shoulders and say, "I tried to call..."
Today's version of customer service leaves a lot to be desired. It is more CYA and lot less service. I get the fact that sometimes aircraft don't fly ( there is something a little unsettling about acknowledging that as you sit next to the thin skin of a metal cylinder with the glide path of a dropped rock, hurtling along at 450 mph, that all of that works only because the engines can push that thing fast enough to defy logic) I even get the fact that flight crews don't like to clean up the mess after a bumpy ride. What I don't get is that they knew before 5AM that the plane wasn't going anywhere. Did someone just say, "I think I will let Jolly sleep in a little, he's not going anywhere anyway." And I have 2 numbers in their system anyway, why not call both?
I think the company that figures out customer service is going to have a huge leg up on the rest of the world. They will be able to charge whatever they want, because the customer will be so stunned by the service that they will hand over their credit card without comment.
Well, I'm glad we got that off my chest.
Godspeed fellow travelers
Don