The exercise:
Write about: the discount.
Did a little more work on the deck today with Kat's dad before the rain brought things to an early end. We're hoping to get a good chunk of it done next weekend, weather permitting.
Mine:
A few days after we brought Max home I received my usual monthly notification on my cell phone for my next bill. I was rather shocked to see the amount due, as it was about twice as much as what had previously been my most expensive month.
I went online to view the details and soon saw why: it covered the 6th (day Kat went into labour) and 7th (day Max was born). On those two days a whole lot of phone calls and texts were sent and received, well over what I'd normally use and, not surprisingly, well over what my plan covers.
Not really wanting to start off parenthood with an unexpectedly massive bill, I figured it was worth a shot to contact the phone company and explain the situation. I was hoping for a small discount on the charges incurred over those two days, if I was lucky.
I received a whole lot more than that.
A representative emailed me today to let me know that he'd tweaked the bill here and adjusted charges there, as much as he was able to. Grand savings?
More than sixty percent. Off the entire bill.
I was shocked. Still am. Struggling to put together the proper words to respond. Thanks seems... terribly insufficient.
I guess I'll sleep on it and see what inspiration tomorrow brings. The bottom line though is that I'm very grateful for such kindness that, in all reality, they had absolutely no obligation to show me.
And to think, I almost didn't even send the question in the first place.
2 comments:
Wow, that's quite a story! And one hell of a mobile phone provider too – I wouldn't expect any generosity like that from any of them over here in the UK, even under the same circumstances! As for a way to say thank-you – well, just calling up and saying thank-you always works, but did you have any clients (back when you worked the rat-race) who thanked you in inspiring ways?
The discount
Sylvestra tapped a foot. You could tell how angry she was by how fast it tapped; if she was managing one beat a second then she was merely ticked off; if it got to heartbeat rates then she was getting annoyed, and if it got to three or four beats a second then she was getting ready to be nasty to someone. At the moment, the tapping of her foot sounded like a dubsteb bass-line.
"How did you get elected President of the Council of Nastiness again?" she asked, her voice actually causing icicles to form on the doorframe and pictures rails. Dr. Septopus looked up from the paperwork, just a little guiltily.
"Electoral college rules," he said. He laid his pen down and folded his tentacles protectively around his body until he looked like a bug caught in a spider's web.
"Explain." The harmonics of her voice now dislodged the icicles and they shattered musically on the polished concrete floor.
"There's the vote count, and the vote discount," said Dr. Septopus. "The vote discount is subtracted from the vote count to provide the primary voting factor, and then that is weighted by the importance of the voter. The final result compared those weighted votings."
"I know I have the highest vote weighting," said Sylvestra, now tapping with both feet simultaneously, which forced her to rock back and forth alarmingly. "So why did I not win?"
"I was the only one who voted against anyone," said Dr. Septopus. "So all the vote discount came from me, and there was none for me."
"I see," said Sylvestra hollowly. "There will be a reckoning, Dr. Septopus."
"Yes," he said, covering up the paperwork on his desk: the revised electoral rules for the next election.
Greg - yeah, I wasn't expecting anything nearly that nice. And I wasn't looking for an inspirational thank you, just inspiration to convey my thanks properly :P
Ah, it's good to get a visit from these two. Seems like it's been a long time.
Good old Dr. Septopus :D
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