Got called Joshua several times over the past few days and smiled, not many people do that and generally when it happens…
Sometimes my children or niece and nephews ask me to tell them a story about grandpa that they have never heard before.
I don’t think any of them know he and I had a brief conversation about starting a family business. I was probably in my early twenties we he broached the topic of a letter writing business.
The idea was that people who wanted help in writing more effective letters to customer service at various businesses would reach out to us to produce those for them.
I wasn’t very receptive to the idea because I didn’t think many people would be interested and I wanted to be my own man so working with Dad seemed like a bad idea.
Thirty some years later I share this memory with you after having sent my second complaint to American Airlines in the past week.
I Am Fast
The inimitable SQ can tell you I am very fast at the keyboard as would some of my colleagues.
There was a time when I didn’t like sharing that because it always sounded like bragging and I didn’t think it merited that kind of attention, especially when I didn’t think the quality was where it should be.
My willingness to share it changed when I recognized there are times when it’s important to share our strengths if for no other purpose than to secure employment.
Had I more life experience when my father suggested the opportunity I might have viewed things a little bit differently than I did then, though it is hard to say.
I was so intent on trying to prove I could stand on my own I wasn’t likely to do much that would have made it look like I was getting help from my father even if it wasn’t entirely true.
Anyhoo, when I think about it now there is less thought given to whether it was a viable business and more to how many times I have used email to write a business about its practices.
I cannot share a scientific study to say whether I write complaint letters with more frequency than anyone else but I don’t think I do it often.
However I can say email makes it simple so if a business irks me enough to want to let them know they chapped my hide I do it without hesitation.
Not all are good at providing a suitable response so there are times I may respond to their words and say they inspired another missive from me.
But I have received responses that are more than satisfactory too which has furthered my interest in expressing my concerns.
Each letter has a beginning, middle and end. Few require more than 10 minutes and those generally require additional details that I have to take a moment to look up.
I received 2,500 miles from a customer service agent last week after filing a complaint about a duplicate baggage charge.
According to a Nerdwallet calculator that works out to about $42.50 so one could argue it covers the $40 in additional luggage fees I had to pay.
One could also say cold hard cash is superior because that can be applied anywhere and isn’t limited to usage on the airline.
I expressed that in my second note and asked why my initial concern had not been addressed and said my irritation was exacerbated by sitting on the tarmac for two hours.
We’ll see if they try that again. I used their website form but if they come up with something better I’ll reach out to one or more of the people they list here.
I won’t be the first or last to do so and I suspect they probably have multiple email addresses so they can screen people like me.
Did I mention I am also adept at finding people and contact information? That is particularly easy in the information age, there are digital footprints all over.
What We Knew Then & What We Know Now
Stats show that someone from Cuenca, Ecuador spent some time reading some of these words. Ecuador always jumps out at me because without it there would be no me and some of you would have missed out on somebody special.
No matter, some of you missed out on someone special because you went other directions, aggravated me or for 109 other reasons.
And yes you could argue the converse of that or say I am annoying, irritating, pushy or whatever else helps you sleep at night.
Whether that is actually true for you or not is immaterial because it is real to someone and that is ok. Not everyone appreciates our magic nor does everyone need to.
If we got along with everyone and never had anyone challenge us in any way life would be very dull. Some of those people who infuriate us can help us grow.
I used to hate when people said that because it sounded like new age nonsense but I have come to agree with some of it.
It doesn’t stop me from thinking some of those who helped me grow could also help me relieve stress by allowing me to punch them in the throat or kick them in the junk.
Can’t say that is the best way to relieve stress as it tends to lead to you wearing silver bracelets but writing doesn’t have to be about things you do, it can be about things you dream or think about doing.
Last week in LA during a conversation with the grandchildren one of them disagreed with something I said and I smiled.
I appreciated their disagreement and said what we knew then and what we know now are sometimes different.
They gave me a quizzical look and I said “Uncle Josh has already lived and done those things you are referring to.”
They don’t have to accept it, I am not sure that I would have at their age either, but I wasn’t lying. I know both sides of what they are referring to and they don’t.
Can’t screw an hold head on young shoulders now can you. 😉
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