Monday, May 19, 2008

(blush)

Hi Bob,

Thought you'd like to know that I just posted a myspace bulletin about you that my online friends will be able to read.

Thanks again,
M

Sometimes it's easy to feel like our lives are being processed rather than lived. An example of that for me was yesterday, when a Blue Cross Blue Shield operator needed for me to give her three pieces of personally identifying information before she could tell me where to mail the form they had faxed to me once I'd completed it. Typical, isn't it?

Every once in a while we have a situation that reminds us that there are still real live human beings in this world. Here's a short (and true) story about one of them.

His name is Bob Tedrow, and he owns Homewood Musical Instruments in Birmingham, AL (hmi.homewood.net). Most of the instruments that Bob sells are concertinas he makes to order, but he also handles some vintage concertinas and beginner concertinas for newbies like me. Last week my new concertina arrived, and I've been wrestling with it ever since -- in a nice way, of course. I love it, but there is a vibration in one of the reeds. I notified Bob of the buzzing and he recommended what we both hoped would be an easy fix. It wasn't. So, he said he would send me a new one.

I thought that was great, but what really made Bob a "Good Guy" in my eyes was that he didn't give me an RMA number to use when returning my concertina, or tell me that he would send the new one when he got mine. Nope, he told me to hold on to the one I have and keep practicing until I got the new one; then send it back.

I don't know about you, but I'm not used to being treated that way anymore. Sure is nice when it happens.

Thanks, Bob.