We were driving along the QEW on the way home and saw a huge sign over a huge lot that said 'Liberty Wheelchair Accessible Vans'. We are considering buying such a van so, on impulse, I pulled out the cell phone and asked the operator for 'Liberty Wheelchair Accessible Vans' ... she said there was no number in that city for 'Liberty Wheelchair Accessible Vans'. I said, 'Odd, cause I just drove by it.' She said, and I'm not kidding here, 'What kind of business would it be?' I truly didn't know how to answer except to say, 'They sell Wheelchair Accessible Vans.' And just who is buried in Grant's Tomb?
So I looked them up on the net and found their number. I called them and left my number with a nice lady there who assured me that there was a company called Liberty and that they sold Wheelchair Accessible Vans. The salesguy called me and we talked vans and I asked questions. He sounded like someone comfortable in his own skin, someone comfortable with where he was in the world. He sounded like a nice guy. So, when he found out that I can still independantly get into the passenger seat of a van, he stopped the conversation with, 'You don't need what we are selling.'
Then he went on to explain how to get exactly what we need at maybe thousands and thousands of dollars less. I took notes as he explained exactly how I can do what I needed to do. He looked up phone numbers for me. He gave me names of people to call. It was like it was his personal mission to make sure that everything went well for me.
Then a few minutes after we'd hung up he called back. He had just remembered about a couple of programmes that he thought I should know about. Again, I took notes. He told me to call him back if I had further questions.
All knowing that I wasn't a sale and that I wouldn't be a customer. So my hat's off to the guy from Liberty. It's nice to be reminded that there are just plain good people in the world. It's nice to be reminded that it's possible for people to have good ethics and a solid character.
All that and a nice voice too.
17 comments:
YEA! One for humanity!
That's wonderful. :) I love when that happens.
We drive by that place all the time. I'll have to mention that story to my husband on our next drive into Toronto. He will be as impressed as I am.
Anjie (mom to Adam)
I find myself in situations where I say my goodness there is still a decent human being left. Well I've said that enough over the years that after reading your blog I decided maybe there is more than just a few of the good ones left=) It is a comforting thought to start the day!!!
People ask me all the time why my husband and I go out of our way to answer questions or troubleshoot problems from people who didn't buy their product from us. I just respond that being helpful always has its own rewards and for us, it comes in the form of customer referrals. The person we helped may not have bought anything from us, but when we take the time to help out a non-customer, that individual usually tells someone else about us. Being nice is much more cost effective than paying advertising fees! :)
And now if you do know someone who needs a ramped van you drive into, you know where to refer them.
We have a lift in the rear of the van but it's not the kind where the van is lowered and the ramp comes out. Those are indeed really expensive--ours was a few thousand.
And if it weren't for the two wee ones, we wouldn't need a van at all--we could use a smaller vehicle for the lift.
Funny enough I had a very similar experience last night, and I was really at the end of my rope. I was in a situation where I would have typically had fought hard to get what I wanted (or needed). But last night, I was at the end of my rope, and all the 'fight' was out of me, and I thought the situation would bring me to tears, and as I fought not to cry, someone helped, and they didn't have to. Really thankful that there are great people all around!
What a good and decent man!
I'm off to the Special Olympics today!
It is one of my best days of the year. I love watching my guys out there.
And just who is buried in Grant's Tomb?Nobody. If somebody were buried there, it'd be called "Grant's Grave." Ulysses S. Grant and his wife are entombed there, but not buried.
Dear Dave:
Yeah for the great sales person!
I gotta tell you about a truck (just looks like a regular pick up truck with a cap on the back) that parks in our college parking lot. I don't know the person who owns it - I am just fascinated by it. The driver uses a wheelchair so he wheels up to the driver's seat and transfers himself into the truck. Then the cap hinges open on its side and a robotic arm comes out and picks up the wheelchair and puts it in the bed of the truck, arm goes back in, cap hinges shut, guy drives off. It is so cool!!!
Enjoy your accessible van shopping - you could be seeing a lot of really cool devices!
Colleen
I shall call myself Anon 2 ... to the Anon who brought up the Grant's Tomb information, please note: "A riddle relating to Grant's Tomb, popularized by Groucho Marx on his game show You Bet Your Life, is "Who is buried in Grant's Tomb?" Though the proper answer is "nobody"—Grant and his wife are entombed, not buried—Groucho would usually accept just "Grant." Groucho would ask this question to contestants to ensure that they won something on his show. It can also be a snide trick question: When the responder answers "Ulysses Grant," he can be termed wrong for forgetting or not knowing that Julia Grant is there also." My guess is that Dave was quoting Marx, though I could be wrong.
I have noticed that there is a certain Anonymous comment maker (that would be you) who is nitpicking a number of Dave's posts often clearly missing the point. It seems like you simply don't like him, or perhaps his writing style annoys you. Beyond constant negative comments there is another solution you might want to consider. Care to guess what it is?
"Beyond constant negative comments there is another solution you might want to consider. Care to guess what it is?"
I know, I know!
;<)
Colleen,
I saw one of those too. It was so cool how the robotic arm just stuck the chair in the back of the truck.
Oh, No, this was meant to be a post about someone being nice. I'd prefer if the tone stayed that way. I have noticed a number of negative sounding comments over the last couple of weeks but rest assured I have thicker skin than you might imagine. I'm ok with people sometimes taking offense or taking issue with what I'm saying. Really, I am.
Ok, Dave. I just think there's a difference between disagreement and negativity.
I won't say anything more about it. It is your blog (wonderful as it is.)
Decency is good advertising, we note. :-)
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