"Thank you, Barbara"

Thank you, Barbara. I was never so happy to hear your voice, that of a real life human being. The other, a virtual assistant, representing one of your competitor's, made it very clear that to try and cancel an appointment, was impossible. I had to enter my 'card' then listen to his list of approved choices, none of which applied in my case. The machine continued, trying to exact his revenge upon a simple human being trying to cancel an appt. What else could i do? In five seconds Barbara cancelled what the virtual assistant could not.

An appt. for 9:00 am Monday morning for company A was cancelled, quickly and efficiently. The human called Barbara came to my rescue.. “Are you real”? I asked. “Yes, I am” she responded. Thank you so much. She laughed. This 9:00 am slot was a premium spot so I was compelled- it was my duty, after all - to cancel this time slot for others to use. Doing it Monday morning was too late. Premium spots are premium for a reason. I was comforted in knowing there are real people answering phones, treating the customers like they mattered.

The bothersome virtual voice kept asking me to enter my number when I redialed for company B. Had I missed my category somehow? I listened again to the list. All I wanted was a representative to say, “Hello, may I help you?” That did not occur.

Today's phones are incredible marvels of the modern digital age. But they can also be tools of suspicion. Online is easy, companies say. Yes, they certainly are - for the companies in charge not necessarily us, their clients/customers. Why can't a call be just that a call? When the grid collapses we all suffer, in a myriad of ways.

While shopping for a few grocery items, the store's internal system collapsed. Cash was king in that moment. I had it but the customer in front of me did not. I checked my wallet for the gold standard of all. It carried us both. The customer tried to figure out a way to repay me. Pay it forward I replied. The thought of trying to meet up in today's busy world seemed silly.We would spend more money and time trying to make it right. It was no big deal.

We all do things to help others. Other deeds rated higher than mine did that day. I helped out a friend. We all do it in many different ways everyday.

Barbara restored my faith in common sense that morning. She was real. Something to think about. A comforting thought for the future. You made my day.