In His Shoes

This past Saturday evening, we had planned a family game night. My brother and I had planned on going over to our cousin Jimmy's house and play the games there. But I had been sick all week and just wanted to stay home. So we decided against going over to Jimmy's. In the end, my dad, my brother and I played a game of Monopoly at home. It was a great evening. The game went on for hours and my dad, who had dominated the entire game, won. It was past midnight by the time I went downstairs to my room.

As I got into my room I heard the familiar buzzing of my mobile phone telling me I had a message. I picked up my phone and noticed I had eight missed calls. Now I don't know about any of you out there, but eight missed calls is a heck of a lot for me. The first thing that came to my head was 'there's been an emergency', but immediately after that I knew that if there had been an emergency, then I would've probably also received a phone call at home.

I check the list of numbers in my missed calls. I notice all but one of them are from a phone number I don't recognize. I check my voicemail and there's four messages. The first one is from a friend of mine asking me to give her a call back. The next two are hang ups and the fourth is a full message. Here's how it went (I only changed the names):

"Hi Lillian, this is Garth. Garth Smith. I'm looking for my step-daughter Jill. She told me she was going to go see a game with you. It's 12am and I'm just wondering when she'll be home. If you get a chance, will you please call me? Thanks."

After listening to that message, my chest felt heavy. Clearly this is a wrong number. I have no idea who Lillian, Garth or Jill are. Putting myself in Garth's shoes, I would want to know that a phone number that I believe is going to get to my step-daughter is the wrong number. He called my phone seven times with the last one being at midnight, so he's obviously worried about her. I toy with the idea of whether or not I should call him back to let him know it's the wrong number. I look at the clock, it says 12.30am. Should I call him? Is it too late? Should I just forget about it? Am I being an idiot?

Of course I'm not being an idiot. If I was this parent, I would really appreciate a phone call back. If I knew the phone number was incorrect, it might make me decide to start calling other numbers I know to find her. On the flip side, if I didn't know the number was incorrect then I probably won't make those other phone calls. The decision was made. I called him. A lady answered.

"Hello?"

"Hi. May I talk to Garth, please?"

"Yes. Hold on."

I hear her telling Garth that the phone call is for him. He comes on the line.

"Hello?"

"Hi Garth. My name is Loveleen. You left a message on my voicemail looking for a Gillian. I just want you to know that you've dialled the wrong number."

"I'm looking for my step-daughter."

"I know and I hope everything is ok. I just called to let you know that you've got the wrong number. I have no idea who Gillian is."

"Gillian Hill?"

"No idea."

"Oh. Well, I'm really sorry."

"No no. Don't be. I just felt you needed to know this was the wrong phone number."

"Thanks. I appreciate that."

"Take care."

I hung up my phone and felt much lighter. Hopefully in the future, if I ever find myself in that situation, someone will do the same thing for me.

He Knows

This entry is an extension of the entry above. Earlier on in the day, when I had decided I wasn't going to Jimmy's house for games night, I had the following conversation with my brother:

"Hey Andy, maybe we'll ask dad to play a round of Monopoly with us tonight. If he's up to it."

"Yeah!" my brother says, nodding his head. Suddenly he looks at me quizically.

"What?"

"Umm. Do you think dad will understand?"

"Andy. Dad taught me how to play Monopoly."

"He did?"

"Yup."

"Wow. He knows more than I thought."

Tight Pants/High Maintenance/Waste of Time

One of my counterparts from another office e-mailed me last week. Her and I send e-mails back and forth every now and then. What's great is that if she's ever in a bind for employees, I'm able to send her someone to work the shifts she needs and vice versa. Here are two of the most recent e-mails I've received from her:

To: Luv
From: Wynde
Subject: short fat crabby bum

You knew who it was before you even opened the email, right!!! Apparently that girl that we had tentatively signed up for our office, doesn't want to come this way.

I LOVE MY JOB !!!!!!!!!!

Is your girl still available on those days, or do you have anybody else that is available. We have posted a casual position for here , but you know how long that takes. i am away tomorrow, and back on friday

thanks a million
- - -

The next day, I received the following:

To: Luv
From: Wynde
Subject: CRAZY WOMAN

Hi Loveleen................ I am certified nuts.............. I just wanted to let you know that the other office has offered a girl to come over and cover for us on the 24th 25th and 26th........... I am going to hire an older lady, rather than these young girls, that can't make up their minds, what color to dye their hair, or if their pants are tight enough

thanks a million, and talk to you soon
- - -

And I agree with her! Young employees are much higher maintenance than the older ones! They're always having a personal dilemma that they MUST share with you...regardless of whether or not you want to know about it...and 95% of the time it doesn't have anything to do with work. Then they break a nail and can't come into work for three days. Total waste of time.