Every once in a while, something happens that completely restores your faith in humanity.
Ian lost his wallet. He gets $2 a week allowance, and the wallet contained his savings to date - $30. We looked everywhere, but it was gone.
So I went through my check register for debit card transactions and I began calling everywhere we had been in the past two weeks. Target, Wal-Mart, Wegmans, Tops, IHOP, Pizzeria Uno’s, Red Robin’s. It was a red nylon Bisons wallet, I told everyone, the kind that folds over and closes with a Velcro strip. It contained a $20 bill and a $10 bill and no ID, as I had located the ID in the toy box.
IHOP was the worst. They left me on hold for 15 minutes before I finally hung up and called back. “Naw, don’t see it, sorry.” Click. I am never eating there again.
Red Robin, on the other hand, called me back. “We didn’t find the wallet, but our hearts went out to you and your little boy, and we got him a little something. Could you stop by the restaurant sometime soon?” We went that evening after Aikido. I was figuring maybe a $1 gift certificate off of an order of fries, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.
We went in to eat first, and they told me that dinner was on them. I assured them they didn’t have to do that! No problem, enjoy, they said. The waitress told Ian she was very sorry to hear about his wallet, and he said yeah, I was saving for a GameBoy. If I got $50, Mom said she would kick in the other $50, but I only had $30, and now I gotta start from scratch.
After we ate, all the employees gathered around and gave Ian his gift. A Bisons glove, 4 vouchers for tickets to a future game, a Red Robin figure, a genuine leather bi-fold wallet containing 2 Lasertron gift cards, a Red Robin gift card, and $50 cash. They told me they had already had over $30 in the wallet, but when Ian told the waitress he was saving for a GameBoy, they kicked in the rest. They also told me they contacted the Bisons to try to get the same wallet for him, but the Bisons stopped selling that wallet three years ago, so it was the Bisons that kicked in the tickets.
I cried. (Ian will tell you I cried for two days. Slight exaggeration.)
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers has my business for the rest of my life.
JT said...
Ian is very...very lucky. Glad to hear something good came from it!!
Serena said...
Yes, and he has no idea how much!
