I think there is a slight possibility I may have mentioned how much I despise insurance companies? Yeah, still working on letting that go. Not quite there yet.
To be fair, it’s not just insurance companies; there are a lot of businesses out there who may follow the law but are slightly less than ethical. Unfair. They justify their actions with the phrase, “It’s not personal; it’s just business.” Sometimes doing what is right is going above and beyond what the law says you have to do.
For example, a company’s policy may say that your deposit is non-refundable, but because of extenuating circumstances a company will go ahead and give the money back although the law says they don’t have to.
Recently I have gotten offers from companies who want to put content on my blog site, but I’ve felt uncomfortable with the idea or the content. But here I’m going to give an unsolicited plug to NiceNews.com. It’s an email that I receive every day at no charge, and they cover stories on a variety of subjects that are positive. There are news articles about astronomy and advances being made in the medical field to name a couple.
And then there are the feel-good stories. Stories about people and companies who do Good. About a month ago they posted a story about a woman who called the company Chewy Pet Products. She wanted to return a bag of unopened dog food because her dog had died. They not only gave her a full refund and told her to donate the food to an animal shelter, but the next day flowers arrived saying they were sorry for her loss. What company does that?
I know a certain waitress who comes home each day and tells me stories from work. One evening a man and his son-in-law came in and each ordered a beer. The older man was teasing the waitress about wanting a 20 oz. glass (sometimes the details of these stories are lost on me). She explained they only had 16 oz glasses. The older man continued to tease the waitress until the son-in-law begged him to stop. A few minutes later the waitress returned with 2 - 16 oz beers, a 4 oz squat glass and a saucy explanation that she had found a solution!
Now I know it’s a silly little story about a silly little encounter. But I listened to the waitress recounting how hard they all laughed, and I pictured the man returning home and telling his wife. Maybe thinking about it and smiling at some point during the week that followed.
There’s no telling where the ripple effect will end. It might inspire another action that brings additional happiness or just plain silliness.
William Jennings Bryan delivered a speech called “Imperialism” in 1990, where he stated: “Someone has said that a truth once spoken can never be recalled. It goes on and on, and no one can set a limit to its ever-widening influence.”
I believe that is true about many things but especially acts of kindness, making people feel special. Maybe there should be a new mantra: it’s not just business; it’s personal.
