Tech vs The Kindness Of Strangers

I was at the boarding gate before I realized I’d left my cell phone on my desk.

Not a good move. And it was way too late to try to go get it.

So I asked the lady sitting next to me what time it was.

My mini bicycle messenger bag has room for my laptop and several files in the big pocket. The larger outside pocket holds chargers, a mouse and a clicker to control Power Point presentations. The smaller one has my sunglasses, my computer glasses and usually my phone.

I searched but it wasn’t there.

On arrival I got my roller suitcase and proceeded to pick up the car rental I’d reserved. In line I kept eyeing a stack of maps on the counter. Traveling before cell phones and GPS I figured I could use a paper map to find my way to my motel and the meeting venue.

The map was designed to sell advertising.

It was decorative, not informational. Yes, it had streets on it but the names were hard to find and harder to read. And the places I was looking for were not called out. So I asked the guy on the exit gate for directions to my motel. He got me into the general area (after noticing that the car I’d rented did not have GPS).

I stopped at another motel owned by the same company and asked for directions.

The directions didn’t work. So I found my way back and asked again. The Desk clerk apologized, noted that he was new to the area and gave me directions again, street by street up to the last. What he said then was “Turn left at the Subway, it is on that street.”

I found it!

By then two hours had passed what with wandering around based on memorized directions in a city I had never visited. The motel was at most 10 minutes from the airport. I asked for help to get to the place the meeting was being held.

The Clerk googled a route to the venue and printed out a map!

Granted, the map was black and white from the desk side printer but it had the route to the venue shown in a heavy black line. He even went in with a pencil to make the street names on the route readable.

I left early.

The next morning, just in case I got lost I left early. I missed a turn and realized it when I was about to pass under a freeway shown at the top of my new map. Turning around made it easy to find the turn I’d missed. Fortunately, the street name changed one block later. I rolled into the venue as the company founder and the set-up crew arrived.

The Takeaways:

1.??? Make a packing checklist and check it before you leave your office.

2.??? Know that technology is both a boon and a trap.

3.??? People still help people almost automatically.

I’m Jerry Fletcher a strategic marketing consultant and professional international keynote speaker. I guide individuals and organizations to become more memorable and more profitable. Learn more at my web sites:

• Consulting website: https://JerryFletcher.com
• Speaking website: https://NetworkingNinja.com

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