Some Stuff About Me:

My photo
I'm a Minnesota Girl, living in the south. I tell my friends I try not to talk and think like a Yankee, but sometimes I slip up!

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Good People in the World


I've been remiss posting lately... it may not get better, since work is from dawn to dusk, and chaos reigns there. I hope I come out on the other side.


I have a few stolen moments this weekend, to finish a story for Kelly, and to give the rest of the readers a daily slice of life. It concerns severe emotional trauma - over a mailbox key!



Good People in the World


When I returned from vacation on the 30th, it was with relief to find my son still had my mailbox key in my car. He hadn't lost it. His absentmindedness with such things comes directly from me. I'm often misplacing keys, documents, braincells, you name it, particularly in times of stress.


I got the mail on the 30th, and put the key somewhere safer, I'm sure of it. Was it the armrest in the car, key box on the foyer table, or another one of those places I try to remember to keep things in? Or did I? It turned up missing. We ransacked house and car, no key. I called the property manager. No call, no return message. I stopped at a post office on the way to work during the ensuing week. They told me I had to go to my OWN post office, and even if I went there, they might or might not have the key; it might be with the property manager. 8 calendar days since we'd seen the key, getting a little frantic for what was in the box, I set my sites on Saturday.


Workers with stressful jobs, even empty-nesters like me, can only get so many errands done in a week. We might have the dry cleaning in the car, but we didn't stop all week at 7 am, because we had 8 am meetings. We might mean to pick up that loaf of bread or bottle of milk all week, but we just kept forgetting to stop when getting home from work at 7 or 8 pm and we're too tired to go back out after it. WE SAVE SATURDAYS. For errands. And so I did.


I was up at 8 and to the post office. Post office had changed their hours to 10 a.m. No big surprise, I know they probably won't have Saturday hours soon. On my was back home I called my landlord. No answer; I left a voice mail, but knew I might not get them on the weekend. Back to post office at 10. I waited in line while a nasty man in front of me berated the postal clerk for something that was not her fault. He got angry in both English and Spanish. We all endured that. When it was finally my turn, I learned that, 1.5 miles from my home, they are NOT my post office. They sent me 5 miles over to the "mail depot" that is supposed to be my post office (no stamp services or mailboxes, just a pick up window). I expected the worst, and got the best.


The really, really nice man who answered the bell looked up my key. As it turns out, the lock "belongs" to the PO. He could make me new keys if I returned with my signed lease. But, they couldn't do that until Tuesday. I filled out the card to have them hold the mail going forward. I was worried because I really needed a check and some information that was in the mail that day. I told him I would wait at the mailbox area in my townhouse comples until the carrier arrived. He actually CALLED the carrier and told him about my problem, and the carrier agreed to meet me at the mailboxes around noon. The carrier took my cell phone number.


Home to wait. Air conditioning! (It was 98 degrees in Tampa yesterday). My landlord called. She wasn't sure what key it would be of the 30 she had, but she was game to drive over and help me. I told her it wasn't a rush, since the carrier would help me, but she insisted.


At noon, I went to the mail boxes, and received about 15# of mail from the carrier. 10 minutes later, the landlord stopped at my house. She had gone to my mailbox, tried all of the keys, and had two spares. She'd driven over to give me one. Key and mail in hand, I had no need to spend the $25 to rekey the box. After she visited awhile and left, the carrier stopped by. He knew I now had a key and wanted to return the "hold the mail" card, so I didn't have to go back to the depot next Saturday. I must say I was flabbergasted by how much these kindly folks were willing to help save me from my scatterbrain.


You get so used to the lack of people's time or their manners that you need for customer service, that, when you get people who are willing to put themselves in your place and give you a hand to accomplish a seemingly simple, (but maddeningly difficult to resolve) situation, that when it happens, you are eternally grateful. As am I. It set a good, optimistic tone for the rest of the day.


quid

8 comments:

Pam said...

What a great story, Quid!! Just when you think the world can't stop turning it's back on you, life surprises you, people surprise you!!

Glad you got all this straightened out! Also, glad you're home safe and sound from vacation.

Sorry to hear the job is so stressful. I just wish SOMEONE around her HAD a job!

On one had I'm relaxing around here, on the other, the usual chaos reigns...and then some. *sigh*

Marion said...

What an uplifting tale, Quid! Just when you think that life is a lemon, it goes and gives you a nice, cold glass of lemonade. LOL! I'm so sorry you're so freakin' busy. I know it's a pain in the ass for you. I hope things ease up for you soon! I feel for you regarding the heat. It's never, ever bothered me like it has this year. Oh, the joys of menopause! My electric bill is going to be a bitch, but I don't care. I can barely stand to wear clothes. Tee-Hee....

On postmen: I love mine very much. We're rural and have a mailbox at the road. He never, ever leaves me those little yellow notices when I have a package. He pulls in the driveway, gets out of his truck and leaves it on my carport. He kids me about all of my book orders and keeps telling Ray he should put in a super-sized mailbox for me. But I do appreciate his little kindness. I hope you have a fabulous Sunday. xoxoxo Blessings!

Kelly said...

All that stress and worry and see how well it all turned out?!? It's always nice to see the GOOD side of human nature.

Thanks for giving me "the rest of the story" (in the words of Paul Harvey). On my end, the wedding was very nice.

Serena said...

It's so heartening to hear about the good people left in the world. And thank goodness your story had a good ending.:)

Bob said...

This was heartwarming. There are still a lot of good folks out there. Thanks for sharing about these.

The heat -- it just exacerbates stressful situations, no?

Felicity Grace Terry said...

Glad all was eventually sorted. I'm a huge believer that there are by far more good people out there than there are bad.

Debby said...

That is a great story. Would that everyone would strive to be one of the good people in the world.

Felicity Grace Terry said...

Just stopping by to say hello.