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NEW YORK (CNN) — The next time an airline hits you with a fee, you can either go on a epic rant about "Big" Business and their "evil" ways, or you can do what Alex Hamberger did.
He took the honey over the vinegar approach and look where it got him.
Back in March, a sudden illness forced Hamberger of Buffalo, New York, to cancel a flight to see his 9-month-old niece in Kansas City.
He had to rebook, and we all know what that means: a $200 change fee. Ouch.
So Hamberger reached out to American Airlines' customer service department to request the airline drop the change fee.
He did it in the form of a letter — an actual snail-mailed letter. And what a letter it was!
Hamberger used all of his considerable wit and charm to request the airline drop the change fee.
Laying it on thick
"Dear Most Kind and Benevolent American Airlines Customer Service Staff Member, I write to you with the hopes that you may take mercy on me and afford a little sympathy for this flyer who was taken quite ill and had to postpone his trip to see his beloved niece."
He told them all about his postponed trip, his precious niece and how he hoped they'd cut him some slack.
He signed his opus:
"With gratitude,
Alex Hamberger
Frequent Flyer
Brother
Uncle
Formerly sick person
Currently healthy person
Grateful flyer"
Mailing it in
"I felt an email would just get lost in the shuffle," he told CNN.
For added effect, he attached a few photos of him and his cute-as-a-button niece. (Hey, can't hurt.)
"I hoped that if they saw that someone had taken the time to write it with their own hand, they might read it. That it might make a difference," Hamberger said.
At the very least "it might brighten someone's day," he said.
It worked. American Airlines agreed to drop the charge.
"I'm glad you are 'formerly sick' and 'currently healthy' to make plans to see your precious niece. She sure is a lucky little girl to have such a loving Uncle Al!," an airline customer relations representative wrote back.
Hamberger takes his rebooked flight to see his niece Thursday.
He says he's only ever tried something like this once before, with a cereal company.
"I reached out to [them] to tell them that I really liked the new packaging" on one of its new cereals, he said. He didn't hear back.
So, let this be a lesson: Polite can help you trump policy.
An adorable niece can help.
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