This was the question the guy at the counter asked Ross when Ross pointed out the damage to the bumper bar on our motorhome.
“What am I going to do about it? Ross repeated the question.
“I’m not going to do anything. You’re going to get it fixed. It was you (as in their company) who damaged it”, Ross continued.
We had taken the motorhome to get its yearly service on the truck and engine. It was also due for registration, so we needed a roadworthy certificate.
We had only recently had the bumper bar replaced after waiting almost 12 months.
“How about you get it fixed and we’ll waive the invoice for today?” the assistant offered.
“Do you know how much these are worth?” asked Ross, who was totally flabbergasted at the offer.
Ross answered for him, “We got a quote for $7,000 from company X and we ended up getting another repairer to fix it for $4,000.
Blood drained from the assistant’s face.
“I’m not leaving here until I have it in writing that you are going to fix it”, demanded Ross.
After some lengthy negotiations and still no apology, Ross finally left after having waited 5 hours for the service because they had failed to update their booking system when the date had been changed, nor had they confirmed it. From a business and customer service point of view, they score 1/10.
Apart from a rant, here’s the point.
Both Ross and I went into the primal state over this. Ross was so rattled he missed a turn and we ended up 40km out of our way when we didn’t have the luxury of time.
As soon as we arrived at our destination, Ross jumped out of the van and apologised. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.”
I had been following in Harry Hilux and had been fuming at how late I was for an appointment.
My mood only got worse when he told me about the damage.
Fortunately, I remembered my training. There is no suffering in any experience. The only cause of our suffering is our own thoughts, or what we think about the experience.
I started to calm down. The facts were: the motorhome got damaged and I was late for a meeting. That’s it. No suffering in the experience, only my thoughts, so I focussed on it being an experience and let it go. (A ride on my new ebike also helped.)
So, please remember this story and training for the next time things don’t go according to how you want or expect.
There is no suffering in the experience. The only cause of your suffering is your own thinking.
I trust this is helpful. Thanks for listening.
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