A Story of Kindness for the Season

Here’s a story about kindness, perfect for this time of year.

“Several years ago I was flying to Montreal for the day. I carried only my debit card, credit card and driver’s licence in a small card holder inside my briefcase. After a long and tiring day I returned to Pearson Airport and used my debit card to get some cash to buy dinner on the way home. I placed the cash in my pocket and walked out to the parking lot. When I reached in to get my keys I realized that my cards and money were gone. I had no ID, no money to get the car out of the lot and no way to get home.

I called my sister and got her credit card number and went about trying to find somewhere in the airport that would give me a cash advance on a credit card number, promising that my sister could be called to verify the charge. Suffice to say, no one was willing.

Several hours later, at a complete loss and in tears I walked into the Air Canada Customer Service office. The wonderful woman there looked at me, opened her wallet, asked how much I needed to get my car out of the lot. I insisted on getting her address to reimburse her and she reluctantly wrote it down.

The next day I put the $25 in an envelope and sent it back to her. I also wrote a letter to the CEO of Air Canada saying that no matter what I may have thought on any other trip, on that day, there was no better customer service in the world. The employee did not know me and had no guarantee she’d ever see her money again. But to her that didn’t matter.”
Karen Kelly, Toronto