How many times have you heard it? How many times have you
lived it? Minnesota nice has been a mantra that has been associated with us
Minne-sotahn’s for a while. It has given us the ability to get jobs and
maintain great community. Our willingness to ‘be nice’ and consider others
before ourselves is something that has obviously made us a staple in North
America. In my travels for work/pleasure I have heard this term in the
South, the Mid West, the East and now again in the south…
I am sitting
at a Fairfield Inn in Charleston, SC. I am traveling for work on a 3 day trip
for a client visit. I looked forward to the trip as my last time in this area
was a memorable one. I had a flight out of MSP at 1PM on Monday afternoon. Due
to engine ‘troubles’ and the heat of the cabin our flight was delayed an hour.
Coincidentally, my connecting flight in Atlanta departed an hour after our
original landing time. I was certain I would miss my flight and be spending the
night in Atlanta. Not only would this put a wrench in my plans but my client
would be unassisted and the time and effort they put in to gathering the
resources needed would be wasted. This doesn't sit well with me. I landed in the B
terminal of ATL, and my connecting flight was in the E terminal. If you have
ever been to ATL you understand that is no small feat. I took the tram over to
gate E and when the tram stopped I had 1 minute to get to my flight. I got to
the gate and much to my surprise, 100’s of people were waiting. My connecting
flight was delayed, hooray! Not having
eaten all day, I picked up a bag of chips and a soda and sat on the only spot
available, the floor. I ate my chips and waited for my plane to be ready. Once
instructed, I got up and boarded the plane ‘Zone 2’ style. I was surprised to
see monitors in every seat and enjoyed an episode of Breaking Bad while I dosed
of into a blissful slumber...
I woke
up about 30 minutes from Charleston (total 1hr flight) and deplaned as usual. I
sped over to the rental car area and proceeded to secure my vehicle. That is
when I realized my wallet was GONE. No wallet, no cash (didn't have any
anyway), no debit/credit cards, no IDs, nothing! That is the most empty and lost
feeling I have ever had. I was in a new place, with no money and no drivers
license. But wait, my passport was in my pocket too and it was still thereJ I can’t book a rental
car with a passport so I had to cancel and move on.
I
updated my co-workers of the situation. No one was with me but my one of my
co-workers lives about 3 hours from here. He IMMEDIATELY called me a said “Kam,
anything you need, name it and I will be there in 3 hours to bring it to you.”
He said “You say the word and I will be there will $1,000 in unmarked bills
[chuckle], ANYTHING you need”. I thanked him and told him I would attempt some
local avenues first. I called the hotel
from the airport and asked if they would be ok with me checking in without
proof of my credit card. I told them my story and they said, “No problem, I can
pick you up in 20 minutes, is that ok?” Really? Sweet, I thought for sure they
wouldn't let me do that. He arrived to pick me up and I told him the story
about losing my wallet; He felt bad and tried to help every way that he could.
He setup a special trip with the shuttle to get me to my client on time the
next morning and he let me charge some food and a couple ‘beersh’ to my room even though the
card wasn't validated. He ran to the back room to get me some plastic
silverware for my ‘TV Dinner’, and he left notes about my issue for the staff
that was coming aboard overnight. I woke up the next morning and the shuttle
driver was waiting for me after breakfast. He said, “Are you the guy that lost
your wallet?” He proceeded to take my bag and open the shuttle door. He drove
me to my client’s office and dropped me off and said, “Have a great day sir!”
He was a very kind, generous person. Is this Minnesota nice? I think so but it
doesn’t end there.
I didn’t
have a ride back to my hotel nor did I have money to pay for a cab or public
transportation. My customer offered to bring me back to my hotel no questions
asked. She took time out of her night to drive me back and help me out! Such a wonderfully
nice person. I get back from my client site only to find that my MoneyWire had
failed because my bank is ‘too secure’. So I had to spend another day with no
money and no transportation. I didn’t eat all day and was dying to just have a nice
meal and call it a night. But first I had to stop over at Walmart and try to
perform another wire transfer. I was there at 6:30 and they close at 9. I had
difficulty with the first transfer and the gal behind the counter remembered
me. She gave me a number to call and get assistance. Unfortunately, they were
of little help and I had to try again. She told me to stand to the side and
when I was ready she would let me jump back in front of the line right away. Is
this Minnesota nice? I think so but it doesn’t end there.
The clock ticked down to 9PM when
the MoneyGram office at WalMart closed. I only had a few minutes to get this
right and it wasn’t looking good. It was a hurry up and wait situation and I
was not going to beat the clock. Looks like another night with no money and no
transportation. Nope! The gal behind the counter asked me of the issue and I
told her the story. She agreed to wait until her shift was done to help me out
(An extra hour past closing time). We waited…and waited, and 10PM approached.
Still no word on the money. Against their policy and beyond her control, she
said that she would inform her replacement at 10 of the situation and get me
taken care of. Is this Minnesota nice? I think so but it doesn’t end there.
The new
shift started and the replacement came over and attempted to help. Still no go.
After about 15 more minutes the transfer was ready and I was able to get my
money that I needed. Is this Minnesota nice? I think so but I doesn’t end there.
I got
back to my hotel, excited, and couldn’t wait to order a pizza as I was starvingJ I called Pizza Hut.
The first one said “We don’t deliver but let me give you the number for the one
that does”. That number said “We don’t deliver to that area but let me give you
the number for the on that does”. That store finally took my order and said I would have my ZA in 30-45 minutes. I waited, and waited. An hour and a half
passed and still no food. I called them back and they were closed… I walked
down the front desk (as they have been most helpful thus far) and asked if they
had seen a pizza guy making any deliveries. He said, “Sorry, no I haven’t.” I
told him that my pizza had not shown up and I figured it was probably forgotten
or missed. He said, feel free to take some chips and a drink out of the vending
‘On the House’. I politely said “That’s ok” and he quickly picked up the phone
(12:30AM) and called a friend at the local Pizza shop that still delivers. He
recommended the ‘Meaty Stromboli’. I ordered it and it was here in 20 minutes.
Minnesota Nice, I THINK SO!
Thanks
to my wife and my family’s relentless search for my wallet, they were able to
find it in Atlanta and return it to me via overnight delivery to SC. According to Atlanta authorities retrieving a
wallet and delivering it overnight is unheard of so that fact that some honest
person in Atlanta returned it reassures me, there are honest people in this
world.
A little nice goes a LONG way. I feel like I am debt’d to this city and its
wonderful, generous and polite people. In a time where a good customer
experience seems about as far apart as a lunar eclipse, this was an awesome
custom experience in many ways, and for that I say thanks for being
‘Minnesota-Charleston-Atlanta Nice’.
[Kameron]
