Martin Smith, the manager of Best Messenger, is my hero.
I left my smartphone in a ridesharing car on a recent Thursday and immediately sent the rideshare company a lost-item notice from my laptop. The ensuing exchange of emails with their representatives made it clear that trouble was afoot. The driver, based in Northern Virginia, refused to return the phone to my retirement home in northwest D.C. He dismissed out of hand my offer to pay for the trip as well as the mandatory $15 return fee. Instead, he insisted that I meet him at a time and place of his choosing in his area during his 30-minute lunch break. I thought the company would handle a situation like that, but they denied responsibility. Return of lost items, they said, was a matter between rider and driver.
The lunch-break plan was not good. I am 85 years old and had undergone three surgical procedures during the previous two weeks. I also have arthritic knees. A missed connection would leave me stranded with no way to communicate with him. In order to establish a better plan, however, I could only work through sluggish email exchanges with busy rideshare representatives based three time zones away. Eventually, they did elicit the driver's agreement to drop off the phone at a company location within his territory. Nothing was said, however, as to when he might decide to get around to doing that.
By Monday--day four--the phone's Lost Mode system showed it still on the move. I was at the mercy of an uncaring person, yet I needed to confirm three post-surgical appointments that very week and was expecting several other important calls. I also relied on that device for quite a few other things such as medication reminders. The urge to take positive action evoked the image of a messenger tearing through traffic lanes at breakneck speed. Yes! That image might be out of date, but it stood for the kind of service I wanted, leaving only the question of affordability. Computer-generated quotes obtained from several courier sites seemed reasonable for a business, but could be a stretch for an old retiree. Martin Smith's personalized quote took out some of the sting, and he included other possibilities to think about. I thanked him and continued my fruitless endeavors with no expectation of further dialogue between us. It was therefore a pleasant surprise when he came back with a few more helpful thoughts. More important, just having a friend on my side was a real boost to morale.
Finding a workable solution appeared so difficult that I was about to give up, but Martin stuck by me with encouragement, a very good idea, and timely action. Because of him, that phone was placed in my hands safe and sound on Wednesday morning. He made it happen, and like all true professionals, he made it look easy.
I hesitate to reveal how much I paid for this remarkable service, because it should not be considered as a precedent for what readers might expect in terms of their cost. On the other hand, this experience does set a precedent for what readers can expect from Martin Smith in terms of his ability and his commitment to the highest standard of quality service. For that reason, I will reveal that he didn't charge me anything. Not only that, he told me up front so I didn't have to worry. Sometimes little things mean a lot. read more
