Charity: Finding Charity Behind the Wheel
As part of our series on Human Qualities, here is a great example of "Charity on the go" sent in by one of our inspectors:
You know the feeling, whenever you are in a hurry to get somewhere is when all the lights are red. The lines are longest. The rain starts. Roadwork up ahead. Detour signs. Directions don't work out. A slow driver in front of you on a two lane road, etc. That is the way it was one hot Monday afternoon in July.
I was late leaving my first inspection of the day and time was moving fast. I then found myself caught in a detour and was sure the clients and Realtors were standing at the doorstep waiting for me at the second inspection. I remember deciding promptly that there was definitely no time to stop for lunch.
After completing the detour and pulling over to re-read the map, I found myself back on the correct road...behind the slowest driver possible! Surely this person should have their license revoked for impeding traffic. I want to pass but the road ahead is not clear. I consider flashing my lights or maybe even doing some
serious tailgating in order to "encourage" the driver to pick up the pace.Instead, I try the old "count to ten and take a deep breath" trick. It helps. I decide to just settle down and relax a bit. After all, I do have the company car signs on my vehicle! It would not be good to have someone call to complain about my driving. Who knows, maybe they will turn off soon.
Not...This car takes every turn I need just before I get there. What's up with this? How unlucky can I be? .... OK, finally at the entrance to the subdivision, surely they will not turn in.... wrong. This is too much. Where is this car going???
You guessed it. They turn in to the driveway of my inspection address. They are my clients! Now I am sooooo glad that I refrained from all the un-charitable acts I was contemplating. After some meeting and greeting and discussion about the difficulties with travel on hot, busy roads, we proceed with the inspection and all is well.
Moral of the story: Our actions while driving are great opportunities to express charitability. It is as important to "give of ourselves" while on the road with
complete strangers as it is anywhere. Yield the right away, change lanes to let others enter the road. Respect turn signals and traffic lights. Let others have the best parking spaces, etc. These are simple acts of Charity.
Have a charity story of your own to share? Tell us in the comments section below!
(The U.S. Inspect Human Qualities Program promotes and measures our individual and company success in the following five key areas most important to our customers: Dependability, Charity, Diligence, Honesty and Knowledge. We created this blog series as a place to share stories and thoughts about these qualities as they are displayed here at the company and in our daily lives.)
