Friday, August 29, 2008

To Me...

Yesterday, I went to lunch at a local fast food restaurant. As I was walking in, a young gentleman was pushing a loaded trash can out the door. I stopped and held the door for him and then opened the outside door and held it. As he passed me, I noticed that he has Down's Syndrome. We made eye contact and he said, "Thank you for being nice to me."

Now, I would have held the door for anyone who was coming out of the restaurant. It wasn't something I did special for just him. That's just the kind of gal I am. And, him thanking me really came as no surprise. Actually, if he had just said, "thank you for being nice," I wouldn't have thought anything of it, but he added those two little words at the end that caused a catch in my throat -- "to me."

It made me stop and think how many people hadn't been nice to him, or judged his abilities simply upon first appearances. Heck, how many times have I done it to others? He was very articulate, polite, and obviously a hard worker. As I sat at the booth and ate my lunch, he stopped by and chatted for a second. It was nothing obtrusive -- asked if I needed any dipping sauces or ketchup or maybe a refill. He did the same thing at other tables, too.

As I was leaving, he came over to the door and held it for me. He said he wanted to return the nice. That made me smile. After Wednesday's horible experience with so-called customer service at Bank of America, I needed someone to return a little nice and renew my faith in the world even just a little bit. It also made me all the more aware of how my actions can affect others and it reminded me how something as simple as a friendly smile or someone holding a door for someone else can brighten someone's day or even her week.

Oh, and on another note: Something else made my day and week that much easier. My bank, Capital One, released a portion of the money into my account for use. Yep, it is a huge relief and help to me. It may be a general practice or it may have been just for me because I told them my situation, either way, it is good customer service. I just wanted to put that little shout out for Capital One because sometimes good service should be rewarded with a good word on the Internet.

Also, I've decided not to send the e-mail to Bank of America. As my sister, A, pointed out, it won't do any good. I wrote it and it was theraputic. I also told all 7 of my readers what a lousy bank they are and that probably did as much or more as an e-mail to an Administrative Assistant would have done. I may still call them, but I doubt it. Why waste my time and energy on a futile cause?

5 comments:

Pamela said...

I agree - life is too precious to waste any of it on a futile cause. You've said your peace (which is always good) so I say go enjoy the day!

Patsy said...

I'm sure your words didn't fall totally on deaf ears at Bank America --- stopping back in to ask her name probably did do some good to get their attention and hopefully improve customer service for the next person.
Even though you had shared the first part of the story with we via the phone, I still teared up when you quoted this young many... a very special story indeed. Love you #1 daughter.

Patsy said...

oops *young man* when will I learn to proofread????

Karen said...

See, karma works FOR you too!! Now as for the bank releasing funds.....there is usually a stated policy that usually $100 of a large deposit is released immediately and then depending on the amount of the deposit, up to $5000 is released around two or three days later and the balance comes a bit later. My banks have always given me a form with how much would be available and when the FEW times I've had large deposits. Chances are if they were making an exception to their rules, they would have released the full amount as available. Good news regardless. Just consider this post as banking deposit lesson 102...you had 101 earlier in the week.

Stephanie said...

That's an awesome story, Donna. :-)