Friday, September 11, 2009

...eating crow [yummy...]



yesterday, I went in search of my 403b paperwork at "the district"...

they couldn't find it...

so just before closing time, when I figured that I'd have to go back...
the nice person, who had actually gone to look for it when I was there earlier... called me with some hopeful news...

she had found someone who remembered a Fedex express mail...
going out the day I'd been there...
[she remembered because they never send Fedex letters...
but the "guy" was there to pick-up a package anyway...
so she put the letter, marked "express mail", in a Fedex envelope & sent it...]

I had put the express mail address on the envelope & marked it as such...
the envelope that I had been informed in no uncertain terms...

"would NOT be mailed for me..."

"not even if it was stamped would they send it out..."

they told me that on the phone...
so I hadn't bothered to put any stamps on it...

besides, it was addressed with the express address...
so I assumed that if it was sent regular mail to that address...
something bad would happen...
and I didn't want to tempt fate by putting postage on it...

the last thing that I would have expected from "the district"...
[remember, even though I have made peace with them...
I do have over 20 years of history/experience with them...]
would have been that they would pay to express my letter...

so you can imagine my total shock when I contacted Putnam this AM...
and the representative told me...
that they not only had received my forms...
but that the wire transfer would go out Monday...

I was almost speechless...
[I know, I know... but I was on the phone...]

this is a district that has a phone menu that you have to do combat with...
in order to speak with a live person...
and then be very careful & quick witted or they will transfer you...
very abruptly, to another automated menu or someone's voice mail...

though I have found that the lowest level of staff...
is generally very friendly & helpful...
it's only as the importance of the position ascends...
that the snotty attitude & officiousness intrudes...
in some cases, becoming toxic to all who come in contact...

so it must have been a lowly clerk, like the one who called me...
after looking high & low for my paperwork...
who put my paperwork into a Fedex envelope, at no cost to me...
and sent it off, to the correct address, even though they "don't mail things"...

when I worked for, "the district", I knew lots of good people like that...
it's nice to know that there are still some around...

it also helps to, "have a Friend in high places"...
when dealing with, "the district"...

as for eating crow ?

Garfield is right...it tastes like chicken...

God is good...all the time...

2 comments:

Mousie and Christy's Mommy said...

Having had to "eat crow" a number of times in my life I can say that it is "the best of times and the worst of times!" This was a "good" reason to eat it...and yes, it tastes just like chicken...and frog legs...which also taste like chicken!!

Congratulations. It builds up my confidence in humanity to hear that there really are some nice people out there!

catsinger said...

...yes, it is truly the best & worst of times... next time I eat crow, I'll remember to add rosemary & lemon... ;D