Thursday, May 21, 2009

Not all are schmucks.

I recently received a parking ticket in one of the Hillsboro Village parking lots. I wasn't aware that we had to pay for parking in these lots, b/c I'm a classic absent-minded over-looker of such things i suppose, but now I know. Anyhow, the ticket offered a dispute option if you went to the website, so I obliged and emailed a friendly "..it was an honest mistake, but I understand..." email to the provided dispute contact.
With low hopes, I was pleasantly surprised to receive this email the very next day:

Ms. Cheatham,

Thank you for contacting me, and of course I will void your violation. It would be a privilege especially because I believe that earning your future business is more important than punishing you for an honest mistake.

Of course, when I honor a patron's dispute, I sometimes ask a favor in return .... Although my business is operating parking lots, I also work with a non-profit organization organization advocating for Tennessee’s natural treasures, called the Tennessee Parks and Greenways Foundation. Their mission is preserving Tennessee's natural sites, mountains, waterfalls, and wilderness corridors. If you are interested in learning more about their land conservation projects, go to www.tenngreen.org.

If you can afford it, contributing the violation amount to the Tennessee Parks and Greenways Foundation instead of sending it to me would be a great service to our community -- I appreciate your considering it, and thank you for your patronage!

Keith


What a stand up guy, that Keith...holy shit! As long as your nice, people will respond in a likely manner, hopefully. I feel lucky to have had come across this Keith fella, and would be stricken with sharp guilt were I not to go directly to the tenngreen.org website and see what it's all about.

Keith...I salute you. I imagine you must have some haters out there who blatantly disregard parking meters here and there all day long with pancake-stacks of tickets filling their back seats...but I, Jessica, have highest regards to your existence.

Thank you Keith...you made my day.