Reward!

Xavier came today to visit. He will be here for the next five fun-filled, action-packed, no-rest days. It was a bit of a rocky start, as he missed his flight, and instead of arriving at 9:00 AM, landed at 2:39 PM. At least when he finally did get on a flight, it was on time. Silver linings.

In the mean time, tho, I had my own string of difficulties getting to the airport to pick him up. And by string, I mean one. The train from New Jersey to World Trade took forever to arrive, so I got to the airport about 3 minutes after Xavier. And I left at the same time as he did.

I saw something today that first made me think, then take action. When the train to World Trade arrived, I stepped in and noticed that while not full, there really wasn't a seat for me, so I stood. Behind me, an elderly couple got on the train, and they too stood. I watched to see if anyone would offer their seat to this couple. No one moved. Finally, a young African-American male stood up and moved toward one of the doors, and the couple thanked him and sat down. I began to think about what would happen if this were my grandparents-either side, and realized that I would hope that someone would offer their seat to my grandparents. Of course, I would, but would anyone else? This man did. Then I started to think about what would happen if there were some reward. Yeah, there's the "feel good 'cuz you did something nice" thing, but what if, every time, or even just occasionally, when you did something nice you got some immediate recognition? I bet more of us would do nice things.

I dug into my pocket and found a $5 bill. I decided to give it to this guy, and then started doubting myself. Who was I to reward this guy for doing something nice? What would he think if I just walked over to him and handed him $5? What would anyone else who saw it think? I debated right up until the doors opened at our destination, then as we were walking toward the steps, I tapped him on the shoulder and held out the bill and said, "Here, this is for you." Of course, he asked why, and I said, "You figure it out, but if that were my grandparents, I'd want someone to do exactly the same thing." He thanked me and said that he sees that kind of thing every time he gets on the train. We talked for the minute that it takes to walk up the steps, and then I wished him a good day and we moved on about our business.

Why did I do that? Was it for my own recognition? On the surface, no. I never gave him my name or anything like that. I did think it would make an interesting entry here, tho, so maybe I did it for my own bragging rights. Truth be told, what am I gonna brag about? If someone told you a story like this, you'd probably think he was crazy for doing such a thing. I've never denied that. But, it sure did make the rest of my day brighter. And even caused me to keep an eye out for opportunities to offer my seat. Try it sometime. When you see someone do something nice for someone else, just let them know you noticed. I bet they will appreciate it, and it will certainly change your day.

This Is Why I Do It

Yesterday, just as I was leaving the card store, a little old lady walked up to me and asked, "Are you the manager?" I said that I was, at least for now. I asked how I could help her and she began with the story. "I was here in September," she said, "and I bought this item for a friend who's birthday is October 20. But, she passed away on October 12, and I just found it. I don't know if there's anything you can do, but I wanted to see about exchanging it. It's difficult for me to get down here, and I was here last night, because I thought you closed at 9, but you were already closed when I got here at 7." I told her that we did indeed close at 6 on Sundays, but that I would see what we could do for her. I looked at what she bought, a 2009 Zodiac calendar for Libra. Since it was a very specific gift and it would probably be difficult to find someone else to give it to, I told her that I would take it back, and issue a store credit. Especially since she had the receipt and everything was in order. She was so happy, and told me how nice I was and how sorry she was for holding me up. She knew I was trying to get home, and didn't want to be a bother. I kept assuring her that I would stay until she was happy with her purchase. She went and picked out a few Valentine's gifts that were 75% off, and ended up spending all of the credit she was getting, plus $10. She told me that she knew someone who was getting married in August, and that these things would make great gifts for them. I almost said (but didn't) that I hope they didn't pass away in July. Funny? To me. Probably not to her. So, I bit my tongue.

I got to Journal Square last night to get on the bus to UPS. As I'm standing there waiting for the bus, I hear, "Come on people, pile in. Over here! Let's go!" I look over and see Vinny, one of the Full Time supervisors at UPS motioning everyone toward him. My first thought was this is like seeing your 5th grade teacher at the supermarket. It just shouldn't happen. As it turns out, the buses weren't running on account of President's Day. We worked tho, so UPS provided a way out there. It was a caravan of supervisors' personal cars. It was sort of odd, but it was probably the quickest I've ever gone from Journal Square to Secaucus. The night ended up being pretty light, too. We were completely done by 3:00. Usually, it can be closer to 4:30 or 5, but apparently it wasn't just the bus company that had a holiday yesterday.

Maintenance

Two weeks ago I wrote about failing an audit at Carlton. Things happened rather quickly after that, so instead of writing and updating and writing some more, I decided to wait until there were some answers. Mike, the store manager, did get fired after that audit, and I did express an interest in the position. The district manager went on vacation the next week, so I took the opportunity to work my ass off and show him what I could do. Two weeks of hard work, long hours and support from the girls made a huge difference in the store. Wednesday, when Rich was there, he said the store looked great and the back room was much improved. He also said he told the regional manager how nice everything looked. He did an audit while he was there, and once again, we failed, but this time, by only one point. He showed me as he was doing the audit exactly what he's looking for. Trust and believe those issues will not be seen again. We have bigger things to do than keep failing audits. Rich also insinuated that I would not be offered the position of store manager. While disappointed, I understand why he thinks I may not be ready. It simply strengthens my resolve to show him I am the right choice down the road.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, er, plant, things are going well. I took my sorter certification test (several times) and finally passed. I think I finally passed on the fourth attempt. I felt a little like JFK, Jr. taking the bar. Anyway, becoming certified basically locks in a raise. My pay has gone up 25% since I started at UPS four months ago. One night, about a week and a half ago, my supervisor told me to sort for a certain unloader. It was tough to keep up with this person, but that's not unusual. As we got to the end of the load, my sup asked me how it went. I told him I thought it went poorly because a lot of the boxes were backed up on the belt, and occasionally some had fallen on the floor. He asked me how many times this unloader had to stop the load because I was behind. I said maybe two or three times. He said, "Well, I happen to know for a fact that this load went well. You've been sorting Pitt, one of the fastest unloaders on the south side." That made me feel pretty good. Sometimes I feel like I'm moving really slowly and it's nice to be told that you can occasionally keep up.

I wrote most of this post on my cell phone on Thursday night and thought I could send it to my email. As it turns out, that didn't work, so I just transcribed it from my phone. I'm sure I had more to say Thursday night, and I know I have more to talk about now, but it will have to wait for another day.