On Saturday I met a friend for lunch at a yummy Thai restaurant, and was surprised at all the traffic. I was also surprised at the lack of parking spots, and after turning around once I parked next to a nice midsize Ford SUV. It wasn't snowing, it wasn't freezing, but it was super windy (can you see where this is going?).
My car door flung out, caught by the wind, and smashed right into the middle of the backseat door on the Ford. The resulting ding wasn't small -- it was a round dent with a vertical line, sort of like a cat eye.
I did the right thing, and I went inside and asked for a piece of paper to write a note with my first name and phone number and how sorry I was that the wind possessed my car door (I figured humor wasn't a bad way to go, and also I wanted to avoid the phrase "I hit your car" since it was a total wind-powered incident), and that I was having lunch at the Thai restaurant.
Then throughout the entire lunch I stared at my phone, filled with anxiety -- who was this person? were they sitting near me? (it turns out she was) Would he/she be nice? And a silent prayer, please please please let this person be having lunch here, and not vaping at the Thirsty Coil... Yes, I realize my own personal biases were running wild here.
She called at the end, and I met her in the parking lot (with my friend for backup). She was SUPER nice and mentioned at least four times that she was very appreciative that I left a note. She said she'd get a few estimates and call me Wednesday.
This is less than ideal, and I am really pissed that I am now faced with an unexpected bill that I HOPE is no more than $200, but it could have been so much worse.
I also thought how lucky I am that I no longer have to look anxiously at my phone, waiting for it to ring with any kind of results or possible opportunities or updates. I thought how lucky I am not to be in that hyper stressed state of infertility treatment/adoption, where I would have likely cried and it may not have gone as smoothly.
Cross your fingers that this ends just as amicably as it started, and that it is less expensive than I fear. (Eh, it was in the middle, more than I hoped, but less than Bryce feared.)
As my friend said, "Doesn't it suck being ethical?" Yes, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I wish the person who sideswiped my car in the gym parking lot this fall had had the same moral compass (no note, so sad). Well, at least I got a lovely soul warming when the woman texted me with the details and ended with "So thankful for your note -- believing in humanity."
Want to read more #Microblog Mondays? Go here and enjoy!
First, good choice for lunch!
ReplyDeleteSecond, I'm glad the woman appreciated your note, and let you know it. I hope you feel really good as a result. You should!
Mmmm, really loved my sesame tofu. Nom nom nom.
DeleteSecond, I don't get how you could NOT leave a note, but I could see the temptation (if you have no soul, ha). Doing the right thing does feel good though, and she totally appreciated it! Which is better than super anger over the dent. I'll take it!
I think you did the right thing and glad that it wasn't too expensive.
ReplyDeletedropping by from microblogmondays
Thank you! I had this naive notion that it could be around $200. Bryce thought it could be around $1000. It turned out to be less than $500 (but not by much). Soooooo, expensive, but not devastatingly so... Guess I'm not fixing my own dent from the gym parking lot anytime soon!
DeleteYou absolutely did the right thing. A few years ago someone backed into my parked car. No note, yet there were plenty of witnesses and it didn’t take long to get a license plate number. My insurance agent was giddy with the idea of a hit and run because it meant they had a lot of reason to go after the person for criminal charges.
ReplyDeleteI always leave a not or exchange information. It is the ethical thing to do, but I remind people that insurance rates can always be hiked.
Oh man, that would really suck. I wish someone had witnessed the person scraping along the ENTIRE SIDE of my car in the gym parking lot, but no such luck. Yikes, criminal charges! Yeah, always with the note. I'm glad I'm under the deductible so I don't have to go through insurance, keep my rates intact!
DeleteProud of you. You left the note because it was the right thing to do, and it was your first instinct. Good karma!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely it was the right thing to do, as much as it caused a boatload of anxiety. Now I can rest easy knowing I am a woman of principle! :) Ah, good karma. That would sure be nice.
DeleteDid you tell her you’re from Ohio, and that you have State Farm??? (Remember that time at a truck stop in Ohio when a large, angry woman strode through the diner yelling, “Who owns that red car from New York?!!!” We talked her down...
ReplyDeleteYes, it sucks being ethical sometimes, but wrestling with my conscience forever afterward sucks even more. So glad this woman appreciated your honesty! & that it wasn't as expensive as you feared! ;)
ReplyDelete