OK, so I had some old musical gear lying around, gathering dust, that I wasn’t using anymore. It was high time to take good use of Ebay, so that this stuff would find a good, new home!
But here’s where the fun began - one of the items sold was going to Canada.
Now, I’ve shipped things out of the U.S. before, but I admit it’s been quite a while. So I completely forgot about the requirement for including a commercial invoice to get it through customs. That was the first mistake, and it was mine!
But the carrier, UPS, made three more mistakes in a row! I’ll spare you the details, but the package was returned to my house TWICE, and the second time the box was in shambles. It looked like it had gone all 15 rounds with that big ol’ Gorilla in those old Samsonite commercials…
Although I had kept my cool up to this point, this pushed me over the edge, and I was starting to get really irritated over the incompetence. I proceeded to walk into the UPS Store ONCE AGAIN to try and resolve this matter.
But I wanted to conduct myself differently. I didn’t want to go in with a chip on my shoulder like I usually do in situations like this. I can be very demanding if and when I need to, but I wanted to be loving this time, as strange as that may sound. So I decided to Give Away A Dollar A Day in the UPS Store! I did it in Secret Dollar Man “stealth” mode, and dropped it on the floor in the very front of the store as soon as I walked in…
Ten or so minutes later, while I was attempting to resolve this problem with the manager, a little old lady walked up and handed the bill to the manager, doing her good deed for the day and saying “someone must have dropped this.” The manager took the bill and swiftly moved it into the cash drawer!
I’ve gotta tell ya - this was an enlightening experience! After I reviewed all of what had happened, my conclusion was that the manager was inept - he was the source of two of three mistakes I had mentioned earlier. I had justification to get real irate with this guy. Instead, I remained calm, but intentional. And as a result, his store ended up with an additional, un-accounted-for dollar at the end of the day!
Blessings to you and yours in joyous giving!
Todd
PS - This may be a stretch for some of you, but I’m seeing a parallel between this and loving your enemies as Jesus spoke about. So, if you are drawing a similar conclusion from this story, then the next time you get ready to “do battle” with a customer service rep or store manager over an issue, don’t forget to bring your dollar!!!!