Yesterday was a good day. I was reminded how this kindness and respect thing can have ripple effects. When we’re on the receiving end of an act of kindness it touches and transforms us, if only for a short while. And during that window of transformation we’re more caring, more open, and yes, more vulnerable to our human tendency to look out for one another. And so… we are more likely to be kind to the next human.
Illustration in point: On the way up to Fawn Ridge where we like to hike, I tried to parallel park beside a rocky hillside. Got a little too close and knocked off some plastic thing from under my car. Which, by the way, I didn’t notice until two hours later when I returned to my car and some kind guy pointed it out.
That was last week and yesterday I finally made it to the dealership to get the plastic thing reattached. I left the car while they examined it and visited a nearby Target where I got a call from the woman at the dealership telling me the repair would cost $200.
I’m like, “Woah! No thanks. I’m gonna pass.”
Woman: OK. We won’t do the work.
Returning to fetch my car, I’m greeted by the manager holding an invoice in the amount of $73. Since it was only Day 1 of my Kindness and Respect Challenge, I took some slow deep breaths and calmly asked, “Why am I paying for work that wasn’t done?”
Fair question, right?
Manager: We did reattach it (the plastic under thingie). We also replaced a missing bolt on your license plate. No charge. We would have washed car but our machine isn’t working. Sorry about that. Here’s a coupon for a local car wash.
Me (mightily confused): You reattached it? But… uh… I thought… Wait! How much do I owe you?
Manager: $25
Me (mightily relieved): Oh! OK!
So I left feeling like I’d just been bathed in a shower of kindness. The afterglow stayed with me as I drove home along Lincoln Avenue and spotted a woman in an electric cart driving on the sidewalk. She hit a bump and her helmet flew off the back seat without her noticing. Still glowing, I pulled over, waited for her, rolled down the window and said, “You lost your helmet back there.”
She smiled, beautifully, and thanked me. That’s not why I did it, but it felt good.
What happened to you yesterday?
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Pingback by Kindness and Respect Challenge, The Bullying Cure? | Annie Fox's Blog — October 2, 2013 @ 2:26 pm
So last week, I finally got around to getting my tire fixed. Had a quote for about 2 weeks. I go back in and show the quote and the guy says I can save you even more than that if we do it this way, which actually fixed all 4 tires. (was doing one at a time)I said, Wow, your boss isn’t gonna be happy. Suddenly his boss walks up smiles and says, Why wouldn’t I do the right thing? I was so grateful. So they start working and a guy asks me where my tire locks are. I told him they were in glove box. He says nope. Bummed, I go look. Nope. Now we are stuck. This whole situation happened because the folks who did the quick fix up north kept my lock. I ask what we can do and am told I need to go to dealer to get the locks removed or get a new tire lock.We can’t do anything right now. All of a sudden, he says, hey let me call the dealer and see if they have one for you. No, I still had to go to the dealership and they would order me one and try to take the old ones off.So off I go, 20 miles away. I ask for help at dealership and we are off and running or so I thought. The lock is stripped on the wheel so 1st problem. Next they are super busy but squeeze me in so I can get back to tire store. After an hour of waiting the actual salesperson apologized yet again, went back and removed all four locks and didn’t charge me a thing for my patience. So back to the tire store I go. I get back and they see me coming and have me pull right inside and get straight to work. I was on my way in less than 30 minutes after all that. I have never smiled running errands as much as I did that day.
Comment by rocket — October 3, 2013 @ 11:13 am
I just love hearing about people doing the right thing… not because they’re in line for some personal/monetary gain, but just because, as the manager said to you, “Why wouldn’t I do the right thing?” Thanks so much for sharing this story!
Comment by Annie — October 3, 2013 @ 11:21 am
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Pingback by Day 3: Kindness and Respect Challenge | Annie Fox's Blog — October 4, 2013 @ 9:46 am