Lost and Found

Sometimes a great service experience appears when you're not even looking for one.  I had just returned from a business trip and was in the parking garage at T.F. Green airport to get my car and drive home.  I was in Parking Garage C, to be exact, which  is the longer term garage.  Granted, I've been at the airport too much this year - but when I went to the 5th floor where I expected to get my car and drive home, I couldn't find the car.  I walked all over the 5th floor.  Then I went down to the 4th, then down to the 3rd.  I knew it wasn't on the 1st or 2nd - they were full when I parked there just 3 days earlier.  As I was trudging around and around and around (literally), I noticed that there was someone in a street cleaning machine who was cleaning the floor of the garage.  When he saw me the 2nd time, he pulled up and asked me if I needed any help.  I told him I couldn't find the car.  He asked me to wait just a couple of minutes and he would get his regular truck and help me find it. At this point, I was exhausted from dragging my suitcase - so I said yes.

He was back in 5 minutes and loaded my stuff into his truck - and off we went. He asked what I was driving, and when I told him, he said, "I think I know where that is."   It seems that the 5th floor has several sections that aren't easily apparant - and he found the car in 5 minutes flat. On our way there, he stopped to help someone who was having trouble getting into a space.  He helped her guide it in, then proceeded on our errand.  As he loaded my suitcase into my trunk, I thanked him profusely for his help.  He said to me, "Thank you for parking in Garage C.  It's my garage."  He said it with sincerity and with pride.  I promised that I would never park in garage A or B - ever.  I drove away thinking about how great it was to meet someone who was that into his job and that into the experience people had in "his" garage.  A great experience - from lost to found.

--- Lisa Dennis