About 7 years ago we had to sell our cute little 5 speed Honda and the truck we owned. It's a long story that I won't go into but our income was cut in half overnight and we had to make some big adjustments. We ended up with a 10 year old Cutlass Cierra (the good car) that Wes drove and a 15 year old Toyota (my car).
I liked the Toyota but after owning it for a few months, we had to replace the engine as well as deal with several other expensive repairs. Once we had a new engine, the car was great and I really enjoyed driving it.
About 2 weeks after all the work was done, I was heading to church on a Sunday morning when someone rear-ended me at a stop light. He was going very fast and actually pushed my car across 3 lanes of traffic. I remember calmly looking at the cars coming towards me and thinking, "So, this is how it's going to end." I was not so calm when I stepped out of the car and started yelling at the idiot who did this to me. (Note to Michele: I think this was a time when you'd agree that yelling was an acceptable response.)
Obviously it didn't end because I'm still here. Surprisingly (miraculously) I didn't even have any whiplash, nor did Kristen or her little friend who were in the back seat.
No, what I was worried most about was how I was going to replace this car. Money was very scarce for us at the time and I had heard of so many bad stories about MPI (Manitoba Public Insurance) that I was certain that I would not get enough money from them to purchase another vehicle.
When I met with the insurance adjuster, I brought along all of the car repair receipts and told him that I felt the car was worth $5,000.00. He took the receipts and told me that he'd call me in a few days.
Sure enough, he called me in a few days and told me that I would get $5,ooo.00. I was ecstatic, never expecting that I would get exactly what I had hoped for. The adjuster was a compassionate man and my experience was so positive that I wrote a thank you note to him.
One day there was a message on our voice mail from the adjuster. He called to thank me for the thank you note. He actually gushed a little. I don't think insurance adjusters get many thank you notes. They get mostly criticism (at times, well deserved). But this time, I was treated so well and received a fair price for my car, I thought that a thank you card was in order. I'll bet he still has that card stuck on his bulletin board at work.
The point of this story? I think that a thank you note is such a small little thing but it can make someone's day. Especially someone who seldom gets positive feedback from the people he deals with. And writing these kinds of notes gives me a good feeling too, a feeling that I am somehow passing on a small bit of kindness to someone who needs it.
6 comments:
I totally agree with you on the thank-you note. My grandma instilled in my brother, sister, and I the importance of writing thank-you notes. To this day I still write thank-you notes to people for little and big things. I feel better sending the thank-you card then I do accepting the present.
It's a very good thing to do.
It's a great idea, Linda, but I'm not feeling too grateful today. Thanks, though, for the reminder.
After my first Sunday at GNF you sent me a little card, and I never told you thank you for it, but it made my day that somebody cared that we were there!!! So, thank you!!!!
I tried to tip a food court lady afte your suggestion, but she refused it. i did however, call our local florist to tell her what an amazing job she had done on a floral arrangement sent to us. She just was so thrilled.
Sometimes you wonder who gets more out of it-- the compliment-er or the compliment-ee?
How scary the accident must have been for you and the kids. Thank goodness none of you were hurt. And I totally agree with the simple act of showing thanks... so often forgotten in our busy world. Thank you for this reminder.
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