Wallet on the Run: A Client Service Story

??????????? Sometime after laughing at George Costanza’s bulging wallet come apart and scatter his stuff all over, I traded leather for titanium - a light, slim metal holder the size of a credit card.

??????????? Last week my wallet left town, and I stayed home.

??????????? Here’s what happened and how a company I never heard of or have any relationship with really saved my, well, my wallet.

??????????? The journey begins at a Spanish restaurant in Rockville, MD that for some reason has its linens serviced in Scranton, PA. Return with me to that evening.

??????????? We finish dinner and get the check. I pay the bill, replace the credit card in the wallet, and lay it on the table while I pull on my jacket.

??????????? And walk out with it still on the table.

??????????? We get home and there’s a good game on, so dinner, the wallet, and everything else about the night is soon forgotten.

??????????? Until next day, that is, when I need the wallet. Yup, it’s nowhere. What do you do? It’s happened to most of us. You retrace your steps, figure it’ll turn up. But it doesn’t. Then it’s a call to the restaurant, which of course hasn’t seen it. Then turn the house upside down. Nada. Then a trip to the restaurant, and all the stores in the same strip mall.

Everyone is very nice. Sorrowful eyes say they’ve been through it themselves. Wish we could help. How about a nice diet soda?

An anxious forty-eight hours pass. Then it’s time to deal with reality. New license, new Global Entry card, new subway card. Soon it’ll be time to call the bank, stop the credit cards.

In the midst of all this, a text. Someone named Lisa has the wallet. I call. She’s nice, works for a uniform and linen company. Turns out the wallet got wrapped up in a tablecloth that was tossed on a truck and sent to the company for cleaning. Upon arrival, it fell out, presumably clattered (remember, it’s metal), and caught the attention of a worker who brought it to Lisa.

We had a wonderful conversation. And guess what – turns out stuff gets lost in tablecloths all the time. Lisa cited rings and bracelets in addition to wallets.

So I’m ready to jump in the car when we’re done talking and go pick up the precious possession. “Where are you?” I ask.

“Scranton,” Lisa answers.

Scranton. Door to door from my home in Rockville to Dempsey Uniform & Linen Supply in Scranton is about four hours. Not an option. It remains unclear why a Rockville, MD restaurant would get its linens cleaned in Pennsylvania. It also doesn’t matter, at least not to me.

Lisa, acting like she deals with this sort of thing all the time, says no worries, she’ll Fed Ex it. I’ll have my wallet back in a day.

Bruce Lee said, “The successful warrior is the average man with laser-like focus.”

That’s one of the lessons here. Stay focused, stay present until whatever job you’re doing is finished. Even if it’s just getting from the restaurant to the car.

The other is, hire people like Lisa Stranieri and make sure they stay a long time.

?

Steve Piacente is the Director of Training at The Communication Center in Washington, D.C., the owner of Next Phase Life Coaching, and the author of three novels and a self-help book: “Your New Fighting Stance: Good Enough Isn’t, and You Know It.” He recently launched piacentephotos.com.

?