Power of Patience

Recently, I made the request of a printing company to copy and staple booklets with a special front cover for a childcare program.  The order was placed and promised the evening prior to the following morning program for 1000 copies; therefore, there was little room for error.  With assurance from the technician who would make the copies, I went back home for the day while the order was filled.

Upon my return, the books were complete. I was delighted at the appearance for they looked spectacular.  As I examined one booklet, then two…ten, I discovered that the front cover and the first two pages were upside down.  Yikes!  I calmly showed the technician the mistake.  He spoke to his manager and they agreed that the problem could be fixed within three hours.  The redo required that the books be unstapled, reassembled and restapled. They asked if I would be patient with them and wait until the “redo” was complete.  I said, “Of course,” and waited in the lobby. 

While sitting there waiting, I overheard discussions of other customers.  One lady complained that she thought the color paper she chose was darker and was unhappy with her copies.  Another argued that he wanted his picture ½ inch larger to better show his club pin.  As another patron angrily whined that he was next in line, I recognized the frustrated look of the technicians, who were all working diligently to correct the mistakes made with the copies that I ordered. 

I got an idea.  As I was just sitting there waiting, I thought, “Why not make the situation better for all by assisting with the staple removal of "my" booklets?  I volunteered, they accepted with glee, and the job was done inside of two hours. 

To my surprise, management cheered me on when the job was complete.  They were grateful that I was patient, pointed out the error with a smile, and helped them to remedy the situation.  They gave me various types of company souvenirs, and best of all, the $700 order was free!