Feb. 21, 2024 –The morning was going well, for a Monday. A passenger scored a hard-to-find rocking chair in the Atrium and was swaying as he passed the time. That’s when his cellphone slipped out of his pocket and fell at just the right angle to drop through the grate surrounding a tree.
One by one, CLT workers arrived to try to retrieve the phone. The first two workers had no luck. The next two men took the grate apart and dug around with various tools, but they still couldn’t reach the phone.
Enter Jennifer Salvatore and Tessa Crull of Terminal Operations. Crull borrowed a broom from a nearby restaurant and Salvatore climbed into the plant base. She used the broom to clear away the leaves and other debris, but it was too dark to see anything. That’s when two officers from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department offered their flashlights.
Crull held a flashlight. The passenger pinged his cell from another phone. Salvatore dug around with the broom until she finally spotted the device. But it wasn’t in a case, and it was laying flat. The crew had to shift the base of the tree so Salvatore could flip the phone on its side. She then used a grabber stick to retrieve the phone.
When she handed the phone to the passenger, he screeched in delight. He told her it was so comforting seeing CLT workers go above and beyond to help him: “You guys are the best!” he said.
We totally agree.