Tryin' to keep the Customer satisfied....

Keep the Customer Satisfied, by Simon and Garfunkel

Gee but its great to be back home
Home is where I want to be.
I've been on the road so long my friend,
And if you came alongI know you couldn't disagree.

It's the same old story
Everywhere I go,I get slandered,
Libeled,
I hear words I never heard
In the Bible
And I'm one step ahead of the shoe shine
Two steps away from the county line
Just trying to keep my Customer satisfied,
Satisfied.

Deputy sheriff said to me
Tell me what you come here for, boy.
You better get your bags and flee.
You're in trouble boy,
And you're heading into more.

And I'm one step ahead of the shoe shine
Two steps away from the county line
Just trying to keep my Customer satisfied,
Satisfied.

This song has a particular, specific meaning to me that I doubt it has to anyone else. Normally I do not talk about these things, about what I do "trying to keep the Customer satisfied," but today's effort was more fun than most, and I suspect Mosup would like the story. (I tend to think keeping most of these things semi-secret makes them more fun to think about later on.)

To me, the efforts to keep the Customer satisfied only "count" if they're done non-professionally, so my day-to-day business dealings don't really count, and neither do the easy things like putting a can of formula into the food bank collection bin or chucking spare change into the collection jar on the counter for someone's operation or memorial or the cancer society. It has to be something a little more effortful than that.

So, today I went to Publix to pick up some groceries and get a prescription filled. As previously mentioned I am feeling squirrelly and in need of hoarding food, so I bought several more cans of beans and Campbell's Vegetarian Vegetable soup than I needed, and a bag of barley. I was on my way out of the store feeling bummed out because I was sick two days last week and have a humongous backlog of work because of it, and I was kind of dawdling along self-absorbed when I was approached by a very young couple.

The man had a plastic ER bracelet still on his wrist and a recent bloody nose, and the woman had a very swollen ankle and dark circles under her eyes like she'd had a couple of bad nights. They wanted directions to Tarpon Springs (just north of here). They told me they had been robbed last night at gunpoint, and the man had been beaten up by the mugger, and that they had recently moved here from Michigan looking for jobs but were down on their luck. They needed to catch a bus back to Tarpon Springs, but had no money and the mugger had taken the last of their cash for the month. I asked if they had someone waiting for them in Tarpon Springs, and the young man told me that they didn't, but they were renting an apartment there.

I spent several minutes asking them questions about their specific needs--were they under 18 and able to qualify for my agency's help? Unfortunately, no, they were 20 and 21. Did they have any kids themselves? No, but the young woman had just found out she was pregnant on top of everything else, and she didn't know where to go or what to do about the baby. I gave her the general help-line number for Florida's social services and told her to call to get on WIC. I also gave her the name of the local charity for crisis pregnancies; they will either help arrange an adoption or provide baby supplies, support structures, and housing assistance if she wants to raise her baby herself. I gave them enough money for a bus ticket to Tarpon Springs, and directed them to where they could find bus route information in the store. I also gave them my groceries; they were so hungry that the man popped open a can of soup and ate it right there (they hadn't eaten in a couple days). Finally, I gave them my work number and asked them to call me to let me know they were okay.

When the young woman thanked me, with tears in her eyes, I said, "Thank you for the opportunity to help you." She looked at me like I was from Mars, hugged me, and we parted ways so they could catch the next bus home.

That was the absolutely brightest spot in my whole day, and I know that the Customer is satisfied with me for today. I love it when things like that happen!