I don’t know why I thought about this today. It made me smile and I hope it does the same for you.

Before I retired, I had a job that required a lot of traveling along with going to different conventions. Some of the equipment I sold was rather heavy and sensitive.

I had been using FedEx freight on my well boxed/crate machines outgoing shipments so I arranged shipping to Las Vegas for the convention. I rented a truck in a trailer and arranged to pick up my shipment at the FedEx docks to avoid some drayage fees.

I made a very large mistake for my return shipment. I had no place to store my boxes for shipment back or maybe I was just being lazy but I threw away all the packaging.

When I returned on a Saturday morning to drop my stuff off at the FedEx dock for return back to the warehouse I had everything sitting on a couple pallets and tied down with not much else to protect the shipment. There was one guy who was accepting my shipment, but said he can’t go out like that. I put myself at his mercy and boy did he go out of his way to find cardboard, some stray boards and some binding material to protect the return shipment. Got his name, we shook hands, and I didn’t think much about it after that.

About a month later, the rep from FedEx was doing her rounds and I told her the story. She recommended I send an email to the head office saying what a good job he did and how much help he was.

Next year rolls around, same convention, same deal, I get my rental truck and trailer and show up at the FedEx docks. I see the guy from FedEx and he comes running at me and calls me by name. I am a little confused how he would remember me. He tells me he couldn’t forget me for what I did.

Seems when I sent that email it made its way up the chain and he was singled out as the sole winner for an award for employees who go above and beyond their duties.

First prize was an all expense paid weekend, flights, hotel (the famous one with the ducks who Parade around) food and everything else included.

He let me know that he never had a honeymoon and him and his wife had been married for five years. He had tears in his eyes as he thanked me for giving him and his wife honeymoon they never had.

I had no idea that email would affect him so much. Needless to say I had a friend in Vegas for years.