I Am Allergic To Two Things

This time of the year, I usually suffer.

Pollen is always an invitation for allergies. This year it has surpassed all my expectations! I never thought it could be this bad.

And that is not the only thing I am allergic to.

Bad luck is my second, greatest and strongest of all allergic reactions I may ever suffer from.

"Who knew the medicine was excellent customer service?!"

Yes. You read it.

Excellent customer service.

As a part of my daily routine, I wake up early, get to work way ahead of time and really like to cruise through my morning without any surprises - and that includes traffic too.

Suffering from allergies for the past three days, I have been making an animalistic effort to work and keep my spirits where they should be.

Unfortunately, I am not usually myself when I am sick (I hope you can relate).

I arrive to work, go to my usual parking spot and get ready to get out of the car. I can smell fresh coffee calling my name by then.

This time, I got out and, as habit taught me, I locked the door of the Jeep from inside. Since the door is too heavy, it usually swings back and closes after me.

And it did.

There is just another tiny, small, detail: Did I tell you the doors are manual?

The engine was running and the keys were instantly locked inside the car.

Alarm bells ring!

Luckily, my cell phone was in my pocket. So, I start the mission of getting help to fix that regrettable, unbelievable and heart-breaking mistake.

One that could get me late to work - and if you know me well, you know I do not do late.

I get the information from AAA and I am told they would meet me in 40 minutes.

This is, in business, what I call reality check.

You heard about a company, digested their marketing lingo (which does not come cheap these days), paid for a service and now it is the time to see if the are worth every penny you spent.

Twenty-five minutes into a Jeep burning fossil fuel going nowhere in a parking lot, I get a call from a nice young fellow named Jimmy.

Pleasant kid, well-spoken, polite and introduced himself impeccably.

Not only did he make sure I was not going to be left unattended, but gave me his position in real time and his ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival). I learned this one recently.

By then I had already panicked, got a wire hanger from a neighboring worker who I really care about, Bob White, and nothing seemed to work.

Thanks, Bob.

Ten minutes towards this tragic incident, I get another phone call.

Apparently Jimmy has not given up on me.

He explains he is in the vicinity, finding his way through the building area as he spoke.

He had already blown all stereotypes of a bad customer service. He was different and I had a feeling my problems would be short-lived.

What I did not know, is how humane he was and how caring he would turn out to be.

With a British punctuality, Jimmy comes around the corner five minutes later.

He parks by the Jeep, gets out of his car and says hello.

He greets me with a bright smile that made me wonder:

" - How can there be happy people that early in the morning?"

He does not care about the job at hand first.

Suddenly, I had a feeling I was evidencing the mere fact that I was being assisted by a true professional.

His first words were:

" - Sir, can I offer you some water?"

Kaboom! All stereotypes were sent to oblivion.

I nodded, he passed me the water and goes about his business getting all apparatus he needed to open the locked door.

Depressed like a Hillary Clinton voter who lost the election, he perks me up saying this happens every day. He adds I should not be hard on myself.

Jimmy is now a shrink too. Shut the front door (Actually, it was locked already)!

I show him that the driver door was not shut completely. There was space between the door and the frame of the car to pass his equipment and unlock the door.

Before he gets to that he asks me another question that threw me off completely.

" - Sir, did you have breakfast?'

Now, if coffee was calling my name that was either the result of a fertile imagination or an empty stomach. Knowing myself well, I would say both options were correct.

Jimmy offers me a scone from Starbucks! My favorite place of all places.

Now this kid got me puzzled. Seriously puzzled.

We accept the offer. My stomach and I, of course.

There was one question left unanswered though.

How long would take Jimmy to unlock the car and save me some grief and gas?

He tells me he usually opens cars through the right door, but he would give it a try.

In three minutes or less, this bright kid gets it opened with a sense of humor that would make a crabby person miserable.

He says it was a pleasure meeting me, we talked for five or more minutes and he drives into his next call.

I get inside, call his manager and deliver the following speech:

" - If you ever go out of business, bankrupt or simply decide to close the shop, sell everything! But do yourself a favor and keep Jimmy."

Jimmy is not a fiction character. He is real, like you and me! He is someone who works day and night to pay his bills and has a heart that I have not seen in ages. He is a hard worker and someone who works on a budget.

Please, we have to reward good people like Jimmy.

This bright young kid blew my socks off - just when I need him the most. He did not disappoint me.

Thank you, Kid! You made my day.

Time to go back to bed.