Amends

The contractor called Stephanie last night to apologize for his atrocious behavior on the phone. He came to the conversation with regret, humility and a willingness to listen to everything Steph had to say. Even when she reiterated how incredibly unprofessional it was for him to have behaved this way in response to a valid complaint from a customer, he listened, and said, "You are right ma'am. I am so sorry"

My favorite quotable line came when she asked him if he was married and he said that he was, Steph said, "Does your wife lets you kiss her with that foul mouth?"

Wow! That's a pretty quick comeback for girl who only just moved to the South.

The crusader for excellent service gave our contractor friend some excellent bits of advice. She told him, people will wait for you if you communicate with them. Do not promise what you can not give and communicate communicate communicate. He said, "Yes, Ma'am, and I hope you have better service from the next person you hire." All is well again.

Makes me a little teary eyed.

And so, fair readers, I will leave you with a few quotes to think about:

Sometimes you have to get really dirty before you can get really clean.

Also,

To get to the nut, you have to break the shell.

Or my favorite, from Shirley McClaine,

"To get to the fruit on the tree, you have to go out on a limb."

Pontificate that!