The story behind tosay

I was on a remote Island, desperately needing to transfer money via a UK bank. I phoned my bank, explained where I was, that I was on my mobile. I was answered in a cold, uninterested tone by a lady who was clearly not concerned whether she could help me.

The conversation went like this

The lady barked out an instruction to give out my (non existent) telephone banking pin number. When I told her I had never used telephone banking, she told me a new pin number could arrive in the post within 5 days! Totally useless! I`m on a remote island. In frustration, I ended the call to her and rang back, hoping for more success.

This time the conversation went like this

A cheerful lady took my call, asked about my situation and was interested in where I was and why. Concerned about the cost on my mobile, she took the details and offered to call me back. 15 minutes later there was my callback – everything was sorted and she even asked me about my trip.

I felt my grateful thanks was insufficient. I wanted to do more, to encourage and inspire her to keep doing a great job and to make her feel appreciated. Maybe call her boss and tell him or her how wonderful she is. But there was no way to do this, and certainly not something quick and convenient.