Last Call of the Day

It was a call I had been reluctant to make. Our old bank had slapped charges and penalties for a mistake that our Flex vendor made. I have called and written them a letter back in December asking how they want us to correct the mistake but I somehow never got a response from them and they just continued piling on fees and penalties.

It's one of those annoying things that I needed to settle once and for all so last Friday afternoon, I made the call.

I don't remember her name. All I remember was that as I was explaining the situation to her, I mentioned that this issue is kind of like a thorn on my side that had been bothering me but I just have not paid enough attention to - kind of like a "squeaky door" (http://phlorschronicles.blogspot.com/2006_08_01_archive.html), I laughed because I thought she might not understand what I was talking about, but she started laughing with me. Before I knew it, we were talking like we have known each other for years and we were both just having a very pleasant conversation.

She apologized on behalf of the bank, removed all the fees and penalties from our account and advised me to just go to our branch and settle the amount in question so I can close the account. As she was working her magic on the fee reversals, I asked her where she was located and how her day had been. She told me she was in Florida. She said she appreciates my call because she had dealt with several difficult customers before me and she was really looking forward to the end of her day in about 20 minutes. I told her 15 minutes since I had been on the phone with her for about 5 and we both started cracking up again.

She told me she needed that laugh because she was at a point where she was just losing patience with whiny and petty people who tried to get away with things by saying ridiculous lies. She said it was refreshing how I told her of our situation with honesty. Instead of going home with tension, she will be driving home with a smile and maybe even laughter, she said, and she thanked me for being her last call of the day.

As we said goodbye, I thanked her for removing the fees and penalties. I thanked her also for the very delightful conversation and wished her a safe drive home.

I hung up the phone with a smile on my face, thankful for another gratifying encounter. That was my last call of the day, too.