I Love Happy Endings

The forecast today called for a high of only 80 degrees instead of the mid-90s we've been suffering though.  I wanted to stay outside and play all day instead of going to work, but I knew my boss wouldn't understand.  After lunch I put on my clothes and got in the car for the drive to the mall.

I started off in a lousy mood and my drive didn't do anything to make it better.  Thanks to a traffic jam on the highway, a longer-than-usual line of cars waiting to turn into the mall parking lot, and a driver who couldn't decide which way to go in the parking garage I almost ended up being late.  I really wasn't thrilled about being cooped up inside the climate-controlled building for hours, but it soon turned into a good day when I got to do a good Customer Service Desk deed and reconnect a lost phone with its owner.

About a half hour into my shift two customers brought me an iPhone in a girly-looking case they’d found lying on a bench upstairs. After they left I called Security and told them what I had. The dispatcher said she’d send an officer by to pick the phone up, but it might be a while because they were busy. (That was fine with me, as long as they knew I had it).

While I was waiting for Security I decided to take a look at the phone. I unlocked it, activated it, and got the password screen.  Nothing else I could do. (I've been through this before.  If a phone doesn’t have a password I’ve been known to make a call to the first number on the call history log and ask that person to contact the phone’s owner to tell them it’s been found. I’ve never have anyone get angry with me for doing it.)  Even though I couldn’t make an outgoing call I could see there’d been two missed calls; one from “Dad” ten minutes earlier, and another from “Mom” two minutes after that. Someone was trying to track it down.

I set the phone in an inconspicuous place on the desk and promptly forgot it was there. A buzzing sound surprised me until I remembered the phone.  When I looked at it another call was coming in from “Mom”.  I answered the phone and explained who I was. The lady asked me where the Customer Service desk was located and said they’d be there in a few minutes. A few minutes was more like 15, but I looked up to see a family group (“Mom”, “Dad”, and two teenaged daughters, one of which was on crutches) headed straight towards me. They were all smiling hopefully.

The older teenager asked me if I had her phone. Just to be sure I had her tell me what the case looked like. She nailed the description, so I handed the phone over. Both she and her mom looked like they were about to burst into tears of joy. They thanked me profusely and went on their way.

Another happy ending in mall world.

Five years ago today: New Thing #195--Take Action