Berlin – The trouble with the parcel service has been going on for weeks. The friend has told us about it a few times – and the parcel service didn’t do well in his stories.
It’s about a package that my friend sent a few weeks ago. He had received a new device from his telephone company and was supposed to send the old one back. The usual procedure: All he had to do was print out the return address and stick it on the package. So far, so easy.
But from there it got complicated. The package never arrived. In return, he got mail from the parcel service. There it said: Nothing could be delivered to the address, he now had to pay a fee of 58 euros – for the effort, storage and delivery of the package.
He checked: the address was correct. He had done nothing wrong – why should he pay 58 euros? But since he didn’t want the debt collector to be at the door at some point, he started making phone calls. He was put on hold for hours, and when someone finally picked up, the employees were polite but had no solution.
When he had wasted enough of his life, he went to a phone company store. As soon as he had described his problem, the door opened: a homeless man pushed a shopping cart with his belongings into the store.
The homeless man smiled in disbelief
A saleswoman went to him. In a low voice, the man explained his problem with the cell phone. She kept a little distance, but reacted very friendly, checked the computer and said: “Your problem can be solved for ten euros.” He dug out his begged savings and counted out ten euros, when she said: “Oh, sorry. It costs 15 euros.” He groaned briefly, but looked for more coins. My friend was also looking for money for the homeless man. But before he could give it to him, the clerk said, “Oh, you know. I managed to do this for free.” The homeless man smiled in disbelief.
She handed him his new SIM card, but his swollen fingers were too big to fit the tiny card. The saleswoman helped him and said, “problem solved.”
The man was happy. The friend was jealous. The woman who served him now said: “I also have a solution.” He received a credit on his telephone bill for 58 euros. “Problem solved,” he said, beaming.
Although two employees “gave away money” at the same time, the goodwill paid off for their company. Because the friend is now telling the story all around. The very best word of mouth. The homeless will surely do the same. More advertising is not possible – at least not for so little money.