Blog, 20 May 2019: "Special" Delivery? No ... Good Samaritan story?
We have all had our own experiences with "life happens" and your plans for it suddenly changed by circumstances beyond your control.
Today I would like to share with you the latest example for us.
It started out to be a "good news" story, with our hearing a truck pull up to our house and, a short time later, the ringing of our doorbell. Looking out the window, it was a FedEx truck.
A special delivery! Although we weren't expecting anything. So even better, maybe, a surprise special delivery?
No ...
A typical home address has a street name and a house number. The house number on the label was correct. The street name, however, was not. Not even close ...
The rest of the story ... A Good Samaritan story?
As we talked about what this careless driver had just "delivered" to our plans for the day, my beloved life mate's first response was to call FedEx and have them get their driver to turn around and get it.
Not a bad idea, so I went back to what I was working on ...
Overhearing how the conversation was going, I knew it wasn't going to be that easy. After repeatedly saying she could neither hear clearly nor understand the FedEx representative on the other end of the line, the call ended with this exchange:
Beloved: "Where are you?"
FedEx rep: "We are not allowed to tell you that."
FedEx rep: "May I have your name?"
Beloved: "I am not allowed to tell you that" ...
My normally calm and patient wife had enough, as it is out-of-character for her to have ended the call the way she did. I told her not to give it any more thought and just finish doing what she needed to do to get on to work. I would take care of it.
Once she was on her way, I set about to get this issue "off my plate" as soon as possible. I had "things to do" and "places to go" and this particular set of circumstances was not part of it.
I had two options:
- With my "business hat" on, take it to the nearest packaging specialty store, provide them the details to pass on to FedEx and their driver, who stopped there as part of their normal schedule. Projected time, since it was nearby - < 15 minutes.
- With my "people hat" on and my wife's reference to "probably a nice grandma lady and that box is heavy ..." before leaving still fresh in my mind, deliver the box myself. Projected time, if there was even anyone at home - > 30 minutes.
Given my plans for the day, as well as my natural inclination, I definitely was strongly inclined to Option # 1 so I could be done with it. Certainty of delivery. In half the time ... Done! Literally at the last minute, as I was getting ready to head out the door to take care of it, I was inspired to reconsider and instead do both, if necessary. Starting with seeing if I might be fortunate enough to find someone home at the address.
Glad I did!
Upon arriving, the home gave the appearance of no one being there. Plus, it was drizzling slightly and chilly. I was again tempted to just take it to the special package center and be done with it. But ... I'd come this far, so I dutifully got out and found the awning sufficient to keep the rain off.
While a dog barked soon after pressing the doorbell, I could hear nothing else. After enough time had gone by, I was again faced with the choice of just leaving and getting on with my day, as soon as possible. Just as I was turning to go, I thought I heard a faint sound. After a few more moments, I finally heard someone at the door. And then it opened ...
Yep! My wife had "called it" as a very definite elderly lady with a walker was behind the screen door. After I explained the reason for a strange man being at her door, she slowly decided to open her screen door. Seeing she was in no shape to be handed a heavy box, I offered to set it wherever she needed it. At which point, she invited me in.
Sizing up her dog, I wasn't too keen on getting bitten, but in spite of appearances and the potential, that did not happen. I put it where she requested. We briefly discussed how a mistake like this could be made and turning to go, I simply said "God bless your morning!"
Her response warmed my heart and my reluctance about choosing this option disappeared. In its place, I left with reflections on how we can make all the plans in our life all we want to. At the end of it all, we "do not write the script" and what actually happens doesn't bear any resemblance to our carefully laid out plans ...
And there are times, like my experience this morning, when that is a good thing ...
It would be a separate post / conversation to talk further about the frustration we too often experience today being provided "service" by a call center. In another county, where the connection is poorly made ... By a person whose command of the English (or your native language, wherever you may be on this good earth ... ) language leaves a lot to be desired ...
I will focus on the "root of the problem" which, if addressed, would result in there being no need to talk to a call center.
Customer "Service" Today
My readers are familiar with my monthly highlight posts. An excerpt from them says this:
"Working with 'systems,' as well as managing the work of others, for much of my career, I have always emphasized 'people' over 'process' believing that is the right priority. From a lot of experience, I know the best systems are greatly diminished, if not 'manned' by competent, engaged people. A great team will always solve the problem of less-than-ideal systems. I have never experienced the reverse to be true ..."
Elsewhere in my post writings I have detailed how much of my career has been specifically focused on Customer Service, to one degree or another. Most recently managing a department responsible for getting +40,000 utility bills out every month, among other things. So ... I know a thing or two about systems. And the people working with them ...
The best systems in the world cannot overcome people who either cannot (they are in the wrong job ...) or will not (they don't care ...) take the time to double-check their work. Full stop. Period. Maybe I'll live to see the day when everything is so heavily automated that even FedEx deliveries are handled by robots.
Until then, it takes people who are attentive to detail. And care enough about their work to address details they know represent problems in need of attention.
This story will not be over, for me, until I have invested the time to write to FedEx, with a Tracking # (for their system requirements), and the name of a supervisor (the personnel requirements) tasked with this area of responsibility. And give them the opportunity to conduct a "post mortem" on how they managed to screw up this morning's delivery.
Hopefully, FedEx will then take the appropriate personnel (more likely) or system (less likely) or both (remote possibility) steps required to make changes for the better. To reduce, or better eliminate, the possibility of this happening to someone else.
Yes, the story for me had a happy ending. But, I count myself blessed and know this is not typically how these frustrating situations turn out.
Closing
An old saying is, "All's well that ends well." I was touched enough by this morning's experience to stop was I was working on, to write this post. But ... I still have the task of writing to FedEx, as detailed above. This experience really "blew up" my expectations for how this day was going to go, but "life happens" ...
When my wife returned home, we discussed what had happened to us. She brought up the thought this woman could have been our mother. Or ... Your mother. We just never know what a day may bring, the decisions we'll have to make, and the unexpected outcomes which might result.
A Good Samaritan story? A Pay It Forward story? A ?...? story? Our different systems of belief will have a bearing on how we might each choose to answer. For me, it is enough to say I am at peace knowing I did the right thing. I’d love to hear any feedback you may be inspired to provide.
Until "next time," all the best to you for a better tomorrow, as we all work together to build up our Steem Communities and increase the value of the Steem blockchain! 👍 😊
Respectfully,
Steemian @roleerob
Posted using SteemPeak and “immutably enshrined in the blockchain” on Monday, 20 May 2019!
It's incredible how drivers and companies can mess up so badly and assume they did their job well.
Before all these companies started to pop up like mushrooms, I was perfectly happy with the Postal Office Services. Now I have to deal with these stupid companies that force me to go pick my packages 15km away from home.
If I wanted to travel 15km to go pick up something, I wouldn't have bought it Online, would I? What a waste of time... I have been cutting a lot on my Online Shopping because of this.
Either they deliver the stuff at my house or I don't need their services at all.
Nice of you to return the package to its rightful owner. Many people would just take the free gift for themselves.
I suppose @trincowski, it is the relentless advance of technology, as there wasn't anything like this when I was younger. The closest thing to it was receiving a gift package from someone. You had a notice left in your mailbox and then knew you had a finite period of time to retrieve it from the post office.
Now we read (here in America) about the future of drone deliveries! Good grief ... 😏
"Progress?" Well, I'm sure we all have our own opinions on that ...
I would say this is a #payitforward story and it's stories like this that people need to talk more about IMO. We hear about all of the bad in the world and people love to complain. But what most don't do is talk about good things and there is so much of it around us that we just need to shine a light on.
Thank you for sharing the story and for taking the time out of your day to do a good deed.
Yes, thank you @pifc. Probably should have used different tags, as you cite a good one to have considered. To me, probably my "weakest link" in getting out the few posts I do manage to write ...
And, yes, we can never receive too much good news. The lifting of the spirits of this elderly lady made my day, as she appeared fearful and was definitely lonely, when she answered the door ...
My life experience is there is plenty of both bad and good news "out there." What does it suggest about the human condition that we focus too much on the former, rather than the latter? We'll all have our individual opinions on the answer ...
Thank you for taking your time to stop by, support, and comment on this post!
Tags are hard to get a handle on...I honestly am horrible at it also.
Thanks @thedarkhorse. Good to know I am not alone!
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It is always good to act correctly, what your wife and you did was the right thing to do. I do not know how it will be in your country, but in my country there are almost no good people left.
A few years ago, I bought a friend an organ for amazon with a gif card. My friend did not have internet and I did all the procedure, then the time passed and the order did not arrive and after a month my friend called me to verify that nothing had arrived yet, I thought I had already received it because the information of Amazon was that it will be arrived in a week, and the shipment to Venezuela was another week more ... When I reviewed the status, it said delivered !.
wao ... that was a whole process, we began to investigate, thank God the agency of delivery to venezuela gave us the information of the person to whom it was delivered ... but the big mistake was that they told us that we had to call the person to she return us the package ... When we got in touch with the person, this person did not want to act correctly and did not want to deliver anything ...
Those are the things that I do not understand about the human being, those that take advantage of others, because if they give me something that I did not buy, I do not receive it. Well, this woman did not want to return the organ, we advised and the first thing they advised us was to go to the management of the company and demand that they negotiate with the woman, because they were the ones who made the mistake of handing it to someone else ... The process lasted about 2 more months, but thank God it was possible for the woman to hand over the organ, threatening her with the police!
So what you did here today, there are few who do it. Congratulations for being one of those few people who do the right thing. The love of God lives in their hearts. and so it must be-
Blessings friend a big hug to your wife!
As always, nice to hear from you @blessed-girl. Your story about taking two months to resolve a similar problem in your country is very sobering. Thanking the Lord that it ultimately was resolved satisfactorily. I would imagine there are many times when that is not the outcome ...
Sadly here, there has been an increase in what are referred to as "porch pirates." With the ever increasing amount of buying being done online and resulting deliveries made of products to the doorsteps of people's homes, the is a growing opportunity for bad people to take advantage of it.
We are fortunate in that we live in a relatively small town. And while I am sure some of that activity still goes on even here, it is thankfully quite rare.
Yesterday was a "divine appointment" for me. I certainly didn't start my day expecting anything of the sort. And honestly I just wanted to get the problem "off my back" in the most efficient manner possible, so I could get on with my day, as I had planned. Our Lord had different plans, however, and I was blessed by responding appropriately ...
Have a good day! 😊
What an interesting day turned out of a simple misunderstanding :)
While I was reading the post I was wondering what would I have done? Perhaps I would never deliver the package myself but rather call FedEx and leave it at their center. And that would prevent me from this human encounter you went through. Sometimes just meeting someone at your doorstep could make you feel so much better, or less lonely, or more hopeful... It's close to @thedarkhorse story with the old lady at the grocery shop.
I was also wondering about the feedback you are planning to give to FedEx. Is it just you that you feel somehow responsible about helping them to eliminate this kind of mistakes or it's your country's culture? What would other Americans do? Would they write Fedex back?
In my country, no one would ever bother. One huge problem of our society is that we don't feel like our voice matter and our actions could make a change. This is a thing that I hate so much about this country. It has a lot to do with communism and the post-communism (jungle-wild-like) transition. Perhaps many people ( I don't know if it would be the majority of people (hope not)) would even keep the package to themselves. Just because they wouldn't think that it's their responsibility to give it back.
So, is it just you and your wife, or it's your society mindset? :) What do you think? :)
Good morning 🌄 (here) @insight-out. Interesting to start my day (while you are presumably much closer to the end of yours …) with reading your response. You ask great questions. Which do not (at least for me) have simple, easy answers. I will do my best … 😊
Exactly! As I have written elsewhere here, had the customer “service” call by my beloved to FedEx been handled better, this story would never have been written. Even then, I told her not to worry and that I would take care of it. The “easy button” solution, as well as my natural inclination and first impulse, was to take it to the nearby specialty package office and be done with it, so I could get on with my plans for the day. Letting them deal with the error, since I knew they have daily interaction with FedEx ...
Up to the last minute or so of leaving our home, this was my direction and again this story would never have been written. The “nice grandma lady” image she left with me, before my wife drove away, made the difference, in spite of my competing thought “there won’t be anyone home” and more time wasted all due to someone’s carelessness. Discussing it with her once she returned home, my wife reinforced a key “bottom line” of the experience, by referring to our mothers …
Good question. I can’t speak for others. My focus, given my background, was the former – potentially help them avoid putting someone else in a similar bind. I say ”potentially” due to the possibility, even though I have invested my time in the attempt, that whoever is responsible on the receiving end to do so, just will not take the time to follow-up. Happens regularly, but I will be at peace knowing I did my part. Based not on any thought of my somehow being responsible for their failure, but simply doing the right thing …
These questions are at the heart of the story. And my continued fascination with our Steem blockchain providing an opportunity to interact with others all over the world … I’ll take the last one first. It is more a matter of what my wife and I believe, than what we think. Hence, my closing reference to ”… different systems of belief …”, as that will be the biggest factor for most in how they chose to view an experience like this one (see responses and experiences of @blessed-girl and @cicisaja, for examples …).
Yes, in the past, @thedarkhorse has made references to kharma, in expressing his pay-it-forward philosophy to others ... While I do not share belief in the eastern religion origins of this word, I can more or less agree with its common “cause and effect” application. As it more or less states what many hold to be universally true …
As far as comparing America to Bulgaria and how our respective country’s cultures would lead one to typically respond, I will say it was once consistently taught here that we have a Christian heritage. That ceased to be the case some time ago. With attendant “cause and effect” behavior patterns … uhhh … “evolving” from it … If you wish to invest the time, I’d love to read your own thoughts / beliefs / feelings on what the first sentence means to you. From your country’s history and perception of the effect of Russia’s imposition (my words and understanding …) of communism and the subsequent ”post-communism (jungle-wild-like) transition” away from it.
Hope all is well with you and yours today. Until “next time,” all the best to you @insight-out!
Thanks for your replay, @roleerob! It was such a pleasure reading it :) This is an extremely broad subject (and it's one of my favorite subjects :)). Christian moral is a very interesting angle to look at it. Communism fell short after I was born. So I have never lived in those times. All I know is stories from the previous generation. And everyone of course has their own perception of it. Some miss it and long it. Others despise it. I guess it was just like Orew's Animal Farm. Some believed in the idea while others exploited it/them.
Back to the question. Communists denied religion. The party kind of forbad going to church. It was something that would probably set you back if you were "caught". It was something like 40 years of religion-free society. The church as an institution never fully recovered. Usually, around the world, the churches are the core of the communities, but here it's just a passive institution with mafia connections. Although now many people go to church on Easter and Christmas and baptize their children, it's more like following an old tradition rather than acting like Christians. We act more like an atheist society.
But I don't think that it's only the death of God that caused this passiveness. It's the core belief that your voice doesn't matter. For 40 years you couldn't speak your mind. You couldn't tell jokes about the party. You couldn't vote for real. You as a human being didn't matter. What mattered was the party and the utopic idea which never came to reality.
Then the transition came. The first years were only a matter of survival. Similar to what's happening to Venezuela these days. Your voice didn't matter again. What mattered was the voice of the mafia.
However, that was not all. There were 500 years before that in which Bulgarians were part of the Ottoman empire and basically were in the same situation. What's interesting is that Christianity, in this case, saved our identity during these 5 centuries.
So Bulgarians are quite used to being passive and told what to do. OMG, just as I write to you right now I realize that such heritage cannot be change over a decade. This is very frustrating! And the sad thing is that the world as a whole goes into a direction in which the voice of the common people is less and less heard (at least in my opinion).
In psychological terms, it's called external locus of control. In short, it's when you believe that everything that happens to you is due to external, but not internal factors. It's the opposite of taking responsibility.
Another psychological construct is the so-called power distance. There is very interesting research studying the power distance amongst different countries. The index for America is 40. The index for Bulgaria is almost doubled - 70. You can look at the rest of the constructs that characterize our countries and see the differences.
So, I know all this in theory, but for me, it is very interesting to look through the eyes of someone who is part of a totally different society :)
Have a wonderful day you, too, @roleerob!
Greetings @roleerob
From what I am reading in your publication, the worker of the parcel left the package in the best hands, in responsible and diligent hands. This proved that there are still good people in the world, with principles and values. I believe in coincidences. Maybe it was not wise for you to carry out your routine activities. In another sense, you have validated with your experience that it is still worth investing time and effort in an unknown person without expecting an economic reward, since the moral gratification is much greater, that gesture makes us more human. You can not rule out the error of the worker and the system, it is a situation that must be evaluated and corrected for the future. The important thing is that he took the right initiative, which was to be a good SamaritanGood morning 🌄 (here) @tramelibre. Yes ...
... it is, even at times when the response from the other leaves a lot to be desired. In this case, the reaction of this elderly lady made my day. I can assure you that it was not my initial thought than to do anything other than just get this problem "off my back" in the most efficient way possible and get back to my day's objectives.
But ... We never know when a "divine appointment" has been arranged for us. Just as we never know what the outcome of it may be, should we choose to respond to the call. Had the FedEx customer "service" call been handled better, there would have been no story to write ...
Thanks for stopping by. Have a good day!
I love you and your wife for being such a nice person in this strange world! 😍
Honestly @cicsaja, my original intent was to get the problem "off my back" as soon as possible, so I could get back to my plans for the day. God had a different plan ...
I don't often enough yield to "the still small voice" to change my plans, but yesterday I did. It was a blessing for me to help this elderly lady, which my beloved lifemate underscored by her reference later to our mothers ... 😊
Because you are already weaponized with a kind heart, if not.. you won't do anything to off your back like that, what do you think?
I have an experience too.. a young man, healthy but I think he's lack of confidence due to his situation of being abandoned by his parents and hopeless, one day he passes by in front of my house and stop by to ask for a lunch, i just have finished cooking right when my hubby told me about him and I prepared him the best cut of the fish that I love so much and served him anything fresh like he's my guest that I've been waiting for a long long time. Hubby had a conversation with him, he needs money to continued his journey to meet his sister in other district. I don't have much but $2 i gave him all and I chosen the new shirts, sarong and water with some snacks for him too. I never thought that I could be so spontaneous like that... but I believe, my Allah has sent the young man to help me understand that I need to share the best I have for others too.
You know what we got? A happiness because we made someone happy. I still felt so sad because I don't have much money to give him more. I never seen him anymore.
That's why I'm so glad that you did the right thing despite the fact that you just want to continued your business. Good deed sometimes needs no plan to start with😊
Good morning 🌄 (here) @cicsaja. Focusing my response on what we have in common, our systems of belief both claim ties to Abraham and, as a result, there being only one true God. Not many …
The Bible makes reference to God’s ways being clear, so that we will know right from wrong. The question is always what choice then do we make? I am not familiar with the Koran, but perhaps there is similar language in it.
With you, we can “celebrate success” for the times we chose (exercise of our free wills) to do the right thing. In spite of the temptation to do otherwise. It appears we share in common a belief that God blesses us, when we do.
I hope this finds you having a great day (night) “over there!” 😊
P.S. Do you use Google Translator for assisting in getting your thoughts converted from your native language to English?
Good morning evening here. Im not using google translate @roleerob.. am I confusing you? I don't really use "the right grammar ethic" because I think you're more clever than mine .. so you will understand what I mean 😊
No, no my dear @cicisaja ...
... I am understanding (at least I think I am ...) the intent of what you are making a sincere effort to say. I just smiled at the word "weaponized" being mixed in with "kind heart." For future reference, the word "weaponized," or more precisely the root word "weapon," typically implies bad intentions ... Please don't give that another thought though, as you and I are fine.
I have used Google Translator myself and thought, "I wonder how well my words have been translated ..." just before I click Reply. I know it is not a perfect translation, but as with our communication here, my hope is the general intent will come through. Clearly enough ...
Thank you for taking the time to add value to this post @cicisaja!
You know why I use weapon instead of gift @roleerob 😉 I know how strong the bad impression of "weaponized" than "gifted" .. I think I was spending my time too much on facebook last couple days😊 too many bad words there because of the result of general election and I thought that "brain, mind and heart" are our weapons to create peace.. not war.
But.. thank you for the explanation😊 I need to learn to use the right "terms" so none would misunderstand my intention too. If I use google translate after writing in my native tounge... I will laugh out loud and never post it 😅
Very good @cicisaja ...
... to know. In my private thoughts, I was wondering if it was due to you spending too much time on Steem Monsters ... Haha ... 😉
Seriously, we're fine and I appreciate all you do "in here" to keep things lively. Keep up the good work!
Amazing experience and one that is surely not the path often taken. I think the problem is on the organization as they have metrics to follow and SLAs to comply with. The fact that it was delivered probably check off more things off their list than the ones it got wrong. It will be interesting to see how many more has this happened to with different results!
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Yes @newageinv it definitely was. It was not a happy start to my day, but the time with that elderly lady really provided a happy ending.
And moved me from, "no time for Steem" to writing another "short" post ... 🙂
Thanks for investing your valuable time in stopping by. It will be noted and ?...? in my annual update at the end of the month. 👍
Posted using Partiko Android
That was so kind of you to deliver the package yourself. Most would probably have waited for FedEx to come and collect it, I know I probably would have. Hopefully you get a full explanation from them.
Yes @livinguktaiwan ...
... as would we, had their customer "service" handled the call to them appropriately. In which case, there never would have been anything to write about really.
But ... One of those "life happens" moments, when afterwards it seemed to be for a good purpose. That elderly lady really seemed fearful and lonely, when answering the door. But afterwards, she seemed like she was in much better spirits.
I know I certainly have been encouraged by others at critical times. It was "meant to be" that I have an opportunity to do that for another person.
Thanks for stopping by!
In fact this shows life tells us the most interresting stories, so thanks a lot for sharing your one.
Certainly @josua1, my pleasure. The image you've chosen for your account is interesting If you have written a post about it, I would welcome a link to it.
Have a great day!
P.S. If you choose to respond, I would be (as always) interested to know what brought my account to your attention.
Well, this picture stands for prophecies of the bible which to come true in past, presence and future, about the "God of this world" (Luke 4:5-7), his Rulers of this world (Ephesians 6:12), their followers (Freemasons and others), their influence and actions on this world and what's most important, like all of this ends (2. Thessalonians 1:7-9).
I've posted a video about this prophecy with called bible-passages to the right place and if you're interrested, I will give you the link, but firstly I prefer to send you a link to an article, where I talk about a little part of this big theme (hope you like it).
https://steemit.com/freemasons/@josua1/wn2ll6p3
Btw, I saw one of your shared articles by marcocasario and noticed, you write high quality articles on a very high level, so I did hope to learn from you to upgrade my own skills on this way.
Okay, I looked over your post @josua1. The video never loaded (circle still spinning even now ...), in the time I have available, but I did read through the textual content. No doubt many in our world use symbols of which they know nothing of their history.
I'd still welcome a link to whatever you may have written about your account symbol. And your introductory post, if you have written one.
Encouraged to know you have found some value in my style of post writing. My time is very limited, compared to many "on here," so I don't write many. But what I do write, I try to make them count ... 😉
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